MicrobeWorld

Normally we shudder when we think of bacteria, but a new study reveals that some of these microorganisms may be able to help us lose weight.

The study, published in the March 27 issue of Science Translational Medicine, showed that bacteria in the guts of mice changed after they had gastric by... Read More

The American Society for Microbiology is celebrating Read an eBook Week* from April 1st to April 5th, 2013. During this time, they are offering full access to many of their titles and you can read your favorite eBooks for free at the ASM Press eBookstore. (Click "source" above for the link.)

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Health officials say they still don't understand how a lesser-known bird flu virus was able to kill two men and seriously sicken a woman in China, but that it's unlikely that it can spread easily among humans.

Two men in Shanghai became the first known human fatalities from the H7N9 bird flu ... Read More

This episode explains how microbiologists perfected the art of using the fewest possible letters in place of really long complicated words, long before cell phones and the internet were invented! Read More

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Read More

This episode: Our brain might be home to helpful bacteria!

Download Episode (3.5 MB, 3.75 minutes)

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Single-celled archaea are invisible to the naked eye, and even when using a microscope, great care must be taken to observe them. An international team of researchers led by the Center for Geomicrobiology, Aarhus University, Denmark, has nevertheless succeeded in retrieving four archaeal cells f... Read More

The latter half of the 19th century was a critical period in the development of Western, or what is now complimentarily called modern, medicine. The famed chemist Louis Pasteur and the physician Robert Koch established on a firm intellectual foundation the notion that the cause of infectious dis... Read More

Scientists at the University of Texas and the University of Iowa have created a synthetic bacteria that grows thanks to one of humankind's favorite stimulants — caffeine. According to a report from Quartz, this bacteria can be added to any caffeinated beverage and it'll grow according to the lev... Read More

Adorning your living room mantel with a petri dish full of germs normally wouldn’t sound appealing. But once you take a look at Zachary Copfer’s unique creations, you might be intrigued — if you’re not already running to the bathroom to wash your hands.

Copfer is a Cincinnati-based microbiolo... Read More

A nasty fungal infection that can spread to the lungs or brain and cause lifetime symptoms is on the rise in the Southwestern U.S., federal health officials reported on Thursday. Cases of Valley Fever, known medically as coccidioidomycosis, have increased nearly 10-fold between 1998 and 2011, th... Read More

Plant waste has long been seen as a possible source of sustainable biofuels, and new research out of Rice University could unlock some of the energy that scientists say lies waiting in organic material.

According to materials provided by Rice, bioengineer Ka-Yiu San and his lab have developed... Read More

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Laura Piddock, Read More

Producing vaccines against viral threats is a potentially hazardous business and that's why manufacturers have to operate strict controls to ensure that no pathogens escape.

British scientists have developed a new method to create an entirely synthetic vaccine which doesn't rely on using live... Read More

BBC medical correspondent Fergus Walsh explains how British scientists have used a new technique to develop a synthetic virus which heralds a major development in vaccines.

Click "source" to view video. Read More

The mysterious SARS-like virus that appears to be originating in the Middle East has claimed two more victims after people died from the infection in Germany and in Britain.

Their deaths brings to 11 the number of fatalities attributed to the virus, and six others have been determined to have... Read More

Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified a component of the herpesvirus that "hijacks" machinery inside human cells, allowing the virus to rapidly and successfully invade the nervous system upon initial exposure.

Led by Gregory Smith, associate professor in immunology and microbiology... Read More

Good microbiologists question assumptions. How about the assumption that semesters are the best calendars for learning? What would happen if rather than taking four courses concurrently during a semester, students instead took those four courses successively, one at a time? This describes the Co... Read More

Using stripped-down versions of living cells, researchers have confirmed which proteins allow certain bacteria to breathe iron and other metals when oxygen isn't available. Shewanella oneidensis (pictured) is often found in oxygenated environments but can also thrive without the gas if it must,... Read More

Fresh fruit and vegetables carry an abundance of bacteria on their surfaces, not all of which cause disease. In the first study to assess the variety of these non-pathogenic bacteria, scientists report that these surface bacteria vary depending on the type of produce and cultivation practices.
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