Viruses Archives - Page 6 of 10 - Finding Genius Podcast

Know Your Strains: Influenza Virus Microbiology with Flu Researcher Stacey Shultz-Cherry

“As a flu researcher,” says Stacey Schultz-Cherry, “it’s frustrating to hear ‘it’s just flu.’” This podcast helps listeners gain a much better understanding about the constant effort to pin down strains for vaccines and the need for better spillover maintenance.

She explains

Why researching infectious viruses like influenza in high-risk populations is vital for their health,
How the influenza virus structure, like the RNA-segmented construction, makes these strains recombine, and
Why even if it is not 100% effective, a flu vaccine will still prevent you from getting severe disease and ending up in the hospital.

Stacey Schultz-Cherry is a member of St. Jude Faculty and specializes in flu research. Her lab just received funding to make flu vaccines more effective for at-risk populations, populations who experience much less efficacy with the vaccine. But she takes this podcast opportunity to educate listeners about the vaccine itself and influenza causes and the microbiology of viruses.

She clears up several misunderstandings. For example, she says the reason scientists can’t just give one shot with 20 different strains is because of the interactions between the strains. One strain can outgrow another, for example, or your body might mount a higher response to one component over another. But scientists are researching how to make this possible.

She also teaches listeners about the yearly process of sequencing strains that are out there and taking data from around the world to make the best predictions possible and choose the four strains it seems best to include.

Why is it so complicated? Well, she says, influenza is an RNA virus that is segmented. So each gene has its own segment. That means in can recombine it unpredictable ways.

Furthermore, there’s something called “virus drift,” with an error-prone polymerase. This equates to a genetic drift. The endless possible combinations are mostly not a problem for humans, but those that do spillover cause the bird flus that are so deadly. She also explains the nomenclature of the different strains, why the flu vaccine can help keep you out of the hospital, and more.

For more good influenza resources, she suggests the CDC section on flu, the WHO pages that address the data, and Trevor Bedford’s site at Fred Hutch. Her lab’s website also provides information.

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October 14, 2020

The Most Perfect Parasite: Exploring Viruses with Dr. Richard White III

“Nothing replicates with nucleic acid and evolves through natural selection and is not alive, so I think it’s time for viruses to join the pantheon of life,” says Dr. White, bringing a fresh perspective to the topic of whether viruses should be considered living or nonliving.

Press play to learn why he says viruses are “perfect” parasites, and to explore the following:

How viruses get sick
Who’s winning the battle against multidrug-resistant organisms, and the critical role viruses play
What allows a virus to transfer genetic information without replicating itself
In what way phages have exhibited protective mechanisms for the host and interact with the host immune response

Dr. Richard Allen White III is a virologist and the owner of Raw Molecular Systems (RMS), LLC. His current work is focused on diagnostics and biotherapeutics to combat COVID-19, as well as repurposing bacteriophage to tackle multidrug resistance.

He provides unique insight on a handful of compelling questions about viruses, which leads to a discussion of how viruses take over the host’s macrophages and trigger cell-to-cell infection, a phage Vibrio that’s triggered by a quorum-sensing molecule, viral modification and what it means, virus and host cell interactions, viral evolution and how a virus changes over time, viral tropism, current treatments for the rabies virus, how viruses hold the key to wiping out the growing threat of multidrug-resistant organisms, and more.

Tune in, and learn about Dr. White’s company by visiting https://www.rawmolecularsystems.com/.

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October 12, 2020

On the Hazy Border Between the Living and Nonliving

Life or death is a false dichotomy—at least when it comes to viruses. Robert Siegel posits that viruses exist somewhere on the hazy border between things that are and aren’t alive.

He sums it up uniquely in a short stanza:

“A virus has a structure giving it properties that lie between
Inanimate and truly living
Less than cell, but more than gene.”

Press play to discover:

In what way the symptoms we associate with viral infections are produced by the immune response itself
How viruses are the exceptions that prove the rule of the central dogma of biology
What might dictate whether a virus like SARS-CoV-2 or herpes becomes more or less deadly as it infects more hosts

Siegel is a professor in the Stanford University Microbiology and Immunology Department, and has an extensive background as a teacher and researcher. He entered the field of virology and biological studies during an exciting time, just after viruses were sequenced.

