Shows
Matters MicrobialPhollowing Phage in the Gut Microbiome Matters Microbial #121: Phollowing Phage in the Gut Microbiome January 7, 2026 Today Dr. Liz de Ora Ortiz, postdoctoral scholar in the Secor Laboratory at Montana State University, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss a fascinating new technology that allows investigators to follow bacteriophage infections in live animals. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Liz de Ora Ortiz Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode The fascinating and frustrating (for researchers like me) story of Vampirococcus. A Vampirococcus summary for new #Micronauts. An overview of Agrobacterium...
2026-01-0857 minMatters MicrobialBacterial Size, Stress, and Antibiotic Resistance Matters Microbial #112: Bacterial Size, Stress, and Antibiotic Resistance October 17, 2025 Today Dr. Petra Levin, the George and Irene Freiberg Professor of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss her work with bacterial cell size, environmental stress on bacteria, and antibiotic resistance. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Petra Levin Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode An overview of the periplasm, found in Gram negative bacteria. An overview of beta-lactam antibiotics. The field of quantitative microbiology. An overview...
2025-10-171h 04
This Week in MicrobiologyMissing the Company of ElioTWiM pays tribute to Elio Schaechter, former TWiM host, blogger, and microbiologist extraordinaire, then reviews the finding that Archaea produce peptidoglycan hydrolases that kill bacteria - a form of competition. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Petra Levin. Guest Mark O. Martin. Become a patron of TWiM. Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Links for this episode Elio Schaechter (Wikipedia) Elio Schaechter Funeral Service (video) Archaea produce peptidoglycan hydrolases that kill bacteria (PLoS Biol) Take the TWiM L...
2025-08-2959 minMatters MicrobialSnails Farming Bacteria in the Deep Sea Matters Microbial #105: Snails Farming Bacteria in the Deep Sea August 29, 2025 Let's take a deep dive into chemoautotrophy! Today, Dr. Roxanne Beinart, Associate Professor of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss how some marine creatures use bacterial symbioses to provide organic compounds for growth and reproduction. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Roxanne Beinart Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode An appreciation of the late Dr. Moselio (Elio) Schaechter from his friends at the blog "Small...
2025-08-291h 02Matters MicrobialFungi: Cool Friends and Looming FoesToday, the impressive Dr. Arturo Casadevall of Johns Hopkins University will joint #MattersMicrobial to discuss his path in science, how fungi need more study, that some fungi are literally cool, and others a looming threat. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Arturo Casadevall Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode A wonderful remembrance (by multiple authors) of Lynn Margulis, and essays by Elio Schaechter (a friend of Margulis') and James Lake (a colleague). The wonderful Tiny Earth program that uses a CURE type approach to...
2024-01-0558 minThis Week in MicrobiologyMarvels of MicrobiologyOn the occasion of TWiM's 300th episode, we discuss how two college students found a new antibiotic in soil, Barbara Iglewski's passing, and Elio returns for an appearance. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson. Guest: Elio Schaechter Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Barbara Iglewski dies Antimicrobial activity of P. nicotinovorans (MicroPubl Biol) 2 NWTC students found a new antibiotic in soil (Green Bay Press Gazette) ESKAPE bacteria group (Clover) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or r...
2023-12-1739 minMatters MicrobialBacterial fight clubToday Dr. David Baltrus, Associate Professor of Plant Sciences at the University of Arizona, talks with us about how his laboratory studies bacteria that battle one another; the first rule of this fight club is that EVERYONE talks about Microbial Fight Club. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: David Baltrus Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify Become a patron of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode Here is a wonderful and easy to read essay about bacterial predators, including Bdellovibrio, from Scientific American. "2001: A Space Odyssey" remains an important motion picture. The anima...
2023-10-0636 min
Vi Living Resident ArchivesS1E16: Mad About MushroomsIn this episode of Vi Resident Archives, we’re joined by Elio Schaechter, resident from Vi at La Jolla Village, located in La Jolla, California.
Elio shares how a simple request from his wife led him down a path of learning about all things mushrooms to a point of publishing a book on the subject.
2023-06-0202 minThis Week in MicrobiologyA Tick's MealTWiM explains how bacterial symbionts regulate tick blood feeding activity, and the reasons why antibiotics exist. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, and Michael Schmidt Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a Patron of TWiM! Links for this episode: Symbionts help ticks to feed (Cell Host Microbe) Why do antibiotics exist? (mBio) Shorter is still better (J Hosp Med) Shorter vs longer antibiotic courses (J Hosp Med) Francis Tally and tigecycline (Clin Inf Dis) Music used on TWiM is composed and perform...
2022-01-2152 minThis Week in MicrobiologyAn mRNA Vaccine Against TicksTWiM discusses antigenic variation within dengue virus serotypes, and an mRNA vaccine that induces antibodies against tick proteins and prevents transmission of the Lyme disease agent. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michael Schmidt and Michele Swanson Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. Links for this episode: Dengue virus antigenic variation (eLife) mRNA vaccine induces tick resistance (Sci Transl Med) Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@m...
