MicrobeWorld

This episode: Alga adapts to hot, toxic environments by copying prokaryote genes!

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A new antibiotic named Epimerox has been developed by scientists at the Rockefellar University and Astex Pharmaceuticals. These scientists have demonstrated that Epimerox effectively killed a wide-range of bacteria including the drug-resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA). This antibiotic was develop... Read More

You may notice a green, red or brown film on your favorite boating or swimming area in the summer. This coloring could mean that the water is affected by harmful algal blooms. Harmful algal blooms are an accumulation of tiny organisms known as algae and can release harmful toxins into the enviro... Read More

Rastreo de Fuente de Contaminacion Microbiana (Microbial Source Tracking), o el uso de diferentes metodos para encontrar la fuente de contaminacion microbiana en aguas es el tema de hoy en La Radio el M... Read More

White-nose syndrome has invaded Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge, home to more than 1 million endangered gray bats and other vulnerable species.

The world's largest wintering colony of gray bats may be under attack from white-nose syndrome, federal wildlife authorities reported Monday, pote... Read More

Harvard research reveals the role of the flagellum in helping biofilms colonize rough surfaces. New research from Harvard University helps to explain how waterborne bacteria can colonize rough surfaces—even those that have been designed to resist water.

A team of materials scientists and mic... Read More

Imagine a substance that was strong and light enough to armour soldiers, flexible and conductive enough to be turned into the next generation of flexible smartphone screens - and even absorbent enough to make tampons more effective.

Now imagine the process for making this wonder material was ... Read More

In a classic case of turning an enemy into a friend, scientists have engineered a protein from flesh-eating bacteria to act as a molecular “superglue” that promises to become a disease fighter. And their latest results, which make the technology more versatile, were the topic of a report here to... Read More

View an interactive animation of the life cycle of the malaria parasite, of the genus Plasmodium. The lifecycle of the malaria parasite is split between female mosquitoes and humans. In the mosquito gut, the parasites complete sexual reproduction and then multiply rapidly to produce many more p... Read More

Tumor necrosis factor – normally an infection-fighting substance produced by the body – can actually heighten susceptibility to tuberculosis if its levels are too high. University of Washington TB researchers unravel this conundrum in a report this week in Cell. Their study shows how excess prod... Read More

2012 saw a surge of West Nile Virus infections, particularly in the central United States. What exactly is West Nile Virus and why do outbreaks occur?

Join us at ASM headquarters to learn more about the biology of this fascinating virus - how it moves between hosts, how the&... Read More

Certain types of papilloma virus might actually prevent cervical cancer, according to a new study by researchers from The University of Manchester. There are over 100 different types of human papilloma virus (HPV). Cervical cancer is known to be caused by infection with approximately 14 so-calle... Read More

Nearly 6% of lung cancer tissue samples from non-smokers show signs that HPV may have triggered the tumors. A common virus known to cause cervical and head and neck cancers may also trigger some cases of lung cancer, according to new research presented by Fox Chase Cancer Center at the AACR Ann... Read More

A mysterious type of protein found in bacteria and other organisms, including humans, appears to act as a delivery system for toxins. While these proteins, called rearrangement hotspots (Rhs), have been recognized for more 30 years, their function has been enigmatic.

A research team at the Un... Read More

Recently, one of Paul Cezanne’s missing paintings was rediscovered. The painting shows Paulin Paulet, a gardener on Cezanne’s family estate, looking at his poker cards. Cezanne painted Paulet as part of a series of paintings between 1890 and 1896. This particular painting is called A Card Player... Read More

Metagenomics has allowed researchers to reconstruct the genome sequence of a deadly Shiga-toxigenic E. coli outbreak without having to grow bacteria in the lab.

“The outbreak of Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli illustrated the effects of a bacterial epidemic on a wealthy, modern, industrializ... Read More

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and  Read More

Jacob writes:

Hi all,

Saw this media release from the Australian Institute of Marine Science about researchers isolating a combination of probiotic bacteria to assist in the prevention of Vibrio infections of spiny lobsters in aquaculture and thought of TW... Read More

This digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph (SEM) depicted the dorsal (upper) surface of a Giardia protozoan that had been isolated from a rat’s intestine. Some of the identifying morphologic characteristics include pairs of thread-like flagella that facilitate motility, and a ventolat... Read More

In the search for new antibiotics, researchers are taking an unusual approach: They are developing peptides, short chains of protein building blocks that effectively inhibit a key enzyme of bacterial metabolism. Now, scientists at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIP... Read More