Last week we discussed the second known virophage, but we didn’t have any explanation of why such viruses might evolve. This week we have the discovery of a third virophage, hints of many more, and a hypothesis for what they might be doing in the global ecosystem. The newest virus eater is called Organic Lake …
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Michelle Ozbun On episode #126 of the podcast This Week in Virology, virologist Michelle Ozbun and the TWiV team review the biology of human papillomaviruses. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV126.mp3″] Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #126 (69 MB .mp3, 96 minutes). Subscribe to TWiV (free) …
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Cliff Mintz, Jo Handelsman, and Ronald Atlas. On episode #3 of the podcast This Week in Microbiology, Vincent, Jo, Cliff, and Ron explore the genome analysis done in support of the Amerithrax investigation, and an insecticidal enterotoxin-deficient mutant of Bacillus thurigiensis. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twimshow/TWiM003.mp3″] Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to …
A second virophage has been identified. The name does not signify a virus that infects another virus – it means virus eater. The story of virophages begins with the giant mimivirus, originally isolated from a cooling tower in the United Kingdom. It is the largest known virus, with a capsid 750 nanometers in diameter and …
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Marc Pelletier This Week in Virology and Futures in Biotech join together in a science mashup to talk about a virophage at the origin of DNA transposons, and unintended spread of a recombinant retrovirus. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV125.mp3″] Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #125 …
After the eradication of smallpox in 1980, the World Health Organization called for destruction of known remaining stocks of the virus. The United States and Russia, which hold the known stocks of smallpox virus, have not destroyed their stocks. The WHO met in January 2011 to debate the future of smallpox, and a committee will …