2021-12-1641 minThis Week in MicrobiologyFleaing The PlagueTWiM reveals a study showing that positive interactions among bacteria are far more common than previously thought, and how acquisition of a single gene enabled Yersinia pestis to expand the range of mammalian hosts that sustain flea-borne plague. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michele Swanson, and Michael Schmidt Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a Patron of TWiM! Links for this episode: Positive interactions are common among bacteria (Sci Adv) Expansion of mammal hosts for flea-borne plague (PLoS Path) Hurling fleas (TWiM #8...
2021-11-2152 minThis Week in MicrobiologyEpisymbionts are good for youMark Martin returns to TWiM for a discussion of the observation that Gram's stain does not cross the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane, and suppression of gingival inflammation and bone loss through host modulation caused by episymbiotic Saccharibacteria. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michele Swanson, and Michael Schmidt Guest: Mark O. Martin Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a Patron of TWiM! Links for this episode Gram's stain does not cross cytoplasmic membrane (ACS Chem Biol) Gram stain protocol (pdf) Chemical mechanism...
2021-11-061h 10This Week in MicrobiologyCell growth and cell size with Petra LevinPetra Levin joins TWiM to tell three stories from her laboratory: how starvation induces shrinkage of the bacterial cytoplasm; plasticity of E. coli cell wall and how it influences antibiotic resistance across different environments; and induction of antibiotic resistance by Triclosan. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michele Swanson, and Michael Schmidt Guest: Petra Levin Become a Patron of TWiM! Links for this episode Starvation induces E. coli shrinkage (PNAS) Plasticity of cell wall metabolism and antibiotic resistance (eLife) Triclosan induces antibiotic resistance (Antimicro Agents Chemother) TWiM Listener survey Music u...
2021-10-281h 03This Week in MicrobiologyBorgs Are RealMark Martin returns to TWiM to discuss ways to increase diversity in our field, and the discovery of Borgs, giant extrachromosomal elements with the potential to augment methane oxidation. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michele Swanson, and Michael Schmidt Guest: Mark O. Martin Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a Patron of TWiM! Links for this episode: Unacknowledged privilege (Mol Biol Cell) Black Microbiologists Association Beginner's Guide to Minority Professor Hires (ASM)Academic Career Readiness Assessment (UCSF) Annual Biomed Res Conf...
2021-08-1358 minThis Week in MicrobiologyThe light and dark sides of the fungal worldTWiM presents an episode for mycophiles: how bacteria disarm mushroom pathogens, and the role of the CARD9 protein in protective immunity against pulmonary cryptococcosis. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michael Schmidt and Michele Swanson Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Black in Microbiology How bacteria disarm mushroom pathogens (PNAS) A bacterial battleground (Science) CARD9 needed for fungal defense (mBio) OneHealth: Fungal pathogens (AAM) Image credit Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments...
2020-10-1348 minThis Week in MicrobiologyLag phase is no slouchThe TWiM team explores how delivery of an enzyme into competitor cells leads to synthesis of (p)ppApp, depletion of ATP, deregulation of metabolic pathways, and cell death, and a refinement of our typical view of bacterial lag phase as a period of nonreplication. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, and Michael Schmidt Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Killing competitors by synthesis of (p)ppApp (Nature) Lag phase is a dynamic period (J Bact) Image credit Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and...
2020-09-111h 03This Week in MicrobiologyOne hundred million year old bacteriaThe TWiM team reveals the genetic mysteries of the Dead Sea Scrolls from sequencing of DNA, and 100 million year old living bacteria recovered from marine sediments. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michele Swanson and Michael Schmidt Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Elio's Memoirs Genetic mysteries of Dead Sea Scrolls (Cell) 100 million year old bacteria under the sea (Nat Comm) Image credit Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe...
2020-08-281h 15This Week in MicrobiologyBiosensors in bacteriaMark Martin joins TWiM to describe nano-sized parasitic bacteria that inhabit humans, and the construction of whole-cell biosensors for detecting arsenic in drinking water. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, and Michael Schmidt Guest: Mark O. Martin Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Ultra-small parasitic bacteria in humans (Cell Rep) Arsenic (WHO) Arsenic and drinking water (CDC) Arsenic biosensor in bacteria (Appl Envir Micro) Music used on TWiM is composed and...
2020-07-311h 19This Week in MicrobiologyFrom Mars to the vaginaTWiM reveals that methane-producing bacteria might survive beneath the surface of Mars, and identification of a cytopathogenic toxin in a bacterium associated with preterm birth. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michele Swanson and Michael Schmidt Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Archaea could make methane on Mars (Sci Rep) Cytopathogenic toxin in bacterium associated with preterm birth (J Bact) Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv
2020-07-0343 minThis Week in MicrobiologyCultural transformation and pathogen emergenceA ferret model for infection by SARS-CoV-2, and how Neolithization lead to emergence of a human bacterial pathogen. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michele Swanson and Michael Schmidt Links for this episode: Infection and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in ferrets (Cell Host Micr) Neolithization led to emergence of Salmonella enterica (Nat Ecol Evol) Arnold Demain (Wikipedia) Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv Become a patron of TWiM.
