This Week in Evolution

Nels and Vincent explain a method to calculate the mutation rate of SARS-CoV-2, and the role of a single amino acid change in spike in enhancing fitness of the delta variant and enabling it to out-compete the alpha variant.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

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• SARS-CoV-2 mutation rate (Genome Biology Evolution)
• Delta spike change enhances fitness (bioRxiv)
• Time stamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Nels – Leading Edge Symposium Vincent – Epidemiological and evolutionary dynamics of SARS-CoV-2

Thomas – The gene's-eye view of evolution by J. Arvid Ågren

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Carl Zimmer joins Nels to talk about science writing, science communication, viruses, and his new book, On Life's Edge.

Host: Nels Elde

Guest: Carl Zimmer

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• On Life's Edge by Carl Zimmer
• Time stamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Nels – Remembrance of Dick Lewontin Carl – From telomere to telomere: the transcriptional and epigenetic state of human repeat elements

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Nels and Vincent discuss the identification of novel bat coronaviruses that shed light on the evolution of SARS-CoV-2, dating the first cases of COVID-19 to mid-November 2019, and recovery of deleted genome sequences from early in the Wuhan outbreak.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

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• Identification of novel bat coronaviruses (Cell)
• Dating first cases of COVID-19 (PLoS Path)
• Recovery of deleted SARS-CoV-2 sequences (bioRxiv)
• Time stamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Nels – The Last—And Only—Foreign Scientist in the Wuhan Lab Speaks Out Vincent – Human Behavior During the Pandemic Is More Important Than Any Covid Variant

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Nels and Vincent explain a new method for calculating the most recent common ancestor of SARS-CoV-2, which concludes that the ancestral virus was circulating in October/November 2019, before its first detection in China.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

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• Evolutionary portrait of SARS-CoV-2 (Mol Biol Evolution)
• Letters read on TWiEVO 68
• Time stamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Nels – Ed Yong pandemic trauma and We're Not Ready for the Next Pandemic Vincent – Furin cleavage site is not a smoking gun

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Nels and Vincent review evidence for recombinant SARS-CoV-2 genomes arising in the B.1.1.7 lineage within the United Kingdom.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

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• Recombination in B.1.1.7 lineage (Virological)
• CoVariants
• Letters read on TWiEVO 67
• Time stamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Nels – Mars rover helicopter flight! Vincent – TWiN 17: Worms see the light with Michael Nitabach

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Nels and Vincent review a preprint demonstrating that changes in the genomes of the SARS-CoV-2 variants B1.351 and P.1 allow the viruses to reproduce in mouse cells in culture and in laboratory mice.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

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• Tony Schountz on TWiV 668
• SARS-CoV-2 variants infect mice (bioRxiv)
• CoVariants
• Letters read on TWiEVO 66
• Time stamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Nels – Billion years of plate tectonics Vincent – Sapiens a Graphic History by Yuval Noah Harari

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Nels and Vincent review evidence that a single amino acid change in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has driven adaptation to humans, followed by an update on the status of variants of concern.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

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• Selective sweep drove SARS-CoV-2 adaptation (bioRxiv)
• Novel coronavirus haplotypes
• Letters read on TWiEVO 65
• Time stamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Nels – Radio Garden Vincent – Our World in Data – Coronavirus

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Nels and Vincent consider evolution of antibody immunity to SARS-CoV-2, and update the situation on novel virus variants of concern with potentially altered fitness and reactivity with antibodies.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

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• Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (Nature)
• mRNA vaccine-elicited antibodies to variants (bioRxiv)
• Scott Hensley thread (Twitter)
• Analysis of B.1.17 lineage (virological)
• Trevor Bedford thread (Twitter)
• Andrew Rambaut on variant naming (Twitter)
• Letters read on TWiEVO 64
• Time stamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Nels – Biden Administration PCAST and The Hill We Climb Vincent – Four inaugural quotations – Lincoln, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Biden

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Nels and Vincent wrap up 2020 with a discussion of novel variants of SARS-CoV-2 that have emerged in the United Kingdom and South Africa, how to interpret the rapidly emerging genome sequence data and what to look for in the coming weeks as these variants spread across the globe.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

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• Preliminary genomic characterization of UK variant (virological)
• Clinical outcomes of infection with Orf8 variants (Lancet)
• Global Report Investigating Novel Coronavirus Haplotypes (GRINCH)
• South African SARS-CoV-2 lineage (medRxiv)
• Time stamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Nels – Katalin Karikos' career and mRNA vaccines Vincent – Reverse Engineering of mRNA vaccine

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Daniel joins Nels and Vincent to discuss his new book on army ants, the wickedest insects ever to roam the planet, and his research on them and clonal raider ants.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

Guest: Daniel Kronauer

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• This Week in Ants (TWiEVO 13)
• Raiders of the Lost Orco (TWiEVO 18)
• Army Ants by Daniel Kronauer
• Time stamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Daniel – Desert Navigator by Rüdiger Wehner and Insects of Suriname by Maria Sibylla Merian Nels – NPR Scicommers Vincent – The Vintage Beauty Of Soviet Control Rooms

Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to [email protected]