TWiV 954: Speculating sarbecovirus spillovers with Michael Letko

Michael Letko joins TWiV to discuss his research on understanding cell receptors required for sarbecovirus entry, including an ACE2-dependent isolate from Russian bats that is resistant to vaccine-induced antibodies. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Rich Condit,  Kathy Spindler, and Brianne Barker Guest: Michael Letko Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Support MicrobeTV with a Spike t-shirt (Vaccinated.us) with promo code MicrobeTV Cell entry of SARS-CoV-2 and other sarbecoviruses (Nat Micro) ACE2-dependent sarbecovirus in Russian bats (PLoS Path) Letters read on TWiV 954 Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! Weekly Picks Brianne – Sometimes This Octopus is So Mad it Just Wants to Throw Something or The Cosmic Bat Nebula Kathy – APODs  Jupiter,  Lunar Eclipse Blood Moon, Ice Giant Rich – Mirror-image T7 transcription of chirally inverted ribosomal and functional RNAs (Wiki: Mirror Life) Vincent – The 2022-2023 Respiratory Virus Season Hits Early and Hard: Part 1 Listener Pick Debby – Celebrate Bob McDonald’s 30 years as host of Quirks & Quarks Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]