230 episodes

TWiP is a monthly netcast about eukaryotic parasites. Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier, science Professors from Columbia University, deconstruct parasites, how they cause illness, and how you can prevent infections.

This Week in Parasitism Vincent Racaniello

    • Science
    • 4.9 • 439 Ratings

TWiP is a monthly netcast about eukaryotic parasites. Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier, science Professors from Columbia University, deconstruct parasites, how they cause illness, and how you can prevent infections.

    Healing cutaneous leishmaniasis with Maria Adelaida Gomez

    Healing cutaneous leishmaniasis with Maria Adelaida Gomez

    Maria Adelaida Gomez joins TWiP to discuss her career and the work of her laboratory on understanding the healing process during cutaneous leishmaniasis.
    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula
    Guest: Maria Adelaida Gomez
    Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email
    Links for this episode CIDEIM Healing in cutaneous leishmaniasis (J Immunol) Become a patron of TWiP
    Send your questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv
    Music by Ronald Jenkees

    • 1 hr
    The very hungry flatworm

    The very hungry flatworm

    Eyal joins TWiP to solve the case of the Female Traveler with Intermittent Fever and Ring Enhancements in the Liver.
    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula
    Guest: Eyal Leshem
    Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email
    Links for this episode Become a patron of TWiP
    Case Study for TWiP 229
    Woman in her 40s is referred to me to be seen in the office from one of my colleagues. She reports that she has been having recurrent issues with worms exiting her anus and vagina since 2018. She reports that she lives with her husband and 4 children and they have never reported any issues. She reports that initially she took something over the counter and things resolved. She then a couple years later has this problem again and this time discussed the problem with her housekeeper from El Salvador who gave her an antiparasitic tablet from her home country. This problem has now recurred and she was referred to a GI doctor who she explains laughed at her and suggested she see a psychiatrist. She come in now very upset and tearful. She relates that she has this itching that wakes her up at night and was able to take pictures of something she found on the anus. She has photos as well as a video of a thin white 1 cm motile thing with on end coming to a point. 
    She reports a normal nonrestrictive diet. She reports no travel outside the US or even outside the local area. No PMH, no PSH, family history of different cancers. She does not work outside the home. She reports no pets. She has an unremarkable exam and labs only notable for low vitamin D. 
    Send your questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv
    Music by Ronald Jenkees

    • 1 hr 2 min
    Parasitic fountain of youth

    Parasitic fountain of youth

    TWiP discusses a tapeworm that causes extreme lifespan extension in infected ant workers, and a candidate antibody drug for prevention of malaria.
    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula
    Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email
    Links for this episode Extreme lifespan extension in tapeworm-infected ant workers (Roy Soc Open Sci) Candidate antibody drug for prevention of malaria Ceilidh goes viral (YouTube) Become a patron of TWiP
    Send your questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv
    Music by Ronald Jenkees

    • 1 hr 8 min
    Alpha-gal syndrome

    Alpha-gal syndrome

    Jim Small joins TWiP to solve the case of the 41 year old Man with sudden GI distress and itchy hives, followed by a discussion of parasites and childhood stunting.
    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula
    Guest: Jim Small
    Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email
    Links for this episode Parasites and childhood stunting (Trends Parasitol) Letters read on TWiP 227 Become a patron of TWiP
    Send your questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv
    Music by Ronald Jenkees

    • 1 hr 38 min
    Successful systems attract parasites

    Successful systems attract parasites

    TWiP reviews some parasite stories of 2023, including progress in the control of malaria and polio, and review a connection between parasites and childhood stunting.
    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula
    Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email
    Links for this episode Second malaria vaccine (Nature) Malaria report 2023 (WHO) Malaria and climate change (WHO) Parasites and childhood stunting (Trends Parasitol) Sea creature spotted off Japan identified (Science) Become a patron of TWiP
    Send your questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv
    Music by Ronald Jenkees