2020-04-1756 minThis Week in MicrobiologyThe Waze of microbesThe Microbial Comrades present the oldest osteosynthesis in history, and how a small molecule produced by stressed bacteria is a warning signal that repels healthy populations to promote their survival. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michele Swanson and Michael Schmidt Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, RSS, or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode P. aeruginosa PQS repels bacteria(J Bact) PQS signaling(J Bact) Letters read on TWiM 210 TWiM Listener survey Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or re...
2019-12-051h 16This Week in MicrobiologyA magnetotactic consortium under the seaThe TWiM team reveals thousands of small novel genes in the human microbiome, and a mutualistic symbiosis between marine protists covered with magnetosome-containing bacteria. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michele Swanson and Michael Schmidt Links for this episode Thousands of small novel genesin human microbiome (Cell) A magnetotactic consortiumunder the sea (Nat Micro) Image credit Letters readon TWiM 203 Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv Become a Patron of TWiM!
2019-08-2258 minThis Week in MicrobiologyThis frass doesn't stinkHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michele Swanson and Michael Schmidt Guest: Julie Wolf Julie joins the TWiM team to reveal how microbiome and gut anatomy of a wood-feeding beetle promotes lignocellulose deconstruction, and bacteria that degrade PET plastic. How wood-feeding beetles deconstruct lignocellulose (PNAS) Meet the Microbiologist hosted by Julie Wolf Bacteria that degrade PET plastic (Micr Res Ann) Microbiology resource of the month (ASM) Morgan Vague's TED talk Pacific garbage patch (Pacific Beach Coal) NOAA marine debris program National Geographic's Planet or Plastic Campaign Image credit Letters read on TWiM 202 Subscribe to T...
2019-08-081h 01This Week in MicrobiologyStandard imperial procedureVincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter How a bacterium helps dengue virus replicate in the mosquito gut, and minicells as a damage disposal mechanism in E. coli. Become a patron of TWiM. Links: Please take the TWiM listener survey Bacteria help dengue virus in mosquito gut (Cell Host Micr) Fungus helps dengue virus in mosquito gut (TWiV 479) Minicells for disposal of damaged goods (mSphere) TWiM Listener survey Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device wi...
2019-02-141h 05This Week in MicrobiologyBy the pulp of their teethThe TWiM team reveals the oldest human plague from 4,900 years ago in Sweden, and engineering E. coli to become an endosymbiont in yeast, modeling the evolution of mitochondria. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, RSS, or by email. Get the entire ASM Podcast Network via our Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Oldest human plague from 4,900 years ago (PNAS) Engineering yeast endosymbionts (PNAS) Letters read on TWiM 191 TWiM Listener survey Se...
2018-12-221h 01This Week in MicrobiologySalmonella BonJoviThe TWiM team considers the state of the world's fungi as revealed by a report from the Kew Royal Botanical Gardens, and how Salmonella loses motility to evade host defenses. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter, and Michele Swanson Take our listener survey. Thanks! asm.org/twimpoll Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a Patron of TWiM! Links for this episode: Subscribe to MicrobeTV on YouTube State of the...
2018-11-161h 11This Week in MicrobiologyRounding up the beesThe TWiM people reveal that phages must cooperate to overcome CRISPR-Cas defenses, and the effect of the herbicide glyphosate on the gut microbiome of honey bees. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a Patron of TWiM! Links for this episode: Phages Cooperate to Overcome CRISPR-Cas Immunity (Cell) Glyphosate perturbs gut microbiota of honey bees (PNAS) Letters read on TWiM 187
2018-10-191h 06This Week in MicrobiologyCorals are sexy with Christina KelloggThe TWiM team travels to ASM Microbe 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia to speak with Christina Kellogg about her career and her research on coral microbial ecology. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter and Michele Swanson Guest: Christina Kellogg Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a Patron of TWiM! Links for this episode: Christina Kellogg on twitter Coral microbial ecology Coral reef ecosystem studies Connectivity of vulnerable reefs Music used on TWiM...
2018-06-151h 04This Week in MicrobiologyMicrobial sibling conflictThe TWiM team discuss bacteriophage evolution in a dairy plant, and killing of less fit cells among social microbes. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode A decade of phage evolution (Appl Env Micr) Animation of phage infection (Vimeo) Double agar assay for phage (Dairy Science) Sibling conflict among social bacteria (mBio) Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ron...
