TWiV 218: Monkeys turning valves and pushing buttons

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello , Alan Dove , and Welkin Johnson Vincent, Alan, and Welkin discuss how endogenous retroviruses in mice are held in check by the immune response. Links for this episode: Kuan-Teh Jeang , 54 Resurrection of ERVs (Nature) Toll-like receptors control ERVs (Immunity) Retroviral danger from within (Immunity) Ancient viruses wreak havoc (The Scientist) Letters read on TWiV 218 Weekly Science Picks Welkin - Viruses: Essential Agents of Life ( review at STC ) Alan - Infinity Imagined Vincent - Spaceship built for son Listener Pick of the Week Amanda - Written? Kitten! Kevin - Protein synthesis: An epic (YouTube) Daria - The Baltimore Scheme Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to [email protected]