Since 1981, he’s been teaching a course on human viruses, which makes him a great resource for Richard Jacobs’s book on viruses. The many topics explored include the three primary ways of defining life (plus a bonus definition), why the incubation period differs from virus to virus, for what reason viruses might use quorum sensing or coordinate action, treatments that are aimed at viral proteins, such as those of hepatitis C, viruses as therapeutics and tools for diagnosis, and more.

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October 8, 2020

Herpes Isn’t Just For Humans—A Microbial Ecologist’s Perspective on Viruses

Coral reefs struggle with the herpes virus just like we do. In fact, this virus runs all through the animal tree of life. How has it managed to become so successful? By effectively hiding from immune systems.

Press play to explore the following:

In what specific way are phages so important for bacteria?
Why biological thinking may be too cell-centric, and how a fundamental change in the way we understand viruses could lead to important discoveries
How viruses can sense whether a cell is living or dead

Forest Rohwer is a microbial ecologist and professor of biology at San Diego State University who focuses primarily on two ecosystems: coral reefs, and the human body. He says that the former is a good analog of the latter, especially human mucosal surfaces. The ecology of cystic fibrosis, SARS-CoV-2 in the environment, and coral reef restoration are three areas of active research for Rohwer. With experience in a wide range of topics and research projects in biology, he contributes his knowledge and opinions on a series of compelling questions about viruses.

He explains the difference between viral and cellular replication, what governs when and why a virus will re-enter the lytic phase after a latency period and how this is associated with the health state of the host, whether viruses can be considered a quasi-species in their coordination to enter and infect cells, and so much more.

Visit https://coralandphage.org/ to learn more.

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October 7, 2020

Cultures and Chromosomes: Paul Turner Talks Viral Structure and Functions

Paul Turner gives listeners a gift in this podcast with his clear yet complex exploration of viruses and immune system interactions. As he addresses Richard’s questions in this continuation of Finding Genius’s virus series, he allows for speculation yet also provides what evidence tells scientists. This perfect combination makes for an entertaining and enriching conversation.

Listeners will hear

A description of one of his favorite viral entry mechanisms—a bacteriophage that uses pili to its advantage for fusion,
His take on infectious viruses’ ability to sense, which leads to an amazing description of a two-part binding system, and
Other fantastical ways viruses participate in Darwin’s model of traits evolving over time.

Paul Turner is the Rachel Carson Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the Yale School of Medicine. He specializes in how viruses evolutionarily adapt as infectious diseases and also focuses on the potential of phage therapy as one of several public health intervention strategies. As he answers Richard’s questions, listeners are in for a treat as his professorial skill at explaining combines with his own enthusiasm for the mechanisms viruses engage. He offers interesting examples to illustrate every answer, such as a bacteriophage that acts more like an animal virus with an envelope that fuses to a bacterial cell as its pili contract.

As he addresses the question of viruses working together, he describes the ability of viral mechanisms to overwhelm the system; while a division of labor in viruses would be impressive, their capacity to overwhelm may be derived more from their variety and survival mechanisms. While division of labor is a part of cellular evolution, he says, and that’s why multi cellularity is successful, do you viruses need that capability to be successful?

He comments that we tend to valuate success as humans in limited ways and viruses are one of the most successful things on the planet. He also discusses his belief that viruses are alive, why long-term latency works in a virus like HIV, and the mechanism in viral spread that resets the configuration, constraining mutations between organisms more than we think. Listen in for many more examples of the vast viral world.

For more about his work, see his website: medicine.yale.edu/profile/paul_turner.

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October 7, 2020

Islands in a Sea of Viruses with Guenther Witzany

There are ten million viruses in one single drop of seawater, and many more viruses than stars in the universe. How does this understanding shape how we perceive them, us, and life in general?

Press play to discover:

How multiple persistent, invading viruses contributed to the formation of the immune system of cellular organisms
What happens when the counter-regulation between thousands of viruses in the genome gets out of control
How the evolution of placental mammals is an example of how a persistent virus cares for the growth and development of its host

Viruses have affected every organism on the planet since the start of life. Most of them infect their host in a persistent way, which means they don’t kill the host, but try to invade the genome of the host where they will remain. But are they alive? According to Guenther Witzany, they absolutely are. His reasoning is based on the fact that viruses depend on the genetic code. Furthermore, they cooperate, compete, and communicate with one another, which means they exhibit biotic behavior.