2018-06-0154 minThis Week in MicrobiologyElio has lots of colanic acidVincent, Michael and Elio note the passing of Stanley Falkow, give E. coli an archaeal membrane, and show how the microbiome can make worms live longer. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Fecal transplants in the good old days (STC) Stanley Falkow, 84 Loss of an old army buddy (STC) Giving E. coli an archaeal me...
2018-05-1859 minThis Week in MicrobiologyA Gathering Typhoid StormThe TWiMsters explain why untreatable typhoid fever might be on the way, and the evolution of fungal virulence in tropical frogs. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Extensively drug resistant Salmonella typhi (mBio) A Gathering Storm (mBio) Typhoid vaccine recommendations (CDC) Changes in dynamics of frog fu...
2018-04-191h 02This Week in MicrobiologyGee whiz in styleThe Masters of the Microbiological Universe discuss the humongouest fungus, and a commensal bacterium that protects against skin neoplasia. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Fertile prototaxites (Proc Royal Soc B) The humongousest fungus (STC) Commensal Staphylococcus protects against skin cancer (Sci Adv) Letters re...
2018-03-3058 minThis Week in MicrobiologyUnfolding relaxases and soil malacidinsThe TWiMmers discuss culture-independent discovery of malacidin antibiotics, and unfolding of relaxase during bacterial conjugation. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Malacidins from soils (Nat Micro) Excellent antibiotic resistance threat report (CDC, pdf) Jo Handelsman on Women's History Month (CBS) Unfolding relaxase during bacterial co...
2018-03-151h 13This Week in MicrobiologyIf you give a bee a fungusThe TWiM team explores a stingless bee that requires a fungal steroid to pupate, and colonic biofilms containing tumorigenic bacteria in patients with colorectal polyps. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Bee larvae require fungal steroid to pupate (Sci Rep) Biofilm refuge for tumorigenic bacteria (Science) Letters read on TW...
2018-02-221h 00This Week in MicrobiologyRats, lice, and nanoparticlesThe TWiM team reveals that spread of plague was likely by human ectoparasites, not rats, and deconstruct a durable, broadly protective protein nanoparticle influenza virus vaccine. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Ectoparasites and plague (PNAS) SIR model for spread of disease (MAA) Protein nanoparticle flu vaccines (Nat Commun) Food washing (USDA) Image credit Letters read on TWiM 170 Send your microbiology questions and co...
2018-02-0855 minThis Week in MicrobiologyBreatharian BacteriaThe cast of TWiM reveals how uropathogenic E. coli use a copper-binding protein to treat copper as a nutrient or a toxin, and Antarctic soil bacteria that survive on trace atmospheric gases. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Copper import in E. coli (Nat Chem Biol) Conversion of OD...
2018-01-241h 02This Week in MicrobiologyDark fermentationVincent and Elio discuss the reason for poor efficacy of one of the influenza virus vaccines, and using a hyperthermophilic anaerobe to produce hydrogen from fruit and vegetable wastes in seawater. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the ASM Podcast app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Glycosylation site on influenza H3N2 viruses (PNAS) Biohydrogen production by Thermotoga (Waste Man)...
2017-12-0751 minThis Week in MicrobiologyPumping CopperThe TWiM team discusses the use of copper on exercise weights to reduce bacterial burden, and the mechanism of antigenic variation by which a fungus that causes severe pneumonia escapes the immune system. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson Links for this episode: Reducing bacteria on exercise weights with copper (Am J Inf Contr) Antigenic variation in Pneumocystis jirovecii (mBio) Letters read on TWiM 165
2017-11-301h 03This Week in MicrobiologyIntracellular bacteria with flagellaThe TWiM hosts and associated microbiomes review a fungus destroying salamanders in Europe, and genes for flagella in intracellular bacteria. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Fungus killing fire salamanders (Nature) Chlamydia with flagella (ISME J) Flagellar movement in rickettsia (PLoS One) Image credit...
2017-10-1352 minThis Week in MicrobiologyEros, a bacterial aphrodisiacFrom the TWiM team, a discussion of Hurricane Harvey microbiology, and a bacterial enzyme that induces eukaryotic mating. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Tainted Houston floodwaters (NYTimes) Peter Hotez on TWiP 29 FAQ: Microbiology of Built Environments, American Academy of Microbiology Microbiomes of the Built...
2017-09-2255 minThis Week in MicrobiologyThe bottom lineThe TWiM team considers a report on prokaryotic viral DNA in mammalian brain, and how diarrhea is beneficial, by clearing enteric pathogens. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Prokaryotic viral sequence in the brain (PNAS) Diarrhea clears enteric pathogens (Cell Host Microbe) Tight junction biology (Turner La...
2017-08-101h 05This Week in MicrobiologyBack to the ancestorThe TWiMbionts explore the role of bacteria in the genesis of moonmilk, and how ancient host proteins can be used to engineer resistance to virus infection. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Role of Streptomyces in moonmilk (bioRxiv) TWiM 51: Cave science with Hazel Barton Moonmilk (Wikipedia) Ancient proteins fo...
