TWiV 796: The vary hungry spike with Paul and Theodora

Paul and Theodora return to TWiV to explain their research on determining the number of neutralizing epitopes on the SARS-CoV-2 spike that are recognized by antibodies, and engineering of a polymutant spike with twenty amino acid changes that demonstrates the high genetic barrier to escape from convalescent serum. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , Rich Condit , and Brianne Barker Guests: Paul Bieniasz and Theodora Hatiziiouannou Subscribe (free): iTunes , Google Podcasts , RSS , email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode High genetic barrier for SARS-CoV-2 antibody escape (bioRxiv) Enhanced antibody one year after COVID-19 (Nature) Letters read on TWiV 796 Timestamps by Jolene . Thanks! Weekly Picks Dickson – NIF and Photon Science : fusion reaction generates 1.3 MJ Brianne – The PCR Song Rich – 1) How Boston Dynamics' Spot Robot Works! 2) Inside the lab: How does Atlas work? 3) Atlas | Partners in Parkour Theodora – Kevin Parry turning into random objects Vincent – Lex Fridman Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]