Oct 7, 2020
Paul Turner gives listeners a
gift in this podcast with his clear yet complex exploration of
viruses and immune system interactions. As he addresses
Richard's questions in this continuation of Finding Genius's virus
series, he allows for speculation yet also provides what evidence
tells scientists. This perfect combination makes for an
entertaining and enriching conversation.
Listeners will hear
Paul Turner is the Rachel Carson Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the Yale School of Medicine. He specializes in how viruses evolutionarily adapt as infectious diseases and also focuses on the potential of phage therapy as one of several public health intervention strategies. As he answers Richard's questions, listeners are in for a treat as his professorial skill at explaining combines with his own enthusiasm for the mechanisms viruses engage. He offers interesting examples to illustrate every answer, such as a bacteriophage that acts more like an animal virus with an envelope that fuses to a bacterial cell as its pili contract.
As he addresses the question of
viruses working together, he describes the ability of viral
mechanisms to overwhelm the system; while a division of labor in
viruses would be impressive, their capacity to overwhelm may be
derived more from their variety and survival mechanisms. While
division of labor is a part of cellular evolution, he says, and
that's why multi cellularity is successful, do you viruses need
that capability to be successful?
He comments that we tend to valuate success as humans in limited
ways and viruses are one of the most successful things on the
planet. He also discusses his belief that
viruses are alive, why long-term latency works in a virus like
HIV, and the mechanism in viral spread that resets the
configuration, constraining mutations between organisms more than
we think. Listen in for many more examples of the vast viral
world.
For more about his work, see his
website: medicine.yale.edu/profile/paul_turner.
Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK