307 episodes

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.

This Week in Microbiology Vincent Racaniello

    • Science
    • 4.8 • 493 Ratings

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.

    Spirulina Smoothies

    Spirulina Smoothies

    TWiM discusses the identification of natural products from reconstructed ancient bacterial genomes, and how plant mRNAs move into a fungal pathogen via extracellular vesicles to reduce infection.
    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Petra Levin.
    Become a patron of TWiM.
    Links for this episode Natural products from ancient bacterial genomes (Science) Plant mRNAs move into fungal pathogens (Cell Host Microb) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

    • 52 min
    The Marvel of MAC

    The Marvel of MAC

    TWiM reviews the ongoing cholera outbreak in Africa, and research showing that gut complement induced by the microbiota blocks pathogens and spares commensal bacteria.
    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin and Michele Swanson.
    Become a patron of TWiM.
    Links for this episode Cholera in Southern Africa (Africa CDC) Deadly cholera outbreak in Africa (NY Times) Pediatric cholera in sub-Saharan Africa (Curr Op Ped) Gut complement spares commensals (Cell) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

    • 49 min
    A New blue cheese-Making Fungus

    A New blue cheese-Making Fungus

    TWiM reveals a new population in the blue cheese-making fungus Penicillium roqueforti and identification of a quorum-sensing autoinducer and siderophore in uropathogenic Escherichia coli.
    Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Android, RSS, or by email.
    Become a patron of TWiM.
    Links for this episode New blue cheese-making fungus (Evol Appl) Threat to Camenbert cheese (Guardian) French Cheese Under Threat (CNRS News) Fungadapt project (YouTube) Microbes Make the Cheese (ASM) Yersiniabactin in uropathogenic Escherichia coli (mBio) Public goods and cheating in microbes (Curr Biol) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

    • 57 min
    Can Our Microbiome Break Our Hearts?

    Can Our Microbiome Break Our Hearts?

    TWiM reveals a database of genome sequences of thousands of Mycobaterium tuberculosis, allowing association with resistance phenotypes to 13 antibiotics, and microbe-derived uremic solutes that enhance thrombosis potential in the host.
    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson.
    Become a patron of TWiM.
    Links for this episode M. tuberculosis genomes and antimicrobial resistance (PLoS Biol) The CRyPTIC consortium BashTheBug Zooniverse Microbial solutes enhance thrombosis (mBio) Can our microbiome break our heart? (mBio) Pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (EJIFCC) How Kidneys Work Video (Mayo Clinic) What is a metaorganism? (Zoology) Take the TWiM Listener survey! Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

    • 56 min
    Itching and Scratching and New Antibiotics

    Itching and Scratching and New Antibiotics

    TWiM describes the mechanism for the S. aureus itch and scratch induced skin damage, and discovery of a novel class of antibiotics that targets the lipopolysaccharide transporter.
     
    Become a patron of TWiM.
     
    Links:
    S. aureus drives itch and scratch behavior (Cell)
    Staph scratches its itch (Cell)
    A new class of antibiotics (Nature)
    A new type of antibiotic (Nature)
    Novel antibiotic targets LPS transporter (Nature)
    New antibiotic traps LPS (Nature)
    Macrocyclic peptide drugs (Science)
    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
     

    • 54 min
    Another Year is Microbial

    Another Year is Microbial

    A highly reduced TWiM team presents a study of the use of phage diversity in cell-free DNA to identify bacterial pathogens in human sepsis cases, and the evolution, persistence, and host adaptation of a gonococcal antimicrobial resistance plasmid that emerged in the pre-antibiotic era.
    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Petra Levin
    Become a patron of TWiM.
    Links for this episode Phages identify sepsis pathogens (Nat Micro) Gonococcal AMR plasmid from pre-antibiotic era (PLoS Genetics) Take the TWiM Listener survey!
    Music used on TWiM is by Ronald Jenkees.

    Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv

    • 47 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
493 Ratings

493 Ratings

EvelynDevelyn ,

Amazing. 10/10.

I’m a high schooler who hasn’t really had the chance to make any microbiology classes, but this makes me want to go into the field. Comprehensive enough that you don’t have to be a microbiologist or have some fancy degree to understand what they’re talking about, but they don’t dumb it down which is nice. Great podcast!

ebkp ,

Journal club reimagined

I always think that if this had been what journal club was like, it would have been a lot more fun. Just talking through good papers and good science (without picking apart every figure) and having some laughs. Good times!

Mark4732783 ,

Great podcast very informative!

This is a 10/10 as well as all the podcasts made by the same host, highly recommend.

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