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malaria

Paul and the Mosquitos

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From the authors of Paul Has Measles and Paul Stays Home comes Paul and the Mosquitos, an illustrated book for children about mosquito-borne diseases.

In his camp, Paul and his friends discuss which is the most dangerous animal of all. They would never have imagined it would be the mosquito. Why are they dangerous and what can we do to prevent the diseases transmitted by them?

Paul and the Mosquitoes is written by Susana López, Selene Zárate, and Martha Yocupicio, with illustrations by Eva Lobatón.

A pdf of Paul and the Mosquitos can be downloaded free of charge here.

Hydroxychloroquine reduces viral load in COVID-19 patients

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HydroxychloroquineChloroquine (and a derivative, hydroxychloroquine) has been used for years in the treatment of malaria. The drug is also known to block the entry of many viruses into cells. A small clinical trial has revealed it to be effective in reducing viral loads in COVID-19 patients.

[Read more…] about Hydroxychloroquine reduces viral load in COVID-19 patients

TWiV 374: Discordance in B

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TWiVOn episode #374 of the science show This Week in Virology, the TWiVniks consider the role of a cell enzyme that removes a protein linked to the 5′-end of the picornavirus genome, and the connection between malaria, Epstein-Barr virus, and endemic Burkitt’s lymphoma.

You can find TWiV #374 at microbe.tv/twiv.

TWiP 31: A malaria vaccine

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p.falciparum life cycleHosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier

Vincent and Dickson discuss the promising results of a phase III trial of a malaria vaccine in African children.

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Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiP #31 (50 MB .mp3, 70 minutes).

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Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twip@microbe.tv.

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Subscribe to TWiP (free) in iTunes, at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed or by email

TWiP 28: Medical entomology with Robert W. Gwadz

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anopheles gambiaeHosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier

On episode #28 of the podcast This Week in Parasitism, Vincent and Dickson discuss medical entomology with Robert W. Gwadz, Assistant Chief of the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research at NIAID.

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Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiP #28 (65 MB .mp3, 91 minutes).

Links for this episode:

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Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twip@microbe.tv.

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Download

TWiP #28 (65 MB .mp3, 91 minutes)

Dickson Despommier’s Parasitic Diseases lectures

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dickson despommierProfessor Dickson Despommier, co-host of TWiV and TWiP, and well known for his ideas about vertical farming, taught parasitology to medical, dental, and nursing students at Columbia University’s College of Physicians & Surgeons for 38 years. Below are videocasts of the six lectures from the final version of his course, Parasitic Diseases, which he taught in the fall of 2009. These are excellent companions to the first 27 episodes of TWiP, which explore the basics of eukaryotic parasites including protozoa, nematodes, cestodes, and trematodes.

Parasitic Diseases Fall 2009 – videocasts
To download the files, right-click on the link and save-as.

Lecture 1: Nematodes I – Enterobius, Trichuris, Ascaris, Toxocara (19 MB .mov)
Lecture 2: Nematodes II – Hookworm, Strongyloides (18 MB .mov)
Lecture 3: Cestodes – Taenia, Echinococcus (Joshua Stillman, MD) (19 MB .mov)
Lecture 4: Trematodes – Schistosoma (17 MB .mov)
Lecture 5: The Malarias (19 MB .mov)
Lecture 6: Protozoa – Giardia, Entamoeba, Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora (16 MB .mov)