<description>&lt;p&gt;TWiV reviews lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus seroprevalence among urban pregnant women and newborns in Philadelphia, and a functional translation initiation complex encoded in the genome of giant viruses that drives synthesis of viral structural proteins.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="fluid-width-video-wrapper"&gt;Hosts: &lt;a title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Racaniello"&gt;Vincent Racaniello&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a title="" href= "https://ufrfprofessors.research.ufl.edu/condit-richard/"&gt;Rich Condit&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a title="" href= "https://medschool.umich.edu/profile/879/katherine-spindler"&gt;Kathy Spindler,&lt;/a&gt; and Angela Mingarelli&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;Subscribe (free): &lt;a title= "http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=300973784" href= "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-virology/id1176779065"&gt; Apple Podcasts&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href= "http://twiv.microbeworld.libsynpro.com/twiv"&gt;RSS&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://eepurl.com/Gcw59"&gt;email&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Become a &lt;a href= "https://www.microbe.tv/contribute"&gt;patron&lt;/a&gt; of TWiV!&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3 id="links-for-this-episode" class="wp-block-heading"&gt;Links for this episode&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;ul class="wp-block-list"&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a title="" href="https://www.microbe.tv/contribute"&gt;Support science education &lt;/a&gt;at MicrobeTV&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Positions in Rosenfeld Lab &lt;a title="" href= "https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/RosenfeldA@mlhs.org"&gt;(email)&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a title="" href= "https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/32/3/25-0910_article"&gt;LCMV seroprevalence&lt;/a&gt; among pregnant women (Emerg Inf Dis)&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Giant viruses encode &lt;a title="" href= "https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(26)00055-3?rss=yes"&gt;functional vIF4F&lt;/a&gt; (Cell)&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a title="" href= "https://virology.ws/2019/02/21/ribosomal-proteins-encoded-in-viral-genomes/"&gt; Ribosomal proteins&lt;/a&gt; encoded in viral genomes (virology blog)&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Letters read on TWiV 1301&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Timestamps by &lt;a href= "https://ramseylab.vercel.app/"&gt;Jolene&lt;/a&gt; Ramsey. Thanks!&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;h3 class="wp-block-heading"&gt;Weekly Picks&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Angela&lt;/strong&gt; – "&lt;em&gt;The Song of the Cell"&lt;/em&gt; by Siddhartha Mukherjee.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Kathy&lt;/strong&gt; – &lt;a href= "https://cmns.umd.edu/news-events/news/brantley-hall-umd-scientists-create-smart-underwear-measure-human-flatulence"&gt;Fitbit for farts&lt;/a&gt; (&lt;a href= "https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/smart-underwear-gut-health-human-flatus-atlas-9ffa1bd7?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqch9kkhVod1Vllk0unKf_MLo2cj_Um5mEiaIgGd6rdTVDK2CWxcwE_xZne0l-c%3D&amp;gaa_ts=69a09e9d&amp;gaa_sig=-WmSNX4_gAscnYTtXUUhT1vwtr4lPdutcWlsefly1kHDIINIdfjFU5V8XAScaCx7PFoauGrfalbCfVXx6cheCA%3D%3D"&gt;WSJ&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590137025001268"&gt;1° article&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Rich&lt;/strong&gt; – &lt;a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/25/science/caterpillar-ant-language.html?unlocked_article_code=1.PFA.lQMn.6AJTnKgQbqFy&amp;smid=url-share"&gt;The Password That Lets Caterpillars Hide in an Ant's Lair&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Vincent&lt;/strong&gt; – &lt;a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrophysics_for_People_in_a_Hurry"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Astrophysics for People in a Hurry&lt;/em&gt; by Neil deGrasse Tyson&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3 class="wp-block-heading"&gt;Listener Pick&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Larry&lt;/strong&gt; – &lt;a title="" href= "https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/get-early-start"&gt;Get an early start!&lt;/a&gt; (&lt;a title="" href= "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-04181-w"&gt;primary article&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; Intro music is by &lt;a href= "http://www.ronaldjenkees.com/"&gt;Ronald Jenkees&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

This Week in Virology

Vincent Racaniello

TWiV 1301: Lost in giant virus translation

MAR 1, 2026124 MIN
This Week in Virology

TWiV 1301: Lost in giant virus translation

MAR 1, 2026124 MIN

Description

TWiV reviews lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus seroprevalence among urban pregnant women and newborns in Philadelphia, and a functional translation initiation complex encoded in the genome of giant viruses that drives synthesis of viral structural proteins. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler, and Angela Mingarelli Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Support science education at MicrobeTV Positions in Rosenfeld Lab (email) LCMV seroprevalence among pregnant women (Emerg Inf Dis) Giant viruses encode functional vIF4F (Cell) Ribosomal proteins encoded in viral genomes (virology blog) Letters read on TWiV 1301 Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks! Weekly Picks Angela – "The Song of the Cell" by Siddhartha Mukherjee. Kathy – Fitbit for farts (WSJ and 1° article) Rich – The Password That Lets Caterpillars Hide in an Ant's Lair Vincent – Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson Listener Pick Larry – Get an early start! (primary article) Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected] Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.