MicrobeWorld

University of Florida researchers have learned more about how smallpox conducts its deadly business — discoveries that may reveal as much about the human immune system as they do about one of the world's most feared pathogens.

In findings to be published this week in the online early edition ... Read More

Once Upon a Time there was a little flu virus. It was probably born in Kansas in late 1917 or 1918, although nobody is really sure. Its name was H1N1. It grew up to be very wicked.

The story of the new strain of swine influenza now circling the world actually starts a lot farther back than t... Read More

From the NYTimes - The first case of swine flu in China was confirmed yesterday as the epidemic continued moving around the world, with the World Health Organization reporting about 4,700 laboratory-confirmed cases in 30 countries.

Health authorities are carefully watching the Southern Hemisp... Read More

Childhood vaccinations can be a painful experience, especially for toddlers. Researchers from the University of Toronto decided to see if the order of receiving vaccinations could help alleviate their suffering:

"Typically, infants receive DPTaP-Hib (for diphtheria, polio, pertussis, tetanus ... Read More

Just as the media chatter about H1N1 influenza reached a fever pitch, traders were expressing a more sober outlook.

At least that's the word from the Iowa Electronic Health Markets, which opened H1N1 futures contracts on April 28th to assess the breadth, speed and severity of the outbreak. "O... Read More

HIV co-discoverers Drs. Robert C. Gallo, director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Luc A. Montagnier, president of the World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention, called on international organizations and governments to immediately i... Read More

H1N1 swine flu is spreading fast enough to justify the preparations for a pandemic, say epidemiologists who've analysed the pattern of spread so far.

"The message is that the epidemic is spreading very much as expected based on past flu epidemics," says Christophe Fraser of Imperial College L... Read More

Iran's four saltmen, unique salt mummies, have found a new resting place is one of the most advanced display cases in the world.

The vacuum chamber in Zanjan can precisely control humidity and airflow and is provided with a nitrogen-rich mixture deadly to known bacteria and mold.

I had no... Read More

The University of California-Berkeley is incorporating volunteers to help pinpoint the flash points of sudden oak death syndrome.

"The furtive, runaway disease earned its name by killing oaks from the inside. After about a year, infected oaks succumb to the disease. Sudden oak disease has ki... Read More

Scientists have created a new antimicrobial paint kills disease-causing bacteria, mold, fungi and viruses. Apparently it can be "recharged" using a simple chlorination process.

"The paint contains a new antimicrobial polymer with a type of N-halamine, a bleach-like substance that kills germs.... Read More

It was the first underground movement in our planet's history: Primitive bacteria that lived 2.75 billion years ago built themselves caves to live in, according to a new study. Today, the traces they left behind are stoking hopes that similar life forms could exist on Mars.

Early Earth was a ... Read More

The oceans still contain mysteries with the potential to help humanity. For example, scientists have discovered a sea sponge they say could help fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Peter Moeller: What we found was a sponge growing in a pristine state. It was thriving in an environment that w... Read More

Health officials worldwide have a watchful eye on the Southern Hemisphere, where flu season is about to begin. How H1N1 circulates there may determine how aggressively U.S. health officials approach the flu in the fall.

Although it is far from certain that a vaccine for the bug often called s... Read More

In resource-limited countries, a lack of training, proper reagents, supplies, and equipment has impacted their laboratories' ability to identify key pathogenic bacteria and detection of antimicrobial resistance. This has led to an environment of syndromic diagnosis by clinicians who have little ... Read More

In episode 31 of This Week in Virology, hosts Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Read More

Corynebacterium diphtheriae on tellurite Read More

throat culture on blood agar and tellurite medium. black colonies on tellurite medium are Corynebacterium diphtheriae Read More

Somewhere out there, somewhere along the way, a single creature got all this started. A pig, presumably. Pig Zero.

Scientists suspect that two influenza viruses common in swine, one rooted in Eurasia and the other in North America, came together in a single cell within a pig. The two viruses ... Read More

Confirmed cases of H1N1 swine flu in the United States climbed to more than 2,500 by Monday, and the U.S. now surpasses Mexico as the country most affected by the outbreak, according to World Health Organization figures.

The number of deaths in the United States linked to the illness rose to ... Read More

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