MicrobeWorld

Blogger Stephan Zielinski has taken the decoded genomic sequence for Swine Flu and has set it to music using a complicated algorithm. "Each beat corresponds to one amino acid, and the piece is in 3/4 time, so each six measures would correspond to five turns around the alpha structure. Amino aci... Read More

Amid the uncertainty over whether this swine flu outbreak will expand from a serious Mexican epidemic into the global pandemic long expected by public health authorities, one thing is certain. As events unfold, the public will know more about the viral disease, its progress through human populat... Read More

The swine flu virus that is smoldering in this country and triggering a full-blown outbreak in Mexico is one of a growing number of animal pathogens to jump the species barrier -- and may be the microbe that jumpstarts the first globe-circling pandemic of the 21st century, experts said Tuesday. ... Read More

Alarmed by the spread of a new swine flu virus, airports around the world have rushed to install temperature scanners to pick out the sick, but the microbe is proving too clever for modern technology.

Experts say an infected person can easily pass through these heat sensors without detection ... Read More

Inspired by President Clinton’s vision to encourage the next generation of leaders and philanthropists to address the challenges of global interdependence, the William J. Clinton Foundation Millennium Network seeks to engage individuals, age 45 and younger, in the work of the Clinton Foundation.... Read More

The swine flu epidemic crossed new borders Tuesday with the first cases confirmed in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region, as world health officials said they suspect American patients may have transmitted the virus to others in the U.S. Most people confirmed with the new swine flu were i... Read More

Two new swine flu cases were confirmed in Israel and as many as 11 in New Zealand, bringing the number of countries with confirmed cases to at least seven on Tuesday. But all, with the exception of Mexico, said the patients were recovering or had been hospitalized with only mild symptoms, leavin... Read More

The American Society for Microbiology has posted a collection of Microbial Discovery Activities designed for K-12 teachers to facilitate the incorporation of microbiology within science courses. Activities come from the community at large. All submissions are reviewed by the ASM Committee on K-1... Read More

A Mexican toddler who came to the United States with his family on a visit has died in Texas of the swine flu, Texas officials said, as President Obama recommended that schools with confirmed or suspected cases of the disease “strongly consider temporarily closing.” In France, the health ministe... Read More

As swine influenza reaches the U.S., a guide to what you need to know and what happens next. Plus, a look at pandemics past... Read More

The New York Times asked readers to submit questions about swine flu. Here is a selection of some of the questions, along with answers based on interviews with experts. More questions and answers can be found at consults.blogs.nytimes.com.
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The FDA has authorized the emergency use of a molecular diagnostic assay to identify cases of swine flu. The test has not been cleared for marketing by FDA, but the agency granted the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the authority to use the multiplex panel to diagnose patients in t... Read More

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed swine flu cases in two more countries—the U.K. and New Zealand—bringing the total number of affected countries to at least six. Meanwhile, media outlets are reporting that Mexico may have as many as 2,000 suspected cases and 150 deaths.
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There are some signs that the algae-based fuel industry might be ready to bloom. One of the industry's biggest and most well-heeled players, Sapphire Energy, announced last week that it would be producing 1 million gallons of diesel and jet fuel a year by 2011, double its initial estimates. From... Read More

The rapidly developing swine flu scare has activated a global response from the public health community and alarmed hundreds of millions of people, but there are a number of reasons why people should remain realistic and calm concerning the scope of the problem, according to Dr. X. J. Meng, a vi... Read More

In 1976 there was a Swine Flu scare in the US. This is a public service announcement from that time. Read More

Malaria kills between one million and three million people in sub-Saharan Africa every year, most of them children. Disease outbreaks, which also include meningitis and dengue, have only recently been linked to variations in rainfall: more rain or drought can bring harsher epidemics. Using this ... Read More

A vaccine that protects babies against fatal bacterial infections was introduced in Rwanda last week, its first distribution in a third world country. Read More

John Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, houses one of the largest public drug library available to researchers interested in finding new uses for old and often forgotten drugs. "Already, researchers have used the library to discover that itraconazole, a drug used for decades to treat toenail ... Read More

According to the New York Times, the W.H.O. and public-health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention find themselves in a delicate balance, obliged to provide information about potentially lethal diseases without causing panic.

Although health officials have held exerci... Read More