MicrobeWorld

The CDC report on the direct costs of nosocomial infections and costs of prevention. The last report was published in 1992 based.

From the Summary:

This report uses results from the published medical and economic literature to provide a range of estimates for the annual direct hospital co... Read More

Craig Venter, the controversial American scientist who helped decode the human genome, has announced the discovery of ancient bacteria that can turn coal into methane, suggesting they may help to solve the world’s energy crisis.

The bugs, discovered a mile underground by one of Venter’s micro... Read More

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) has updated and reintroduced a package of legislation to combat the spread of the infection. The Worker Infection Protection Act would create a new Occupational, Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard to protect employees who are exposed to drug resi... Read More

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that the department will pursue advanced development of new way to make influenza vaccine. The work will be done by Protein Sciences Corporation, Inc., of Meriden, Conn., under a new $35 million contract. The contract could be extended up to five y... Read More

Koi herpesvirus (KHV) is a highly contagious viral disease that may cause significant morbidity and mortality in common carp (Cyprinus carpio) (Hedrick et al. 2000; OATA 2001). Common carp is raised as a foodfish in many countries and has also been selectively bred for the ornamental fish indust... Read More

In episode 38 of This Week in Virology, hosts Vincent Racaniello and  Read More

H and E stained lung sections of patient from whom the legionella pneumophila was isolated stained with CDC's modification of the Dieterle silver impregnation procedure. Note the small, blunt pleomorphic intracellular and extracellular bacilli which stain brown to black against a pale yellow bac... Read More

It seems like the low-hanging fruit is always one of the best places to look first... Like handwashing, it's a simple, effective, and cheap way to improve public health.

The stomach ulcer bacterium Helicobacter pylori is not transmitted through drinking water as previously thought, but rather... Read More

Almost certain to spark debate, Norman Pace, in this article from Microbiology Today, argues that prokaryote as a word is outdated and should be eliminated from the microbiologist's vocabulary. He doubts that you even know what the term means and says , "the notion of prokaryote was scientifical... Read More

Bacteriófagos al rescate
Los bacteriófagos son virus que infectan solamente a las bacterias, las “enferman” y las matan. Son la forma más numerosa de entidades biologicas existen... Read More

I've been following Jason Anthony Tetro, a microbiologist at the University of Ottawa, on Twitter (@JATetro) for quite some time. He's a fountain of microbiological knowledge and always willing to engage followers. As it turns out he's also great on TV. Click the source link above to see Tetro ... Read More

An Emergency Use Authorization online course developed by the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide public health officials, emergency managers, or Strategic National Stockpile coordinators with an introduction to the Emergency Use Authorization o... Read More

Sequencing the human genome has revolutionized biomedical research. One of the major challenges that scientists throughout the world are facing in the post-genome era is the mapping of the interactome, which can be defined as the complete set of interaction networks underlying the functioning of... Read More

Implants worldwide have cause for celebration! Iron-oxide nanoparticles can clear up a very worrisome aftereffect of implants, prosthetics or any area where a device joins the body. Read More

Researchers have found the biochemical paths that the Ebola virus takes to infect cells and are now working on blocking them off. These are hopefully the first steps towards sucessful treatment... Read More

Brown and Brenn stained lung sections of patient from whom Legionella pneumophilia was isolated, showing intra-alveolar exudation of macrophages and polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Legionella pneumophilia is not stained (500X) Read More

Personally coffee makes me reach for a breath mint, but apparently it can inhibit the growth of 'bad' bacteria that cause smelly breath. Read More

Last week the FDA issued a warning to websites purportedly marketing fake products that will prevent H1N1 infection. Here are some of the claims:

* A shampoo that claimed to protect against the H1N1 flu virus;
* A dietary supplement that claimed to protect infants and young children ... Read More

U.S. and British scientists have determined nickel might be a useful isotopic marker to trace the origins of single cell organisms that produce methane.

"Our data suggest significant potential in nickel stable isotopes for identifying and quantifying methanogenesis on the early Earth," said V... Read More

Interesting article from the New Scientist on clathrates (aka "dirty ice") as an energy solution:

"Deep in the Arctic Circle, in the Messoyakha gas field of western Siberia, lies a mystery. Back in 1970, Russian engineers began pumping natural gas from beneath the permafrost and piping it eas... Read More