This Week in Microbiology
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.
Episodes
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TWiM explains a biological mechanism that links sulfur and iron cycling in anoxic environments, and "swashing," a form of surface movement in which bacteria migrate without active propulsion.
Hosts: Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson, and Petra Levin
Guest: Mark O. Martin
Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, RSS, or by email.
Links for this episode
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TWiM explains studies that show that the oral bacterial and fungal microbiome are risk factors for pancreatic cancer, and the gut microbiome and pyruvate metabolism of older adults are a link between sleep quality and frailty.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson.
Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Android, RSS, or by email.
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TWiM 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.
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Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permis...
TWiM discusses outbreak of Legionnaires disease in Harlem NY, an automated whole genome sequencing platform for bacterial strain typing in clinical microbiology laboratories, building E. coli with a 57-codon genetic code.
Links for this episode
- Legionnaires' disease outbreak in NY (NY Health) Read more
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TWiM explains two strategies for bacterial competition for resources: by laying down a slippery lipid and pushing away competitors, or by breaking open cells with a spike, liberating essential nutrients.
TWiM describes how microbiological analysis of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn has revealed an antimicrobial resistance reservoir and bioremediation potential, and fungicide resistance in Fusarium graminearum, the fungus recently smuggled into the US.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Petra Levin.
Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Android, RSS, or by email.
Become a patron of TWiM.
TWiM explains how a mutualistic model bacterium can become lethal in a non-symbiotic host, and engineering a kill switch into a tuberculosis vaccine for improved safety.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson.
Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Android, RSS, or by email.
Become a patron of TWiM.
Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and use...
TWiM explains a study of the unique and extreme microbial and chemical environment on the International Space Station, and the connection between the gut microbiome and pain in fibromyalgia.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson.
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Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.
Links for this episode
TWiM describes isolation of a novel bacterial species isolated from the China Space Station, and how a chemical radar allows bacteria to detect and kill predators.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Petra Levin.
Guest Mark O. Martin.
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Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.
Links for this episode
TWiM explains how to recode E. coli so it uses only one stop codon, and an exploration of the mechanisms of bacterial adhesion within dental plaque.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson.
Become a patron of TWiM.
Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.
Links for this episode
- Engineering E. coli with one stop codon (Nat...
TWiM explains Pasteur's relentless hunt for microbes in the air, and how bacteria hunt for prey by ixotrophy - using grappling hooks!
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson.
Become a patron of TWiM.
Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.
Links for this episode
- Pasteur's hunt for microbes in the air (NYTimes)
- Bacterial p...
TWiM describes Shigella infection is facilitated by interaction of human enteric α-defensin 5 with a colonic epithelial receptor, and an amino acid change in RNA polymerase that leads to resistance to β-lactams by preventing dysregulation of amino acid and nucleotide metabolism
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson.
Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Android, RSS, or by email.
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