This Week in Microbiology

Vincent Racaniello & The American Society for Microbiology podcasts

This Week in Microbiology is a podcast about unseen life on Earth hosted by Vincent Racaniello and friends. Following in the path of his successful shows 'This Week in Virology' (TWiV) and 'This Week in Parasitism' (TWiP), Racaniello and guests produce an informal yet informative conversation about microbes which is accessible to everyone, no matter what their science background. As a science Professor at Columbia University, Racaniello has spent his academic career directing a research laboratory focused on viruses. His enthusiasm for teaching inspired him to reach beyond the classroom using new media. TWiM is for everyone who wants to learn about the science of microbiology in a casual way. While there are no exams or pop quizzes, TWiM does encourage interaction with the audience via comments on specific episodes, email and Skype. Listeners can also use www.MicrobeWorld.org to suggest topics for the show by submitting articles, papers, video and images to the site and tagging them with "TWiM". Each week Racaniello will view the tagged content and select items for discussion.

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Episodes

TWiM #33: Tuning the immune organ
5/16/2012
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Duration: 1:08:26

Vincent, Michael, and Ivo review the requirement for segmented, filamentous bacteria for the induction of a specific type of helper T cell in the gut. Links for this episode: Induction of Th17 cells by segmented filamentous bacteria (Cell) Segmented filamentous bacteria take the stage (Nature) Genome of segmented filamentous bacteria reveals auxotrophy (Cell) Segmented filamentous bacteria and diabetes protection (PNAS) Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twim@twiv.tv , 
TWiM #32: Not the shadow biosphere
5/2/2012
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Duration: 1:06:55

Rosie Redfield talks about her evidence that a bacterium cannot grow on arsenic instead of phosphorus. 
TWiM 31: Screen door on a submarine
4/18/2012
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Duration: 1:15:09

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Jo Handelsman, and Michael Schmidt Vincent, Jo, and Michael discuss an archetypal protein transport system in bacterial outer membranes, and evidence that gut microbial enterotypes might not fall into defined groups. Links for this episode: Discovery of a TAM, a new bacterial protein transport system (Nat Struct Mol Biol) Commentary on TAM discovery Enterotypes of the human gut microbiome (Nature) Gut enterotypes might be less clear-cut (Ed Yong) Letters read on TWiM #31
TWiM #30: Unraveling melioidosis and insulin resistance
4/4/2012
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Duration: 1:10:04

On episode #30 of the podcast, Vincent, Elio, and Michael review how a toxin from Burkholderia pseudomallei inhibits protein synthesis, and the role of the gut microbiome in modulating insulin resistance in mice lacking an innate immune sensor.
TWiM #29: Death and an iron-loaded spike
3/21/2012
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Duration: 1:02:48

On episode #29 of the podcast, Vincent and Stanley review how a phage pierces the cell membrane with an iron-loaded spike, and two programmed cell death systems in E. coli.
TWiM #28: Not unorganized bags of enzymes
3/7/2012
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Duration: 1:17:13

Vincent, Michael, and Elio review how competition within a host drives virulence of Streptococcus pneumoniae, and the expanding universe of the bacterial cytoskeleton.
TWiM #27: An inflamed gut is good for Salmonella
2/22/2012
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Duration: 1:14:31

Vincent, Elio, and Michael review how inflammation allows Salmonella to compete with fermenting gut microbes, and a riboswitch in bacterial and Archeal species that is triggered by fluoride.
TWiM #26: Suum cuique
2/8/2012
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Duration: 1:15:05

Vincent, Elio, and Michael discuss the finding of Sutterella species in the gut of autistic children, and methods for cultivating oral bacteria. 
TWiM #25: Magnetotactic bacteria and totally drug resistant TB
1/25/2012
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Duration: 1:16:55

On episode #25 of the podcast, Vincent, Elio, and Michael review bacteria that use the earth’s magnetic field for navigation, and identification of totally drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
TWiM #24: This year in microbiology
1/11/2012
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Duration: 1:19:23

Vincent, Michael, and Cliff review ten compelling microbiology stories from 2011.
TWiM #23: Fighting antibiotics with toxic gas and starvation
12/28/2011
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Duration: 1:16:05

Vincent, Jo, Elio, and Michael explain how a swarming bacterium helps disperse a non-motile fungus, and bacterial antibiotic tolerance mediated by hydrogen sulfide and starvation responses.
TWiM #22: Microbiology 911
12/14/2011
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Duration: 1:38:25

Vincent and Michael speak with Alfred Sacchetti, MD, Chief of Emergency Services at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, about microbial infections encountered in the emergency room.
TWiM #21: Symbiotic margheritas
11/30/2011
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Duration: 1:08:29

Vincent and Elio discuss ancient symbiosis between Alphaproteobacteria and catenulid flatworms, and a toxin from Helicobacter pylori that engages the mitochondrial fission machinery to induce host cell death.
TWiM #20: Facebook for bacteria
11/16/2011
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Duration: 1:07:51

On episode #20 of the podcast This Week in Microbiology, Vincent, Michael, and Elio follow up on the outbreaks of E. coli in Germany and cholera in Haiti, then discuss genes that confer self-identity to Proteus mirabilis.
TWiM #19: Your microbiome is what you eat
11/2/2011
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Duration: 59:19

Vincent, Michael, Elio, and Jo discuss the genome sequence of Y. pestis from victims of the Black Death, and the effect of diet on gut microbial enterotypes.
TWiM #18: Escherichia coli K-12, an emerging pathogen?
10/19/2011
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Duration: 1:14:05

