TWiV 1341: Phage breaks and COVID origins

TWiV 1341: Phage breaks and COVID origins

July 19, 2026 · 1h 40m · Episode 1341

About this episode

The episode discusses the dual activity of a phage-encoded lysin and refutes a proposed link between SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-coronavirus.

TWiV explains research that reveals dual activity of a phage-encoded lysin that modulates infection dynamics in a mycobacteriophage, and refutes a proposed link between the SARS-CoV-2 furin cleavage site and mouse-adapted MERS-coronavirus MA30. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Kathy Spindler, Angela Mingarelli, and Jolene Ramsey Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Support science education at MicrobeTV Positions in Rosenfeld Lab (email) Dual activity of phage-encoded lysin (mBio) Furin cleavage site and SARS-CoV-2 origins (PNAS) Theories on SARS-CoV-2 origins (CR Biol) Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks! Picks of the Week Angela – Pigeons. An underappreciated animal. Superparamagnetic macrophages, cancer detectors, mirror mark test Kathy – Wednesday’s APOD and Graphene Jolene – Microbial Puppet Masters science exhibit, 3D-models linked in their paper Vincent – Beyond Inheritance by Roxanne Khamsi (TWiEVO 126) Listener Pick Lana – The Episodic Table of Elements Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

More episodes of This Week in Virology

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the This Week in Virology podcast page.