TWiV #78 - Darwin gets weird

On episode #78 of the podcast This Week in Virology , Vincent, Alan, Dickson, and Rich talk about treating arthritis with a tanapox virus protein, Darwinian evolution of prions in cell culture, and the connection between cold weather fronts and outbreaks of avian H5N1 influenza in Europe. Host links Vincent Racaniello , Alan Dove , Dickson Despommier , and Rich Condit Links for this episode: Treating arthritis with a tanapox virus protein that antagonizes TNF ( press release and research article ) Darwinian evolution of prions in cell culture ( abstract ) Simple diagram of prion propagation ( Wikipedia ) Thoughts on the pursuit of success in science by Charles Weissmann Cold fronts linked to European H5N1 outbreaks ( PLoS Pathogens ) Simon Singh's website and letter of support (thanks, Mary!) The importance of stupidity in scientific research (thanks, Mary!) Sustainable energy - without the hot air (thanks, Bernhard!) World Community Grid (thanks Dave!) Pre-order The Vertical Farm by Dickson Despommier Letters read on TWiV 78 Weekly science picks: Dickson Medical News Today: Infectious Diseases and Eaarth by Bill McKibben Rich U can with Beakman and Jax by Jok Church Alan UnderwaterTimes Vincent The Reef Tank