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This Week in Virology

This Week in Virology

By: Vincent Racaniello
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TWiV is a podcast about viruses - the kind that make you sick.Vincent Racaniello 2022 Biological Sciences Natural History Nature & Ecology Science
Episodes
  • TWiV 1239: Aluminum and antibodies

    TWiV 1239: Aluminum and antibodies
    Jul 27 2025

    TWiV explains a cohort study of over one million Danish children which shows no evidence supporting an increased risk for autoimmune, atopic or allergic, or neurodevelopmental disorders associated with early childhood exposure to vaccines with aluminum-base adjuvants, and a study of antibodies induced by mRNA-1273 and NVX-CoV2373 COVID-19 vaccines which show that polyclonal antibodies against a single site on the
    spike N-terminal domain show immunodominance, high diversity, and limited cross-reactivity, indicating the need to direct antibody responses away from this site.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Brianne Barker

    Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

    Become a patron of TWiV!

    Links for this episode
    • Support science education at MicrobeTV
    • No chronic effects of aluminum-based adjuvants in vaccines (Ann Int Med)
    • Aluminum in vaccines (CHOP)
    • Structural serology of antibody responses to COVID vaccines (Cell Rep)
    • Letters read on TWiV 1239
    • Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
    Weekly Picks

    Brianne – MHC Class I Antigen Presentation Video
    Alan – We Become What We Behold
    Vincent – New Injectable Recommended by Europe for HIV Prevention

    Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

    Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv

    Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.
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    1 hr and 51 mins
  • TWiV 1238: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

    TWiV 1238: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin
    Jul 26 2025
    In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin with Vincent Racaniello chat about how flies transmit H5N1 to humans via their feet and milk, the recent pertussis oubreak and measles epidemic before Dr. Griffin discusses monoclonal antibody therapy can enrich for RSV variants before deep diving into recent statistics on RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections the Wasterwater Scan dashboard, whether or not the NB.1.8.1 should be included in the fall 2025 vaccines, the effectiveness of Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine, where to find PEMGARDA, provides information for Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s long COVID treatment center, where to go for answers to your long COVID questions, how mast cell activation can enhance long COVID and contacting your federal government representative to stop the assault on science and biomedical research. Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Flies, ‘milk snatching’ among H5N1 transmission contributors in dairy cattle(CIDRAP)H5N1 virus invades the mammary glands of dairy cattle through “mouth-to-teat” transmission (NSR: National Science Review)Mississippi warns of steep increase in pertussis cases (CIDRAP)MSDH Issues Pertussis Alert (Mississippi State Department of Health) Wastewater for measles (WasterWater Scan)Measles cases and outbreaks (CDC Rubeola)Weekly measles and rubella monitoring (Government of Canada)Measles vaccine recommendations from NYP (jpg)Measles (WHO)Get the FACTS about measles (NY State Department of Health) Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))Measles vaccine (CDC Measles (Rubeola)) Presumptive evidence of measles immunity (CDC) Contraindications and precautions to measles vaccination (CDC) Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))Adverse events associated with childhood vaccines: evidence bearing on causality (NLM)Measles Vaccination: Know the Facts (ISDA: Infectious Diseases Society of America)Deaths following vaccination: what does the evidence show (Vaccine)Influenza: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)Respiratory virus activity levels (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)Weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView) FDA-CDC-DOD: 2025-2046 influenza vaccine composition (FDA)RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)ENFLONSIA: novel drug approvals 2025 (FDA)RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection)Respiratory Syncytial virus Strain Evolution and Mutations in Western Australia in the Context of Nirsevimab Prophylaxis (OFID)Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)COVID-19 deaths (CDC)Respiratory Illnesses Data Channel (CDC: Respiratory Illnesses)COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC)COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC)SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain)Antigenic and Virological Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Variant BA.3.2, XFG, and NB.1.8.1 (biRxiV)Real-world Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Sinopharm COVID-19 Vaccine Against Symptomatic COVID-19 in an Omicron-Dominant Setting in Mozambique (CID)Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda) EUA for the pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 (INVIYD)Infusion center (Prime Fusions) CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC)NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH)Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool)Paxlovid (Pfizer) Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society)Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV)Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society)What to do when sick with a respiratory virus (CDC)Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC)Steroids, dexamethasone at the right time (OFID) Anticoagulation guidelines (hematology.org)Daniel Griffin’s evidence based medical practices for long COVID (OFID)Long COVID hotline (Columbia : Columbia University Irving Medical Center)The answers: Long COVID Mast cell activation symptoms are prevalent in Long-COVID (International Journal of Infectious Diseases)Using the Right Criteria for MCAS (Current Allergy and Asthma Reports)Utility of glucagon-like-peptide-1-receptor agonists in mast cell activation syndrome (The American Journal of the Medical Sciences)Reaching out to US house representativeLetters read on TWiV 1238Dr. Griffin’s COVID treatment summary (pdf)Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks! Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.
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    45 mins
  • TWiV 1237: Hepatitis C and persistence with Charlie Rice

    TWiV 1237: Hepatitis C and persistence with Charlie Rice
    Jul 20 2025

    From the 2025 annual meeting of the American Society for Virology, Charlie Rice, 2020 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, talks with Vincent and Kathy about his career and the scientific difficulties he and his laboratory encountered in their attempts to achieve replication of hepatitis C virus in cells in culture.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Kathy Spindler

    Guest: Charlie Rice

    Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

    Become a patron of TWiV!

    Links for this episode
    • Support science education at MicrobeTV
    • 2020 Nobel Prize (Nobel Prizes)
    • Hepatitis C human challenge study (Lancet Gastro Hepatol)
    • Rat hepacivirus mouse model for hepatitis C (Hepatol)
    • Replication of hepatitis C virus in cells in culture (Science)
    • Lessons from domestication of HCV (Curr Opin Virol)

    Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

    Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv

    Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.
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    1 hr and 6 mins
All stars
Most relevant  
Science first and yet entertaining.
Wonderful gang full of knowledge and joy for related topics.

Love it!

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I found TWiV through the recommendation of another podcast. Like many I am a post covid follower and I have really appreciated TWiV as a source of current and accurate information. The clinical updates with Dr. Griffin are so useful . Dr Gritting uses language that I, a custodian i.e. not a science professional am able to understand. I find the clinical updates really ease my anxieties because finally I understand what is going on around me. Sometimes the other episodes I struggle to totally follow along but I always finish having learned something I didn't know before listening. Turns out virology and immunology is quite fascinating!

Excellent Source

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You need a background in Bio to enjoy this podcast, but if you are on the in you should have a great time.

Fun team

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The content is really good and always interesting with many great guests. Good job guys!

Very good science podcast!

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I discovered TWiV during 2020 due to the desire for more accurate and unbiased information about the viruses and then stayed for the good and interesting science. I never liked biology before but have found the discussions to be reasons to get interested in not only virology but biology, microbiology, even medicine. Although I don’t understand all the science, to hear the unfamiliar multiple times made them less intimidating and I feel like I am sitting in the same room as the host and guest scientists week after week when different topics are being discussed. The weekly clinical updates are also keeping me well informed about the viruses that we should be aware of in a timely way. Love this podcast and many sister podcasts from microbe.tv

A good thing from the pandemic years

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