Witzany is an accomplished author and philosopher of science, language and communication, and biology. In the late 1980s, he proposed a concept of life as a communicative structure. His work revolves largely around understanding the association between language and communication and the genetic code, and how the cells of an organism and viruses coordinate their behavior and interactions to reach a common goal.

He discusses his view on the dividing line between living and nonliving entities, provides examples of specific forms of communication used by plants, the idea of communication as a prerequisite to coordination between cells, toxin-antitoxin systems in biology, what might dictate whether a virus is lytic, lysogenic, or endogenizing, and more.

Check out Witzany’s authoritative books and research on the topics of communication and coordination in cellular organisms, and the abundance and significance of the role of viruses on the planet. Follow the link here: http://www.biocommunication.at/.

Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

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October 2, 2020

An Effective Oral Tablet For COVID-19? Armand Balboni, MD, PhD Discusses

Efforts to stop SARS-CoV-2 in its tracks have been ongoing for months, and now there might be something tangible that makes it happen.

Press play to learn:

How to trigger viral mutations that prevent SARS-CoV-2 from replicating in the human body, thereby preventing the “cytokine storm” associated with COVID-19
COVID-19 prophylaxis in communities that may need it the most? Whether it’s possible, and how it’s being investigated
What’s necessary in order to warrant emergency use authorization for an antiviral drug in treating COVID-19

Fueled by a long-standing fascination with infectious diseases and pandemics like the Black Death, Dr. Armand Balboni earned a dual MD/PhD degree at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Having spent 17 years in the US military as an officer working on a number of infectious diseases including Ebola, dengue fever, and malaria, he discovered unmet needs in the marketplace, and wanted to design a socially-conscious company to meet those needs. In 2014, this goal manifested as Appili Therapeutics, a pure play anti-infectives company.

Today, the team at Appili Therapeutics is working on phase II and phase III clinical trials for the most advanced product that is an oral tablet for COVID-19: an antiviral medication called favipiravir. This medication has already undergone three phase III clinical trials in the US and been approved for pandemic flu in Japan and China. The expectation is that the current phase II and phase III clinical trials will show that favipiravir is safe and effective specifically for the treatment of COVID-19. Dr. Balboni anticipates that this medication will be available for use against COVID-19 by early next year.

Dr. Balboni explains the importance of each stage in the US clinical trial process, the specific mechanism of action by which favipiravir works against viral replication, Operation Warp Speed as it applies to both vaccines and therapeutic drugs, possible side effects of favipiravir, and more.

Visit https://clinicaltrials.gov/ and https://www.appilitherapeutics.com/ for more information.

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October 1, 2020

Infectious Disease Looks in the Mirror and Sees Evolution: A Conversation with Dr. William B. Miller, Jr.

A Tyrannosaurus rex prompted a successful radiologist of over 30 years to redirect his focus on something completely different: evolutionary biology. Press play for a fascinating look into the mind of William B. Miller, Jr., where medicine, evolution, and virology intersect.

Press play to explore:

Are viruses alive, and if so, does that mean they’re self-aware?
Are viruses capable of contingent decision-making, and if so, how should that direct the means by which we control them for our own benefit?
In what way living things “know” doubt and make predictions, and what this may imply about viruses

As a radiologist, Dr. Miller noticed recurring patterns of overlap between infectious diseases and cancer. At the time, scientific evidence provided Dr. Miller with no explanation as to why he was noticing these reiterative patterns. Then he met Sue, one of the world’s best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex specimens.

He noticed several features of the skeleton that were shared by the human skeleton, and his interest was piqued like never before. He dove into a new understanding of evolution of life on earth: evolution based on cognition. Rather than subvert Darwinism, it explains it in an arguably better way, and according to Dr. Miller, leads directly to the question of how to place viruses in the correct evolutionary schema.

This conversation leads to so many compelling topics, including how infectious disease and evolution mirror each other, the concept of the virocell, forms of communication between viruses, a new science called sociovirology which involves the ideas of cooperation, codependence, and collaboration between viruses, why a virus is either lytic, lysogenic, or endogenizing, philosophical implications of the virome, what Dr. Miller means when he refers to viral “personalities,” in what way the principle of parsimony seems violated by the sheer number of incomplete virions in certain viral infections, how the idea of quasi-species has been used as one of the origin of life theories, where he believes the field of virology needs to go, and so much more.

