This Week in Virology

From the TWiV team, human cowpox infection possibly acquired from a pet cat, and a new giant mimivirus of green algae with genes encoding enzymes of fermentation.

Vincent visits Sandra Urdaneta-Hartmann at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia to talk about the development of the mobile video game 'CD4 Hunter'.

The TWiV team reveals that recent mumps virus outbreaks in the US are due to waning vaccine efficacy, and an intranasally delivered small interfering RNA that controls West Nile infection in the brain.

At the Medical College of Wisconsin, Vincent talks with current and former members of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology about their work and their careers.

Sean Whelan returns to TWiV to speak with Vincent about using haploid cell lines to identify genes encoding cell receptors for viruses, including Ebolavirus, Lassa virus, and more.

The TWiV posse considers viral insulin-like peptides encoded in fish genomes, and insect antiviral immunity by production of viral DNA from defective genomes of RNA viruses.

The TWiVumvirate discuss the giant Tupanvirus, with the longest tail in the known virosphere, and dampened STING dependent interferon activation in bats.

Vincent and the Virals review undermining of antiviral effectiveness by genital inflammation, and heterogeneity of influenza virus infection in single cells.

The TWiV Masters discuss serologic evidence of Ebolavirus infection in a population with no outbreaks, and the set of endogenous viral elements in the mosquito genome.

The TWiVodrome the intestinal tract as an alternative infection route for MERS coronavirus, and how reduced accumulation of defective viral RNAs might lead to severe influenza.