MicrobeWorld News

Optical particle trap can be used to manipulate bacteria, viruses

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:18:42 +0000

A new type of optical particle trap can be used to manipulate bacteria, viruses and other particles on a chip as part of an integrated optofluidic platform. The optical trap is the latest innovation from researchers at the Jack Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa ...

Argentina Considers Closing Public Venues as H1N1 Death Toll Rises

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:47:26 +0000

"The death toll from swine flu in Argentina continued to rise as President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner said she would not rule out closing major public venues where the virus could spread more quickly. Dr. Juan Manzur, the new health minister, said Friday that 44 people had died from swine...

TB Vaccine Is Risky for Babies with HIV/AIDS, Says WHO

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:42:53 +0000

"The TB vaccine that is routinely given to 75 percent of the world’s infants is too risky to give to those born infected with the AIDS virus, says a new study published by the World Health Organization. It recommended that vaccination be delayed until babies can be tested. In countries like S...

Virus-resistant Grapevines

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:42:47 +0000

In an effort to reduce or even eliminate the use of pesticides which are harmful to the environment and often times have no effect on the virus they are attempting to kill, researchers are working on virus resistant grapevines. Because it takes so long for a grape to properly ripen on the vine b...

Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes Explained

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:57:57 +0000

In a recent article I submitted ("It’s time retire the prokaryote"), the authored proposed that most of us don't know what a prokaryote is and in fact the term as a whole is flawed and should be retired by all microbiologists. Since I'm not a microbiologist by trade, he was right, at least on th...

So a group of paleontologists walk into a museum...

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:18:56 +0000

Unfortunately, there is no punchline. Turns out what visiting scientists at the North American Paleontological Convention in Cincinnati thought would be a lark by taking a side trip to Kentucky's Creationist Museum turned into a wave of disappointment, sadness and repulsion as the scientists rea...

3 cases of Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 (Swine flu) now on the radar

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:33:41 +0000

Yesterday Denmark announced the first known case of Tamiflu-resistant H1N1. Today Hong Kong announced a teen who flew in from San Francisco tested positive for a resistant strain. Also, Japan announced a woman from Osaka also is resistant after a 10 day course of the medication. "This marks t...

Genetics 101

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:49:54 +0000

23andme, "the world's trusted source of personal genetic information", has produced a great animation series about genes and genetics. The films will be aired during Gene Screen, a night of film on health and genetics in Washington, D.C. on July 16. Watch an animated guide to your genes, SNPs, p...

Methane-producing molecule can also repair DNA

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:39:38 +0000

Archaea are single-celled organisms and a domain unto themselves, quite apart from the so called eukaryotes, being bacteria and higher organisms. Many species live under extreme conditions, and carry out unique biochemical processes shared neither with bacteria nor with eukaryotes. Methanogenic ...

Gene Expression of Listeria During Infection in Real Time

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:06:00 +0000

"Scientists in Portugal and France managed to follow the patterns of gene expression in food-poisoning bacteria Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) live during infection for the first time. The work about to be published in PLoS Pathogens shows how the bacterial genome shifts to better ada...

Are microbiologists with beards a threat to public health?

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:14:49 +0000

A paper published in PubMed that appeared in the July 1967 edition of Applied Microbiology reports that men with beards who work in microbiology labs may be a public health hazard. The authors conclude that although lab personnel who wash their beards reduced the amount of virus or toxin, a suff...

How infallible are scientists?

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:06:03 +0000

How honest are scientists? Most people in the general populace probably take scientists and researchers at face value but a recent paper published in the Public Library of Science by Daniele Fanelli of the University of Edinburgh suggests it is commoner than scientists would like the rest of the...

New viruses are providing some clues to how viruses evolved

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:50:59 +0000

The science of metagenomics has uncovered that viruses are the most abundant and genetically diverse organisms on earth. In an article published in Microbiology Today, Peter Simmons from the Centre for Infectious Diseases, University of Edinburgh, discusses how discoveries of new viruses are pro...

Who are the top ten influential women microbiologists?

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:54:30 +0000

The New Scientist just published an article about the 10 most inspirational women scientists of all time. Not one is identified as microbiologist or bacteriologist (if you're thinking historically - although Rosalind Franklin did work on viruses). I'm curious if folks reading this wouldn't mind ...

Listeria monocytogenes

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:49:30 +0000

Listeria monocytogenes. Gram stain from BHI broth at 36 hours (1000X)

Antibiotics Take Toll On Beneficial Microbes In Gut

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:07:55 +0000

Now there is even more reason to be concerned about the amount and kind of antibiotic you may be too quick to consume. Besides concerns about increasing antibiotic resistant bacteria due to overuse of antibiotics, research shows that antibiotics could have a long lasting effect on the beneficial...

Combining Agriculture with Microbial Genomics To Make Fuels

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:19:27 +0000

This article looks at key challenges when using agricultural waste as a sustainable source for biofuels to meet worldwide energy needs. Subjects include dealing with diverse cellulosic sugars and finding ways to recycle carbon dioxide back into useful biomass. Why plants such as sugar cane and ...

Calling All Media - ICAAC 2009 Press Registration Now Open for San Francisco

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:37:02 +0000

News media registration for the annual infectious disease meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) is now open. The 49th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) will be held September 12-15, 2009 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. ...

Little-known Marine Decomposers Attract The Attention Of Genome Sequencers

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:36:06 +0000

The Department of Energy (DOE) is sequencing underwater docomposers. Apparently these fungus-like organisms act much like bacteria in degrading organic matter.

Vaccine approved for H3N8 dog flu.

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:16:20 +0000

The USDA has approved a new vaccine for dogs. Believed to have jumped from horses to dogs 5 years ago, H3N8 "has been a quiet undercurrent in the United States, rarely discussed except among veterinarians and dog owners in the few areas where it has struck hard: Florida, New York City’s northern...