Episodios

  • 329: Bacteria Hunt With Grappling Hooks
    Mar 17 2025

    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.

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    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 predation by ixotrophy (Science)
    • Enter the pirates (STC)
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    54 m
  • 328: Capturing Shigella With Filopodia
    Feb 28 2025

    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.

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    Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

    Links for this episode
    • National Black HIV/AIDS awareness day (CDC)
    • Shigella infection and human enteric alpha-defensin 5 (Nature Microbio)
    • RNA polymerase amino acid change and resistance to beta-lactams (Cell Rep)
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    47 m
  • 327: Freezing and Anti-Freezing With Bacteria
    Feb 6 2025

    TWiM explains the remarkable abilities of bacterial ice nucleating proteins to promote freezing of water, and cryoprotective proteins produced by worm microbiomes that prevent freezing.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin 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
    • Worm microbiomes produce crytoprotective proteins (Sci Adv)
    • Biological antifreeze in Antarctic fishes (Sciece)
    • Enhancement of bacterial ice nucleators (PNAS)
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    52 m
  • 326: I Have One Word For You: PETase!
    Jan 24 2025

    TWiM explores the discovery of microbial enzymes, PETases, that can degrade ubiquitous plastics, and how exogenous peptidoglycan is a danger signal to trigger biofilm formation.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson.

    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
    • Discovery of PET depolymerases (Science)
    • Exogenous peptidoglycan triggers biofilm formation (Nat Micro)
    • What is a biofilm? (Vimeo)
    • Peptidoglycan as a PAMP/MAMP (Immunol Rev)
    • Light organ formation triggered by peptidoglycan (Science)
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    53 m
  • 325: Microbes Making Methane
    Jan 10 2025

    TWiM reveals that record high atmospheric methane growth has been driven by microbes, and the cecum as an adaptive niche for Salmonella typhi.

    Hosts: Michael Schmidt, Petra Levin 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
    • Why a potent greenhouse gas is rising (WaPo)
    • Microbial emissions drove record high atmospheric methane growth (PNAS)
    • Salmonella biofilm formation in the cecum (mBio)
    • Typhoid Mary (The Collector)
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    42 m
  • 324: Back To School for TWiM
    Dec 27 2024

    From ASMCUE 2024, the conference on undergraduate education, TWiM speaks with Becky, Melanie, and Katriana about their careers and how they use TWiM in undergraduate microbiology education.

    Hosts: Michael Schmidt and Mark O. Martin

    Guests: Becky Seipel-Thiemann, Melanie Melendrez-Vallard, and Katriana Popichak

    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 used with permission.

    Links for this episode
    • Take the TWiM Listener survey!

    Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

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    1 h y 2 m
  • 323: Better Concrete With Microbes
    Dec 13 2024

    TWiM describes how to make concrete more ‘green’ by using microbes, and bacterial bioluminescence as an important regulator of multitrophic interactions in the soil.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and and Mark O. Martin.

    Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RSS, or by email.

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    Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

    Links for this episode
    • Construction nanobiotechnology for concrete (Appl Env Micro)
    • Self-healing concrete (Sci Tot Environ)
    • Microbe-inspired self-healing concrete (Front Struct Civil Eng)
    • Bacterial bioluminescence regulates multitrophic interactions in the soil (Cell Rep)
    • Take the TWiM Listener survey!

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    1 h
  • 322: Photohydrolysis Decontamination Reduces Healthcare-associated Infections
    Nov 22 2024

    TWiM explains how ticagrelor alters the membrane of S. aureus and enhances the activity of vancomycin and daptomycin without eliciting cross-resistance, and the development of a novel continuous disinfectant technology that decreases healthcare-associated infections in ICUs by 70%.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson.

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    Links for this episode
    • Ticagrelor and S. aureus (mBio)
    • Novel disinfectant technology (Am J Inf Control)
    • UVC-LED to inactivate foodborne pathogens (Appl Envir Micro)
    • UV disinfection systems (ACS Photonics)
    • High-touch surfaces in specialized patient care area (CDC)
    • Take the TWiM Listener survey!

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    58 m