TWiV 478: A pox on your horse

The TWiV team explains how infectious horsepox virus - likely the ancestor of smallpox vaccines - was recovered from chemically synthesized DNA fragments. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Kathy Spindler Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode ASV 2018: asv.org, asv2018.umd.edu Potential Zika virus related birth defects, USA (MMWR) Bordering on an outbreak (Tex Obs) Horsepox virus from synthesized DNA (PLoS One) Horsepox based smallpox vaccine (NEJM) Has horsepox become extinct? (Vet Rec) Evolutionary path of smallpox vaccines (Lancet Inf Dis) Equination (Vaccine) Image credit Letters read on TWiV 478 Weekly Science Picks Kathy - UM EEB photo contest Rich - Dino-Lite digital microscope and digital microscope camera Dickson - Sandford Photography Alan - A list of female virologists Vincent - Virology Lectures 2018 Listener Picks Andrew - Interferome Neva - The Untreatable by Gavin Francis Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees. Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]