TWiM reveals the bacteria, acids, and enzymes behind yogurt made with ants, and a defined set of microbes that reproduces attributes of fine flavor chocolate fermentation.

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Links for this episode:

• Making yogurt with ants (iScience)

• The Alchemist Restaurant

• How to make classic tuiles (MasterClass)

• Defined microbes for chocolate (Nat Micro)

• Microbial chocolatiers of fine flavour (Nat Micro)

• Blind taste every chocolate bar (YouTube)
  

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv

TWiM explores two different ways that bacteria defend against phages through the synthesis of cyclic nucleotides.

Hosts: Michael Schmidt and Mark O. Martin

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Links for this episode:

• Decoy cyclic nucleotides in phage defense (Nature)

• CRISPR defense with nucleotides (Nature)

• A decoy defence molecule to set a trap for viruses (Nature)

• Cyclic oligonucleotide-based antiphage signaling system immunity (Curr Opin Immunol)
  

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv

TWiM explains studies that show that the oral bacterial and fungal microbiome are risk factors for pancreatic cancer, and the gut microbiome and pyruvate metabolism of older adults are a link between sleep quality and frailty.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson.

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Become a patron of TWiM.

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

• Oral microbiome and pancreatic cancer risk (JAMA Oncol)
• 2025 Cancer Facts & Figures (ACS)
• Periodontal Disease: The Good, The Bad, and The Unknown (Front Cell Infect Micro)
• Socransky's disease complexes (Microorg)
• Microbiome, pyruvate metabolism, sleep quality, and frailty (Cell Rep)
• Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (pdf)
• How to score the sleep quality index (pdf)
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Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv