Virology
TWiEVO 57: SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding evolution blooms
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Evolution
Jessie, Allie and Tyler join Nels and Vincent to describe their work on deep mutational scanning of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain. Click arrow to playDownload TWiEVO 57 (50 MB .mp3, 84 min)Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Show notes at microbe.tv/twievo
TWiV 629: Coronavirus update, pandemic sitrep
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
Daniel Griffin provides a clinical update on COVID-19, including analysis of the dexamethasone trial, and then we discuss two Ebolavirus outbreaks in DRC, clinical and virological aspects of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections, age-dependent effects on transmission, and answer listener email. Click arrow to playDownload TWiV 629 (95 MB .mp3, 158 min)Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Show notes …
Virus and antibodies during asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Information
Despite recent proclamations to the contrary by WHO, there is good evidence that individuals who are asymptomatically infected with SARS-CoV-2 can efficiently spread infection to others. The levels of virus and the immune response in asymptomatically infected individuals has not been well studied to understand the infection events taking place. A recent small study provides …
Virus and antibodies during asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections Read More »
TWiV 626: Ralph Baric and fancy ferrets
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
Daniel Griffin provides a clinical update on COVID-19, then Ralph Baric joins TWiV to discuss SARS-CoV-2 transmission, vaccines, diagnostic tests, and a new animal model from his laboratory that does not use transgenic mice. Click arrow to playDownload TWiV 626 (98 MB .mp3, 163 min)Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv
TWiV 625: Fred Murphy, virologist for all seasons
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
Vincent and Rich visit Fred Murphy to hear about his wide-ranging career in virology, spanning many institutions, involving dangerous viruses like rabies virus, Ebolavirus (he took that famous iconic image), Marburg virus, Lassa virus, coronaviruses, and later writing a history of the field. Click arrow to playDownload TWiV 625 (60 MB .mp3, 100 min)Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email …
TWiV 625: Fred Murphy, virologist for all seasons Read More »
SARS-CoV-2 infection of farmed mink
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology
SARS-CoV-2 not only infects humans but can also spread occasionally from humans to cats, dogs, and tigers. A recent addition to this menagerie is the farmed mink. In mid-April 2020 mink on two farms in the Netherlands developed signs of respiratory disease which included nasal discharge and respiratory distress. Examination of the lungs revealed interstitial …
David Tuller
Trial By Error: In Protocol for Long COVID Exercise Trial, Investigators Advocate Lying to Participants
By David Tuller, DrPH Researchers are planning yet another trial of a rehabilitative exercise program for Long COVID—but, in this one, they propose to lie to all the participants about the nature of the study and the intervention being investigated. BMJ Open has recently published a paper called “Pursuing Reduction in Fatigue After COVID-19 via …
Trial By Error: Some Things I’ve Read Recently: Anil van der Zee on Sex, “Mold Warrior” Johnson, and a Rant Against the Word “Journey”
By David Tuller, DrPH Anil van der Zee says “Fuck M.E.” One aspect of ME and ME/CFS that receives perhaps too little attention is the impact on someone’s sex life. Engaging in sexual activity takes a significant amount of energy—and is therefore likely to trigger post-exertional malaise for many with this illness. Especially for those …
Trial By Error: Some Things I’ve Read Recently–Aboriginals and Long COVID, Tips for Disability Claims, Profile of Ron Davis
By David Tuller, DrPH Failure to address Long COVID in Australian Aboriginal communities Croakey Health Media is a small but feisty Australian news outlet that covers social and structural inequities in healthcare. Croakey recently published “a call for action to address Long COVID in Aboriginal communities,” which focused in particular on the situation in the …
Trial By Error: Journalist Simon Spichak on Lack of Focus on Post-Exertional Malaise in Long COVID Exercise Trials
By David Tuller, DrPH According to the headline of a recent article in The Sick Times, “less than 20% of Long COVID trials involving exercise even mention post-exertional malaise.” The news organization analyzed the registration records for Long COVID clinical trials and found that only a small minority assess or take into account post-exertional malaise (PEM), …
Trial By Error: JAMA Touts Long COVID Exercise Trial with Clinically Insignificant Results; Most LC Exercise Trials Ignore PEM, Per Sick Times
By David Tuller, DrPH In its current “Medical News in Brief” section, JAMA is touting and amplifying the questionable claims of a flawed trial to treat or prevent Long COVID published by one of the journals under its umbrella—JAMANetworkOpen. The JAMA headline: “Resistance Training Improves Long COVID Outcomes.” Technically, the headline is true. In the …
Trial By Error: Another Exercise Trial with Clinically Insignificant Findings
By David Tuller, DrPH A recent study from JAMA Network Open, called “Resistance Exercise Therapy After COVID-19 Infection: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” demonstrates some of the flaws that so often mar papers in this field of research. The trial’s reported results do not warrant the optimistic conclusion that the intervention “may be a generalizable therapy …
Trial By Error: Another Exercise Trial with Clinically Insignificant Findings Read More »