The TWiM team provides an update on Zika virus, and reveals a plasmid on the road to becoming a virus. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Regional Zika update, Americas (PAHO, WHO) FGCU, Zika (TWiV 454) CDC Graphic of US zika cases as of May 2017 Archaeal plasmid travels cell to cell via vesicles (Nature Micro) Letters read on TWiM 160 Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv This episode is brought to you by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Part of the U.S. Department of Defense, the Agency’s Chemical and Biological Technologies Department hosts the 2017 Chemical and Biological Defense Science & Technology Conference to exchange information on the latest and most dynamic developments for countering chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. Find out more at http://www.cbdstconference.com