MicrobeWorld

The South Pacific Gyre has some of the conditions to support life yet remains a veritable desert on the ocean floor. Scientists are studying this, for some reason. I understand the interconnectedness of life and such, but do you think this is worthy of scientific research? Read More

Methane gas released as flatulence from livestock is a significant source of greenhouse gas, but entrepreneurs may have found a ready antidote to the problem: garlic. Mootral (“moo” and “neutral”), produced by Neem Biotech in Cardiff, Wales, contains a natural garlic extract—allicin—that when fe... Read More

A new paper submitted to PLoS One shows histamine plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of experimental cerebral malaria (CM) in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA. Histamine exerts its biological effects through four different receptors designated H1R, H2R, H3R, and H4R. In humans, ... Read More

About a third of the world’s countries limit people living with with H.I.V. from entering or staying in their nations, even if the individual's disease is under control with drugs. Some even restrict their access to health care.

"Hundreds of millions of people cross borders annually, travell... Read More

Working with components of the tuberculosis bacterium, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison identified an unusual process by which the pathogen builds an important structural carbohydrate. In addition to its implications for human health, the mechanism offers insight into a wides... Read More

Klebsiella pneumoniae. Maneval's capsule stain. Note clear area (capsule) surrounding pink stained organisms (1200X) Read More

The Public Library of Science's open access journals just release its 2009 June Progress Report in which they project "a publishing business model projected to be 100% self-sufficient in 2010."

"PLoS journals use a business model that recovers expenses — including administration of peer revie... Read More

A new system to clean the blood like wastewater, sucking out sepsis with an ELECTROMAGNET. While it only removes 80% of the fungus, it was enough so that drugs could finish off the rest. Read More

Another story in the good-for-mice category, but it is interesting to see how researchers are 'souping up' the body's innate immunity to combat MRSA. Read More

Neisseria meningitidis. Differential sugar reactions. (1-8) Read More

For years, rotting seaweed has been causing E. coli contamination at a Michigan beach... now public officials have a novel idea; remove it. Read More

Antibody mediated phagocytosis of old (18 generations) C. neoformans cells was significantly (* represents Pinduction in vivo was also more pronounced in senescent C. neoformans cells, bar size 5μm. Read More

Martin de Smet , leader of the Médecins Sans Frontières malaria working group, has published a letter in the New Scientist claiming malaria is developing alarming resistance to artemisinins, especially in Cambodia, and that the world needs to pay closer attention to this situation.

Artemisini... Read More

Streptococcus suis infection is a zoonosis which can cause severe systemic infection in humans exposed to infected pig tissue. To date there have been relatively few reports of S. suis infection in humans, with around 700 cases reported worldwide, most of them in the last few years. In developed... Read More

The New Scientist has an interesting article about the amount of AIDS-HIV denialism that is present on the internet and who the people are that support this perspective.

"It is tempting to dismiss the so-called AIDS denialism movement out of hand, but it has a strong internet presence, with a... Read More

Researchers from the newly-established VGTI Florida and the University of Montreal have uncovered a possible method for eradicating HIV infection in the human body. The researchers have also revealed new information which demonstrates how HIV persists in the body - even in patients receiving dru... Read More

A new study suggests that vaccination with 1918 H1N1 influenza virus-like particles not only protected mice and ferrets against the lethal 1918 influenza virus, but also displayed cross-reactive immunity against the potentially pandemic H5N1 influenza virus. The researchers from the National Ce... Read More

In a new study researchers from Japan suggest that a synthetic antimicrobial peptide identified as L5 may prevent death in mice suffering from life-threatening bacterial infections, such as MRSA, by activating the host immune response. They report their findings in the June 2009 issue of the jo... Read More

Researchers from Georgia suggest that the cell-signaling protein, interferon type 1, reduced H5N1 influenza virus replication in mice and may offer some degree of protection in the early stages of infection. They report their findings in the June 2009 issue of the Journal of Virology. Read More

The City of Austin, Texas, has given it's official stamp of approval to carpenter David Bailey who has created a composting toilet that "flushes" with sawdust and relies on bacteria to transform human waste into soil.

"Known as a composting toilet, the East Austin commode relies on the alchem... Read More