2017-07-2756 minThis Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #156: Gifted microbes and defensive symbiosisThe TWiM team explains the use of microbial genome mining to identify new drugs, and how a bacterial symbiont protects flies against parasitoid wasps. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Molecular beacons identify gifted microbes (J Antibiot) Defensive symbiosis (PLoS Path) Letters read on TWiM 156 Im...
2017-07-1357 minThis Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #155: Living in the stomach of a cellMichele updates the TWiMers on Legionella in the Flint water supply, and Elio informs us about how horizontally acquired biosynthesis genes boost the physiology of Coxiella burnetii. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Legionella in Flint water (The Scientist) Q fever with Robert Heinzen (TWiM Special) Ho...
2017-06-3057 min
MicrobeWorld Video (audio only)MWV 111 (audio only) TWiM live at Microbe: Rigor, lotteries, and moonshotsAt Microbe 2017 in New Orleans, the TWiM team speaks with Arturo Casadevall about his thoughts on the pathogenic potential of a microbe, rigorous science, funding by lottery, and moonshot science. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter and Michele Swanson. Guest: Arturo Casadevall Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Pathogenic potential of a microbe (mSphere) Rigorous science (mBio)
2017-06-211h 16
MicrobeWorld Video HDMWV 111 - TWiM live at Microbe 2017: Rigor, lotteries, and moonshotsAt Microbe 2017 in New Orleans, the TWiM team speaks with Arturo Casadevall about his thoughts on the pathogenic potential of a microbe, rigorous science, funding by lottery, and moonshot science. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter and Michele Swanson. Guest: Arturo Casadevall Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Pathogenic potential of a microbe (mSphere) Rigorous science (mBio)
2017-06-211h 16This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #154: Rigor, lotteries, and moonshotsAt Microbe 2017 in New Orleans, the TWiM team speaks with Arturo Casadevall about his thoughts on the pathogenic potential of a microbe, rigorous science, funding by lottery, and moonshot science. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter. Watch the video version recorded live at ASM Microbe 2017! Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Pathogenic potential of a mi...
2017-06-151h 14This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #153: Covert pathogenesisThe TWiM team ventures into preprint space with an analysis of type VI secretion across human gut microbiomes, and provide insight into urinary tract infection: how bladder exposure to a member of the vaginal microbiota triggers E. coli egress from latent reservoirs. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode ASM Mi...
2017-05-3057 minThis Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #152: Wooden stepsThe TWiMmers get cozy with symbionts: the bacteria that allow a giant shipworm to oxidize sulfur, and algae that live within salamander cells. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode ASM Microbe 2017 Chemoautotrophic symbiosis in giant shipworm (PNAS) There's gold in them hills (TWiM 97) Vertebrate-algal symbiosis (eL...
2017-05-1951 minThis Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #151: Bat and moth antimicrobialsThe TWiMsters discuss potential new sources of antimicrobial compounds from unusual places: the skin of bats and the intestines of moths. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter, and Michele Swanson. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode JMBE science communication issue Bat sources of novel antifungals (AEM) White nose syndrome in US (jpg) White nos...
2017-05-0459 minThis Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #150: Microbiology is where it's atIn recognition of National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, Robin Patel speaks with the TWiM team about directing a clinical bacteriology laboratory, and how an observation made by a laboratory technologist lead to the finding that Ureaplasma species can cause a system metabolic disturbance, hyperammonemia. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson Guest: Robin Patel Links for this episode: National Laboratory Professionals Week Mayo Clinic Clinical Microbiology Laboratory Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Mayo Clinic Murine model of Ureaplasma hyperammonemia (Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis) Ureaplasma and human hyperammonemia (Sci Transl...
2017-04-211h 01This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #149: You're going to learn RThe TWiM team speaks with Pat Schloss about assigning sequence data to operational taxonomic units, and his experience with mSphere Direct, a new way of submitting papers for publication. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter, and Michele Swanson. Special guest: Pat Schloss Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Schloss Laboratory OptiClust (mSphere) This episode is brought to...
2017-04-061h 02This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #148: Neanderthal DentistryVincent, Elio, and Michael reveal what Neanderthals ate from analysis of DNA in their teeth, and new CRISPR-Cas systems found in the genomes of uncultured microbes. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, and Michael Schmidt. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Ancient DNA in Neanderthal teeth (Nature) New CRISPRs from metagenomics (Nature) CRISPR/cas explained (Wikipedia) ASM Conference for Undergraduate Educators Image credit Letters read o...
