When I first entered the field of virology, in the 1970s, the definition of virus included the then-correct observation that no viral genome encoded any part of the translational apparatus. This dictum was shattered by the discovery of giant viruses which were found to encode tRNAs, aminoacyl tRNA syntheses, and ...

The TWiV team discuss the use of quantum dots to study uncoating of influenza virus in real time, and induction of endothelial dysfunction by flavivirus NS1 proteins in a tissue-specific manner. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 535 (58 MB .mp3, 96 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv

Top view of calicivirus portal. VP1 is green, VP2 is red. Virus particles are metastable: they must be highly stable, to protect the nucleic acid while traveling from host to host or cell to cell, and then come apart to liberate the genome into the cell. New insight into this ...

The TWiV crew reveal a unique portal on the calcivirus capsid formed upon receptor engagement, and the regulation of interferon responses in virus-infected cells by methylation of mRNA. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 534 (57 MB .mp3, 95 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv

The gut tracts of many animals are inhabited by a microbial community composed of bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses. The interplay among these inhabitants can have an impact on health and disease. Mosquitoes are no exception - replication of dengue virus in the gut tract is modulated by a fungus ...