Vincent, Michael, Elio, and Stanley explain how to make the human intestinal commensal and benign laboratory bacterium Escherichia coli K-12 into an invasive organism, and the unearthing of century-old spores in New York City.
TWiM #17: Debugging endosymbiosis
10/5/2011
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Duration: 1:10:31

Vincent, Michael, and Elio focus on endosymbiosis: the rapid spread of Ricekttsia in whitefiles, and a metabolic patchwork in nested symbionts of mealybugs.
TWiM #16: ICAAC Live
9/22/2011
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Duration: 1:29:14

On episode #16 of the podcast This Week in Microbiology, Vincent, Michael, Arturo, Stuart, and David converse about antimicrobial resistance and why most fungi do not cause disease at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC).
TWiM #15: Microbial long distance relationships
9/7/2011
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Duration: 58:58

On episode #15 of the podcast This Week in Microbiology, Vincent, Michael and Jo review the number of species on Earth, evidence that the 2010 Haitian cholera outbreak originated in Nepal, and how gut microbiota influence the immune response to influenza virus infection of the lung. 
TWiM #14: Vomocytosis and microbial transistors
8/24/2011
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Duration: 1:07:48

On episode #14 of the podcast This Week in Microbiology, Stanley, Margaret, Michael and Elio review how the fungus Cryptococcus escapes from macrophages, and electrical conductivity in nanowires formed by the bacterium Geobacter.
TWiM #13: Probiotics and inflammasomes: Telling good bacteria from the bad
8/10/2011
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Duration: 57:44

On episode #13 of the podcast This Week in Microbiology, Stanley, Jo, Michael and Elio discuss how colonic microbial ecology and risk for colitis are regulated by an inflammasome, and amelioration of intestinal inflammation in mice by delivery of a probiotic-derived soluble protein to the colon.
TWiM #12: Photothermal nanoblades and genome engineering
7/27/2011
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Duration: 1:15:23

Vincent, Margaret, Michael and Elio review the use of photothermal nanoblades to dissect the Burkholderia intracellular life cycle, and manipulation of chromosomes in vivo for genome-wide codon replacement in E. coli.
TWiM #11: Chickens, antibiotics, and asthma
7/13/2011
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Duration: 1:12:40

Vincent, Margaret, Michael and Elio review the presence of extended spectrum beta-lactamase genes in chicken meat and in humans, and a beneficial effect of Helicobacter pylori colonization on the development of allergen-induced asthma.
TWiM #10: A symbiotic cloaking device
6/29/2011
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Duration: 1:08:07

On episode #10 of the podcast This Week in Microbiology, Vincent, Margaret, Elio, Michael and Dickson discuss the symbiosis between the Hawaiian bobtail squid and the luminous, gram-negative bacterium Vibrio fischeri.
TWiM #9: Bean sprouts and E. coli O104:H4
6/15/2011
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Duration: 1:16:35

Vincent, Michael, and Cliff review the outbreak of bloody diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome in Germany caused by Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O104:H4.
TWiM # 8: Live in NOLA
6/1/2011
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Duration: 1:26:21

Vincent, Michael, and Stanley recorded TWiM #8 live at the 2011 ASM General Meeting in New Orleans, with guests Andreas Baümler, Nicole Dubilier, and Paul Rainey. They spoke about how pathogens benefit from disease, symbioses between chemosynthetic bacteria and marine invertebrates, and repetitive sequences in bacteria.
TWiM #7: Cycles of life and death, light and dark
5/18/2011
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Duration: 1:04:09

Vincent, Cliff, Elio, Margaret, and Michael discuss programmed cell death in E. coli, and the daily synthesis and degradation of enzymes needed for photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation by cyanobacteria.
TWiM #6: Antibacterial therapy with bacteriophage: Reality or fiction?
5/4/2011
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Duration: 1:22:11

Vincent, Cliff, Michael and Elio review the use of bacteriophages to manage infections, and the presence of antibiotic resistance genes in the bacteriophage from urban sewage and river water.
TWiM #5: Mercury-methylating Desulfovibrio and antimicrobial nanoparticles
4/20/2011
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Duration: 1:15:51

Vincent, Ron, Cliff, and Michael discuss the genome sequence of a mercury-methylating bacterium and the antimicrobial effects of nanoparticles.
TWiM #4: Cantaloupes and Salmonella gastroenteritis
4/6/2011
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Duration: 1:14:45

Vincent, Cliff, Margaret, and Michael review foodborne bacterial illness in the context of outbreaks associated with cantaloupes and Lebanon bologna.
TWiM #3: Anthrax, genomics and the FBI inquiry
3/23/2011
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Duration: 1:00:27

Vincent, Jo, Cliff, and Ron explore the genome analysis done in support of the Amerithrax investigation, and an insecticidal enterotoxin-deficient mutant of Bacillus thurigiensis.
TWiM #2: The plague, microbial virulence and the gut microbiome
3/9/2011
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Duration: 1:15:43

Vincent, Cliff, and Michael review a fatal laboratory acquired Yersinia pestis infection, and how gut bacteria control body weight and metabolic activity.
TWiM #1: Neisseria LINEs up
2/23/2011
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Duration: 1:03:23

On episode #1 of the podcast This Week in Microbiology, Vincent, Cliff, Michael, and Stan discuss transfer of DNA from a human host to a bacterial pathogen, and the ability of dry copper to kill bacteria on contact.

This Week in Microbiology

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