2017-03-2355 min
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #147: The Public Goods DilemmaThe TWiM hosts reveal why phosphorus is essential for fungal brain disease, and how bacteria kill local competitors to favor the evolution of public goods cooperation. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michele Swanson, Michael Schmidt, and Elio Schaechter. Links for this episode Phosphate needed for Cryptococcus brain disease (mSphere) Type VI killing drives phase separation (Nat Rep) Type VI secretion review (Phil Trans Roy Soc) Microbial cooperation and conflict (TedX) Image credit Letters read on TWiM 147 Become a patron of TWiM. T...
2017-03-101h 06This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #146: Viral arbitriumVincent, Elio and Michael discuss the finding of a prion in bacteria, and how communication between bacteria guides the decision between lysis and lysogeny. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode ASM 2017 Election is Open! VOTE HERE Prions in bacteria (Science) Communication guides lysis-lysogeny decisions (Nature) This episode is brought to you by Blue Ap...
2017-02-2353 min
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #144: Did eukaryotes invent anything?The TWiMers discuss how changes in domestic laundering affect the removal of microorganisms, and assembly of a nucleus-like structure during viral replication in bacteria. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter, and Michele Swanson. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Laundry hygiene (J Appl Micro) Nucleus-like structure in infected bacteria (Science) Video of nucleus assembly in bacteria (YouTube) Image credit Letters read on...
2017-01-261h 06This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #142: A membrane-thickness caliperVincent, Elio and Michele wind up a year of microbial podcasts with a story about the lack of resistance to a crop antifungal compound, and how a bacterium uses a molecular caliper to measure membrane thickness. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, and Michele Swanson. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode Phenylpyrroles: Nearly no resistance (Front Micro) Membrane-thickness caliper (J Bact) Letters read on TWiM 142 Th...
2016-12-2958 minThis Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #141: Nutritional immunity and polymicrobial infectionsJennifer joins Vincent, Elio, and Michael to talk about the work of her laboratory on how a respiratory virus enhances bacterial growth by dysregulating nutritional immunity. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, and Michael Schmidt. Guest: Jennifer Bomberger Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode Virus dysregulation of nutritional immunity (PNAS) Podcast article mentioned by Michael Compromised defenses (PLoS Path) This episode is...
2016-12-161h 05This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #139: Frackibacter and sticky fingersThe TWiM team discusses microbial DNA found on ATM machines in New York City, and how hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, alters microbial ecosystems deep in the Earth. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter, and Michele Swanson. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode Microbial DNA on ATM machines in NYC (mSphere) NYC OpenData Altering deep microbial ecosystems by fracking (Nat Micro) Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory Chemicals used for...
2016-11-181h 11This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #138: Learning to love uranium and the A-baumThe TWiM team brings you a bacterium from a Colorado field site that grows on uranium, and copper resistance in the emerging pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter, and Michele Swanson. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode Kavli Microbiome Ideas Challenge Uranium-respiring bacterium from a field site (PLoS One) Acid mine drainage (Wikipedia) Copper resistance of Acinetobacter baumannii ASM Grant Writing Online Course TWiM #132: Bacteria lea...
2016-11-031h 02This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #137: The battle for oxygenHighlights of the Recent Advances in Microbial Control meeting in San Diego, and expansion of a gut pathogen by virulence factors that stimulate aerobic respiration. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode Fred Neidhardt obituary Recent Advances in Microbial Control Science hero Bill Fenical Virulence factors and aerobic respiration (Science) Image credit Letters read on TWiM 137 This episode is brought to yo...
2016-10-201h 08
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #136: Diderms and then monodermsThem TWiM team discusses the importance of neutrophils in microbial infections, and evidence that ancient bacteria had two cell walls. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode Conquering neutrophils (PLoS Path) Ancestral outer membrane in firmicutes (eLife ) Were gram positive rods the first bacteria? (Cell) Image credit Letters read on TWiM 136 This episode is brought to you by CuriosityStream, a subscription st...
2016-10-0748 min
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #134: Lipids that live foreverDesign of a synchronously lysing bacterium for delivery of anti-tumor molecules in mice, and hopanoids, the lipids that live forever, brought to you by the four Microbies of TWiM. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode Bacterial lysis for in vivo delivery (Nature) Coley's toxins (Iowa Orthop J) Hopanoids, stress tolerance, and nutrient storage (Geobiol) Lipids that last forever (STC) Fattening up m...
2016-09-081h 04
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #133: Right under our nosesInsight into the biology of rhinovirus C from cryo-electron microscopy, and a novel antibiotic from a commensal bacterium that grows in the human nose, from the doctors of TWiM. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, and Michael Schmidt. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode Cryo-EM of viruses and vaccine design (PNAS) Atomic structure of rhinovirus C (PNAS) Opening windows into the cell (STC) Human commensals produce novel antibiotic (Nature) The nose knows (N...
2016-08-201h 01
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #132: Bacteria learn long divisionVincent, Elio, and Michele present cell division by longitudinal scission in an insect symbiont, and thermally activated charge transport in microbial nanowires. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode Cell division by longitudinal scission (mBio) Bacterium learns long division (STC) Charge transport by microbial nanowires (Sci Rep) Mechanism of nanowire conductance (Nat Comm) Using nature to grow batteries (TED) SEM of Y-shaped S. poulsonii (ab...
