MicrobeWorld

Here is an amazing animation depicting the life cycle of H1N1 influenza-A. It was created by a company called XVIVO for a firm called Zirus whose mission is to "provide keys to conquer viruses." According to Zirus' site their new classes of antivirotics are being used to cure and manage viral di... Read More

"The famous tropical sunset scene by Nobel Prize-winner Dr. Roger Tsien, University of California San Diego, USA. This image was created using transgenic bacteria expressing fluorescent protein genes."

Via MicrobialArt.com Read More

If keeping up to date in microbiology and life science-related news and information is important to you, MicrobeWorld now offers the most convenient way to do so on the go, in your car, at the gym or even in the lab. Purchase the app for $4.99 from the Read More

Animals are now picking up human diseases, possibly as a result of globalisation, a study suggests.

Researchers from the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh said a strain of bacteria had jumped from humans to chickens.

The team believes the Staphylococcus Aureus bacteria crossed between species ... Read More

A musical extravaganza on the importance and execution of laboratory safety as presented by puppets.
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A strain of MRSA that causes bloodstream infections is five times more lethal than other strains and has shown to have some resistance to the potent antibiotic drug vancomycin used to treat MRSA, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

The study found that 50 percent of the patients infecte... Read More

Vincent and Dick provide an overview of parasites and parasitism.

Host links: Vincent Racaniello and Read More

There is a new set of photographs on the Small Things Considered blog that are quite interesting. All of them look as if they originate from the 1950's to 1960's decades. ... Read More

Amy Wallace, freelance writer and editor-at-large at Los Angeles Magazine, has published a in-depth feature in Wired exploring why many Americans shun vaccinations and place trust in the pseudoscience around topics such as autism, H1N1 and many other illnesses. While a good chunk of this article... Read More

 

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Nuevos enfoques sobre la energía microbiana, el calentamiento global y la cadena alimenticia oceánica, combustible fabricado a partir de la soja y, para finalizar, las lecciones que nos enseñó el huracá... Read More

Luciano Marabese, an Italian inventor has combined his Catholic faith and ingenuity to create the electronic terracotta holy water dispenser. It functions like an automatic soap dispenser in public lavatories - a churchgoer waves his or her hand under a sensor and the machine spurts out holy wat... Read More

Overweight people get heart disease and diabetes – and more severe swine flu – because their fat triggers inflammation, an immune response meant to fight infection. Now the protein responsible for this sequence of events may have been found.

Jerrold Olefsky and colleagues at the University of... Read More

In an article appearing in the November 2009 print issue of the FASEB Journal, they show that antioxidants -- the same substances found in plant-based foods -- might hold the key in preventing the flu virus from wreaking havoc on our lungs.

"The recent outbreak of H1N1 influenza and the rapid... Read More

Bioengineering students from around the world converged on MIT this weekend in what has become an annual ritual in synthetic biology--iGEM, the international genetically engineered machines competition. Among the finalists this year were "GluColi", a new generation of glue made by bacteria, a bi... Read More

Influenza viruses evade infection-fighting antibodies by constantly changing the shape of their major surface protein. This shape-shifting, called antigenic drift, is why influenza vaccines -- which are designed to elicit antibodies matched to each year's circulating virus strains -- must be ref... Read More

I was given a package of zinc lozenges when I contracted a cold a few weeks ago. That got me interested in the effect of zinc on rhinovirus replication. As a consequence I began a series of experiments to understand the mechanism of inhibition of viral replication by this metal. It's unusual tha... Read More

Kellogg, the nation's largest cereal maker, is being called to task by critics who object to the swine flu-conscious claim now bannered in bold lettering on the front of Cocoa Krispies cereal boxes: "Now helps support your child's IMMUNITY."

Of all claims on cereal boxes, "this one belongs in... Read More

Vincent, Dick, Alan, and Cliff answer questions from listeners on swine influenza origins, transmission, virulence, and vaccines, HIV and AIDS, and more.

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Hiroshi Nakaido, PBD Faculty Scientist, Structural Biology Department, and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UC Berkeley, has authored a guest post on the Small Things Considered Blog regarding the limitations of LB medium.

"LB broth contains, per ml, 10 mg tryptone (... Read More