Check out Dr. Miller’s book, The Microcosm Within: Evolution and Extinction in the Hologenome, and visit his website at http://www.themicrocosmwithin.com/.

Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

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September 30, 2020

It’s Mutual: Viruses and Immune System Adaptations with Nils G. Walter

Returning guest Nils G. Walter examines RNA molecules from every possible angle, literally and metaphorically. His lab at the University of Michigan brings multidisciplinary minds together to discover what RNA research may offer the medical community.

Listeners are in for expert assessments on

Why multiple molecular players lead to such divergence in viral structure and functions;
How viral spread is simply evolution on a molecular level, retaining mutations that lead to success; and
What’s an “interactome” and what does this concept have to do with the movie Avatar.

Nils G. Walter is a professor of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry at the University of Michigan. Early in his career he mentored with Nobel Laureate Manfred Eigen, who developed the quasispecies theory, a way to understand how molecules in the precellular RNA world evolved into more complex life forms. This experience underpins much of his present work as well as how he answers Richard’s questions.

For example, when Richard asks about the viral-like qualities of ribosomes and plasmids, Dr. Walter describes his work with the ARC protein, which his lab is studying. He describes its action sequence and adds that it is highly related to retroviral packaging proteins and carries information in our neurons. ARC, he says, has a way to communicate information between cells and reprogram the recipient cell just like a virus does.

In other words, the relatedness of these particles is evident.

Relatedness, in fact, is the name of the game.

He comments that his lifetime of research reveals all of biology as connected—and this is why he is such a fan of Avatar.

A dominate reason for this connection is this exchange of genetic material endemic to viruses, bacteria, and other infectious diseases and basic biological processes. For example, as extracellular vesicles transfer genetic information from one to another, so are there similar means of communication between compounds and molecules as well as environmental impacts (think epigenetics) that all come together to change genotypes.

He shows this in concrete ways as he answers questions about viral agency or cellular “choice” by describing how many factors and interactions lead to different results. Rather than “choice,” he asserts that the molecular environment changes the balance systems to go in new directions.

For more about his work, see his lab’s web page: sites.lsa.umich.edu/walter-lab.

Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

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September 30, 2020

Never Let a Good COVID-19 Crisis Go To Waste: An Eye-Opening Conversation with Pamela Popper

Despite a US moratorium on gain-of-function research on the basis of it being simply too dangerous, Dr. Anthony Fauci continued funding it. If you don’t even know what gain-of-function research is, you’re not alone. In fact, there may even be a reason you don’t know. But this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the information offered up by returning guest, Pamela Popper.

Press play to discover:

How an investigation into the past of current World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Tedros Adhanom, leads to the discovery of a curious reduction of two million people from the Ethiopian census
How the use of public health and the threat of a deadly virus may have been a long-standing consideration as a tool for gaining global control (and how this idea is supported by Bill Gates’ clear intentions to depopulate and implement mandatory global vaccination as a prerequisite for participating in society)
Where this COVID-19 situation may be headed in the near future, and what factors will play an integral role

A Pennsylvania judge recently ruled that the coronavirus-related lockdown provisions are unconstitutional. Will this spur more people in power to take a similar stance? Not long ago, a top virologist and whistleblower who worked in the WHO reference lab told FOX News that the COVID-19 virus was not mutated from bats and did not originate in the wet market, but was engineered and deliberately released from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Will this compel more people to think critically about the narrative they’re being told?

There were three general groups of people when this whole thing started, says Popper, President of Wellness Forum Health:

(1) The people who were immediately frightened and convinced to believe everything they were told by mainstream news outlets;
(2) The people who immediately detected that something was amiss;
(3) And the people who were just simply trying to survive while their governments chose to pull the rug out from beneath them.

And now? Now, exhaustion is setting in—exhaustion over the arbitrary rules that aren’t justified by the data, exhaustion over being robbed of our civil liberties, and exhaustion over the double standards that aren’t hard to find. And now, the only groups gaining in numbers are the second and third.

Tune in for all the details.

For access to Popper’s videos and newsletters, email her at pampopper@msn.com.

Visit https://makeamericansfreeagain.com/ to learn more and stay up-to-date on the Ohio coronavirus-related lawsuits.

Check out https://wellnessforumhealth.com/ for more information about Popper’s company.

Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK