MicrobeWorld

Autoflourescence of Candida albicans in blood culture Read More

BP is ponying up $10 million for a partnership with Martek Biosciences to study the use of algae to convert sugar into biodiesel. BP isn’t the only oil major — or government agency — to show an interest in the prospect of commercially viable algal-based fuels. Just last month ExxonMobil committe... Read More

A new study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health's Center for Infection and Immunity indicates that pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Tourette syndrome and/or tic disorder may develop from an inappropriate immune response to the bacteria causing comm... Read More

The smallest organisms to use a biological compass are magnetotactic bacteria, however mysteries remain about exactly how these bacteria create their cellular magnets. In a study published online in Genome Research, scientists have used genome sequencing to unlock new secrets about these magneti... Read More

Peter Kareiva, chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy, has authored a post on Cool Green Science, "the conservation blog of The Nature Conservancy," that looks at the current state of scientific illiteracy in the wake of Chris Mooney's new book "Unscientific America."

Interestingly, Karevi... Read More

"Daniel P. Glavin, an astrobiologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, says the possibility of extraterrestrial life in our solar system is not limited to Mars; other "habitable" worlds might exist including the icy Moons of Jupiter and Saturn, known as Europa and Enceladus. The challenge f... Read More

An opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal written by Dr. Mitchell J. Schwaber,director of the National Center for Infection Control of the Israel Ministry of Health and Dr. Yehuda Carmeli, director of the Division of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at Tel Aviv Medical Center,... Read More

The brute force of Bacillus anthracis, the ancient scourge that causes anthrax, can sweep through and overpower a two-ton animal in under 72 hours. But when it isn't busy claiming livestock and humans throughout the world -- up to 100,000 annually -- it resides ominously in the soil as a spore w... Read More

Pseudohyphae of Candida albicans in brain. PAS stain (250X) Read More

Dolphins are swimming in waters tainted with germ-killing soaps, but they aren't winding up squeaky clean.

Triclosan, an antibacterial chemical found in everyday bathroom and kitchen products, is accumulating in dolphins at concentrations known to disrupt the growth and development of other a... Read More

Patients with potentially deadly drug-resistant bacteria that they pick up in the hospital often carry the infection to home health care settings after hospital discharge, and transmission occurs in about one fifth of household contacts, according to a report published today.

Methicillin-resi... Read More

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the University of Florida in Gainesville have safely given new, functional genes to patients with a hereditary defect that can lead to fatal lung and liver diseases, according to clinical trial findings slated to appear this week ... Read More

Lab tests conducted on two pairs of flip flops that were worn for four days revealed Staphylococcus aureus contamination in the rubber. If the bacteria made its way into your foot via a cut, it could enter the bloodstream and cause some serious problems.

"It can make you pretty sick if it got... Read More

This much is clear: frogs are dying.

One third of the world's 6,260 amphibian species are globally threatened or extinct. The primary threat to their survival is still habitat destruction, which impacts 61 percent of known amphibian species. But climate change and the deadly chytrid fungus co... Read More

Amazing pathogen. Phytobacteria Ralstonia solanacearum (green cells) inside Potato vascular tissue. Read More

The New Scientist has an interesting story out about Michael Goldblatt, who once led the biodefense program for the Pentagon's research arm, DARPA, and now heads Functional Genetics, a biotech company in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Goldblatt, along with a few other researchers, "are working on an en... Read More

The New Scientist has published a nifty gallery of "psychedelic"-like images of human viruses. Many of them are from Government agencies so they are public domain. Click "source" to view the entire collection.

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Much of the world lacks access to clean drinking water. Engineer Michael Pritchard did something about it -- inventing the portable Lifesaver filter, which can make the most revolting water drinkable in seconds. This is a pretty amazing demo. Read More

A new DNA vaccine inhibited malignant melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, in mice by eliciting antibodies that target a gastrin-releasing peptide which is known to play a key role in cancer development. The researchers from China and the U.S. report their findings in the July 2009 issue of ... Read More

Virus hunter Nathan Wolfe is outwitting the next pandemic by staying two steps ahead: discovering deadly new viruses where they first emerge -- passing from animals to humans among poor subsistence hunters in Africa -- before they claim millions of lives. Read More