This Week in Virology (TWiV) #124: Viruses that make you better

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Grant McFadden

On episode #124 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Dickson, Alan, Rich, and Grant discuss a tanapoxvirus protein that inhibits tumor necrosis factor, purging tumors with myxoma virus, and destruction of the last known stocks of smallpox virus.

Right click to download TWiV #124 (74 MB .mp3, 103 minutes).

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Links for this episode:

• Interaction of tumor necrosis factor with tanapox virus protein
• Viron Therapeutics Inc
• Oncolytic viral purging with myxoma virus
• Why not destroy remaining smallpox stocks? (editorial)
• US should agree to destroy smallpox stocks (CIDRAP)
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 124

Weekly Science Picks

Grant - A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Dickson - An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae by Edward Jenner
Rich - Selinah (Topsy Foundation) thanks Meghan!
Alan - Draft report (pdf) on WHO's H1N1 response and NY Times summary
Vincent - 10 stunning science visualizations

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@twiv.tv, or call them in to 908-312-0760. You can also post articles that you would like us to discuss at microbeworld.org and tag them with twiv.