    • 1 hr 23 min
    Wandering worm with Lee Gottesdiener

    Wandering worm with Lee Gottesdiener

    Lee Gottesdiener joins TWiP to help solve the case of the 46 Year Old Man with Ongoing Upper Extremity Swelling, and review plant‑based production of a protective vaccine antigen against the bovine parasitic nematode Ostertagia ostertagi.
    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula
    Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email
    Links for this episode Vaccine against cow parasite (Vert Farm Daily) Protective vaccine against bovine parasitic nematode Ostertagia ostertagi Hero: Dr. Katy Ewer Letters read on TWiP 225 Become a patron of TWiP
    Case Study for TWiP 225
    41-year-old male mechanical engineer, former Army Ranger trainee, moved from Denver, CO to Chattanooga, TN. He was in his usual state of vigorous health, hiking, doing Spartan races, working on his semi-rural property,  and commuting to his place of work daily when about three months previous to his diagnosis, he began having episodes of sudden GI distress with diarrhea, followed by itchy hives in axilla and groin. He treated these episodes with Benadryl and got relief. At 10 PM one evening, he had another such episode, again took Benadryl, but began to experience gradual onset but relentlessly increasing shortness of breath and wheezing. He was taken at high speed to the Emergency Room by his wife. He reported that relaxation with a repetitive, meditative prayer seemed to control the symptoms but said it was like his throat was closing.
    Past history includes variable exercise and cold-induced asthma treated with an inhaler as a child, with only rare episodes in adulthood related to high exposure to allergens like cat dander. Family history is not contributory. Diet was omnivorous. They had one dog, a labradoodle named Raphael, which they chose because he was “hypoallergenic.”
    In the Emergency Department, he was treated with bronchodilators, intramuscular epinephrine, and antihistamines, and the symptoms abated.
    The experienced ED physician ordered a diagnostic test, having seen other similar cases in the region. A lifestyle intervention was successful.

    • 1 hr 24 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
439 Ratings

439 Ratings

Asciguy ,

Monoclonal Antibodies Against Malaria in Mali

When discussing administration of CIS43LS they forgot to check the math. One dose for me at 40mg per kilogram would be 3.38 grams. That would require an IV infusion.

BulgarianNurse ,

I love it!!

I am a nursing student and i am fascinated by microbiology and infectious diseases. Thank you for having this amazing resource for free!

MadmanDrew ,

Less clinical cases and more research would be nice.

I like the other This Week In series quite a bit, but this one is the odd one out since they spend a large amount of time (sometimes the entire episode) on case studies. They present these with the idea of listeners writing in to guess what parasite it is. What’s lame about these is that most of the time the listeners all say the exact same thing so it’s rather boring. Also it’s not exciting for many folks who are into research since most of us want to hear scientists talk about their latest work and what’s going on in the field.

Perhaps this podcast should be split into TWIP and This Week in Case Studies so that the doctors and medical students can still have their fun while us researchers can have the content we prefer.

Just my two cents. Just feels like a bit of a misleading podcast since it is so different from the other sister podcasts.

Top Podcasts In Science

Hidden Brain
Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam
Radiolab
WNYC Studios
Something You Should Know
Mike Carruthers | OmniCast Media | Cumulus Podcast Network
Ologies with Alie Ward
Alie Ward
StarTalk Radio
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Science Vs
Spotify Studios

You Might Also Like

This Week in Microbiology
Vincent Racaniello
Immune
Vincent Racaniello
Infectious Disease Puscast
Vincent Racaniello
This Week in Virology
Vincent Racaniello
This Week in Virology
Vincent Racaniello
Febrile
Sara Dong

More by American Society for Microbiology

This Week in Virology
Vincent Racaniello
This Week in Microbiology
Vincent Racaniello
Meet the Microbiologist
Ashley Hagen, M.S.
MicrobeWorld Video
American Society for Microbiology
Editors in Conversation
American Society for Microbiology
BacterioFiles
Jesse Noar