2016-08-0657 min
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #128: A moonlighting phage proteinA eukaryote without a mitochondrion, and using a phage enzyme to eliminate intracellular bacteria are two topics discussed by the TWiMers on this episode. Image (right): An entry in the ASM Agar Art Contest which bears an uncanny resemblance to one of the TWiM hosts. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michele Swanson, and Michael Schmidt. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode Copper and Michael Schmidt in the news (The Sc...
2016-05-211h 17
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #127: Subway Snowblowers and Men in BlackThe TWiM team explores microbes in snowblower vents on the ocean floor, and cleavage of antibody molecules by a Mycoplasma protease. Image (right): Photograph of the 'Subway' snowblower vent on the sea floor at Axial Seamount, Juan de Fuca Ridge. Visible are white 'snow' in the vent and orange floc on the seafloor. Credit: Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility and the University of Washington Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michele Swanson, and Michael Schmidt. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile d...
2016-05-0554 min
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #123: A microbial MAGEHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Elio Schaechter.
Guest: Harris Wang
Harris joins Vincent, Elio, and Michael to describe multiplex automated genome engineering, a method for targeting many modifications in a population of bacterial cells.
Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app.
Links for this episode
MAGE - Multiplex automated genome engineering (Nature)
Genome-scale promoter engineering (Nat Methods)
Manipulating microbial communities in situ (Trends Genet)
Engineering human microbiomes (Meth Mol Biol)
Genome-scale engineering (Mol...
2016-03-091h 15
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #120: Snakes in troubleHosts: Vincent Racaniello and Elio Schaechter.
Vincent and Elio marvel in the finding that a phage tail-like structure from a marine bacterium stimulates tubeworm metamorphosis, and reveal Ophidiomyces as a cause of snake fungal disease.
Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app.
Links for this episode
Tubeworm metamorphosis by phage tail-like structures (Science)
Cell enzyme becomes viral capsid protein (virology blog)
Snake fungal disease in the laboratory (mBioi)
Snake fungal disease in cottonmouths (PLoS Biol)
Sna...
2016-02-0249 min
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #119: Power of oneHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Elio Schaechter.
The microbophiles investigate the ratio of bacterial to human cells in our bodies, and how placing solar panels on a bacterium enables it to carry out photosynthesis.
Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app.
Links for this episode
Revised estimates of human and bacterial cells in the body (biorxiv)
Power of ten (Small Things Considered)
Solar-to-chemical production in bacteria (Science)
Letters read on TWiM 119
This episode is...
2016-01-161h 03
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #118: Spore-drops keep fallin' on my headHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter and Michele Swanson
On the last episode for 2015, Vincent, Elio, and Michele discuss how soil amoeba hunt nematodes in packs, and the role of mushrooms as rainmakers.
Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app.
Links for this episode
Pack hunting by a common soil amoeba on nematodes (Environ Micro)
Mushrooms as rainmakers (PLoS One)
Mushroom by Nicholas Money
In the Company of Mushrooms by Elio Schaechter
Image credit
Letters read on T...
2016-01-011h 05
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #116: Chewates and coconutsHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter and Michele Swanson
The TWiMeriti reveal a Brazilian social bee that must cultivate a fungus to survive, and diet-mediated reduction in gut colonization by Candida albicans.
Links for this episode
Bee cultivates fungus to survive (Curr Biol)
Diet reduces C. albicans gut colonization (mSphere)
mSphere, a new open-access ASM journal
Image credit
Letters read on TWiM 116
This episode is sponsored by ASM Biodefense and the 32nd Clinical Virology Symposium.
Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.
Send your microb...
2015-12-021h 00This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #111: Ancientbiotics and modernbioticsHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Elio Schaechter.
The TWiMitos discuss the reconstruction of a 1,000-year-old antimicrobial remedy, and using gallium as an antimicrobial in the battle for iron.
Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app.
Links for this episode
1,000 year old antimicrobial (mBio)
Siderophore quenching with gallium (Evol Med Pub Health)
Evolutionary dynamics of public goods (J Evol Biol)
Image credit
Letters read on TWiM 111
Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by...
2015-09-1059 min
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #108: Vaccine in the time of choleraHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter and Michele Swanson. The professors of TWiM discuss a University of Wisconsin plan for rescuing biomedical research in the US, and results of a clinical trial in Bangladesh of an oral cholera vaccine. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode Rescuing biomedical research (eLife) Rethinking graduate and postdoc education (iBiology) Oral cholera vaccine trial (Lancet) Inexpensive cholera vaccine (NYTimes)
2015-07-231h 12
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #104: Feed me polyamines, biofilmHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter and Michele Swanson. The TWiM team discusses how measles vaccination protects against other infectious diseases, and links between bacterial biofilms and colon cancer. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode Measles vaccination prevents all-cause infectious disease (Science) Master of contagion (The Loom) Video: Measles incidence to immunomodulation (Science) FAQ: Adult vaccines Metabolism links biofilms and colon cancer (Cell...
2015-05-211h 03
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #103: The battle for ironHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter and Michele Swanson. The TWiM team is amazed by the ocelloid, and an evolutionary battle for iron between mammalian transferrin and bacterial transferrin-binding protein. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode A unicellular camera-type eye structure (PLoS One) Escape from iron piracy (Science) Iron in infection and immunity (Cell Host Micr) Nutritional immunity (Nat Rev Micro)
2015-05-081h 05
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #102: Happiness is the spore-formers in your gutHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter and Michele Swanson. The TWiM team discusses evidence that serotonin synthesis is regulated by spore-forming members of the gut microbiota. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, via RSS feed, by email or listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode When antibiotic resistance in vitro falls short (STC) Gut microbiota control serotonin in mice (Cell) Serotonin biosynthesis (Wikipedia) Microbial endocrinology (STC) Image credit
2015-04-2457 min
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #101: The MRSA in your homeHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter and Michele Swanson. The TWiMers discuss how aroma helps disperse yeast cells on insect vectors, and evidence that MRSA is transmitted within households. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, via RSS feed, by email or listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode Aroma promotes yeast dispersal on flies (Cell Rep) MRSA is transmitted within households (mBio) FAQ: The threat of MRSA (AAM) Image credit
2015-04-021h 14
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #100: Omnis cellula e cellulaHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter and Jo Handelsman. The TWiM team celebrates 100 episodes with a Talmudic question, and discussion of how a single mutation alters bacterial host tropism. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, via RSS feed, by email or listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode A single mutation alters bacterial tropism (Nat Gen) Talmudic question #104 (Small Things Considered) Principles of Microbial Diversity (ASM Press) Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education Letters read on TWiM 100 Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or mp3 file...
2015-03-1850 min
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #86: Blurring the line between organelle and endosymbiontHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter and Michele Swanson. Vincent, Elio, Michael, and Michele consider whether our eating behavior is manipulated by gastrointestinal microbiota, and an aphid gene of bacterial origin whose gene product encodes a protein that is transported to an obligate endosymbiont. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, via RSS feed, by email or listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode National Biosafety Stewardship month Aphid gene of bacterial origin (Curr Biol) Eroding symbiont/organelle distinction (Curr Biol) Is our eating manipulated by our microbiota...
2014-09-031h 12
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #82: Betrayal and compromiseHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter and Michele Swanson. Vincent, Michael, Elio and Michele discuss how an endosymbiont betrays its aphid host to alert plant defenses, and a new immunosuppressive cell that allows infection of neonates. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes, via RSS feed, by email or listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode Endosymbiont protein betrays aphid (PNAS) Plant immune system (Nature)
2014-07-101h 11This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #80: Hurling fleas and designer chromosomesHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, and Michele Swanson.
Vincent, Elio, and Michele discuss how to synthesize a designer yeast chromosome, and deciphering the genetic changes path that allowed Yersinia pestis to be transmitted by fleas.
Links for this episode:
Total synthesis of a yeast chromosome (Science)
Evolution of Y. pestis to flea-borne transmission (Cell Host Micr)
Proventricular valve (Wikipedia)
Image: flea with Y. pestis proventricular mass
Letters read on TWiM 80
Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twim@twiv.tv, or call them in to 908-312-0760. You can also...
2014-06-1154 min
This Week in MicrobiologyTWiM #34: Doing the DISCO with EmilianiaHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Elio Schaechter
Vincent, Michael, and Elio discuss changing populations of Emiliania huxleyi and their viruses in the North and Black Seas.
Right click to download TWiM #34 (50 MB .mp3, 69 minutes).
Links for this episode:
The protist wonderland (Microbe)
Emiliania huxleyi home page
DISCO in the North Sea (FEMS Microbiol Ecol)
7000 years of Emiliania huxleyi in the Black Sea (Science)
Cheshire cat escape by Emiliania huxleyi (PNAS)
Letters read on TWiM 34
2012-06-041h 08
Meet the MicrobiologistMTS14 - Moselio Schaechter - Successful Science Blogging and Hunting MushroomsMoselio Schaechter – known as Elio to his friends – is Distinguished Professor of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Emeritus, at the Tufts University School of Medicine, and he’s currently an adjunct professor at San Diego State University and at the University of California at San Diego. Dr. Schaechter has had a long career in bacteriology and has authored or co-authored a number of text books, and is a former president of the American Society for Microbiology. He lives in sunny San Diego now, where he lectures, attends meetings, and writes his blog, “Small Things Considered”.
If you want an example...
2009-01-0716 min