MicrobeWorld

The Welcome Trust has funded an interactive Flash game that can be played on the web that teaches young people how the flu is spread. You start off as a flu virus and the goal is to infect others. Along the way, you get educational information about viruses. Here are some of the instructions: Y... Read More

An international team of scientists has determined the structure of the chlorophyll molecules in green bacteria that are responsible for harvesting light energy.

The team’s results could one day be used to build artificial photosynthetic systems such as those that convert solar energy to elec... Read More

This recent talk at TED by Bonnie Bassler on bacterial communication (aka quorum sensing) was a viral hit among the science geeks on Twitter. It is a very educational and well thought out presentation that is great for personal viewing or showing in the classroom. It's a must watch! Read More

An interesting article on the challenges facing researchers who are developing the second generation of antibiotics. "Quorum sensing is now known to be widespread in the bacterial world, and many researchers hope to develop ways to disrupt it. Kim Janda, a chemical biologist at the Scripps Resea... Read More

The New York Times has published a nice FAQ ,if you will, about H1N1 and what the general public should keep in mind in terms of worry, protection and symptoms. The article also talks about what public health response is feasible and should be expected. Read More

The CDC has provided and updated MP3s of three H1N1/swine flu-related PSAs for broadcasters, radio stations or the public to use. The latest versions now use the name Influenza A/H1N1 as opposed to swine flu. Hopefully this won't confuse people. Read More

Freelance photographer Nicola “Okin” Frioli has taken a collection of photographs/portraits of people wearing surgical masks in Mexico City. It's an interesting art project that looks at the impact swine flu has on the city's residents. Read More

The convenience of fresh-cut produce, which includes packaged lettuces, has greatly increased sales despite multiple foodborne outbreaks associated with these products. To reduce these risks, strict hygiene programs and sanitizers are used for decontamination once the food is harvested. Preventi... Read More

Swine flu has spread to 30 U.S. states and the number of countries with confirmed cases jumped to 20 from two in little more than a week. The expansion comes as Mexico’s president said his nation is winning the battle against the virus and may return to normal this week. Read More

The World Health Organization is likely to raise its flu alert to the top of its six-point scale and declare a pandemic, its director-general indicated in an interview published on Monday.

In remarks setting the scene for another alert increase, but without saying when, WHO chief Margaret Cha... Read More

Under a plate magnification of 37,800X, this colorized transmission electron micrograph (TEM) depicted the A/New Jersey/76 (Hsw1N1) virus, while in the virus’ first developmental passage through a chicken egg. Read More

Lately, we have seen commercials that promote striking the balance of "good bugs" in our own gastrointestinal (GI) tracts. Our local grocery likely has a variety of colorfully packaged yogurts boasting "live and active cultures." These products are designed to keep the good microflora happy and ... Read More

In episode 30 of This Week in Virology, hosts Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Read More

"I've got some bad news."

The voice on the conference call last week was Frank Plummer, a Canadian scientist who had just spent 24 hours analyzing virus samples from 51 seriously ill people in Mexico.

The news: Seventeen people carried a completely new type of flu virus, one which had its ... Read More

Around Thanksgiving 2005 a teenage boy helped his brother-in-law butcher 31 pigs at a local Wisconsin slaughterhouse, and a week later the 17-year-old pinned down another pig while it was gutted. In the lead-up to the holidays the boy's family bought a chicken and kept the animal in their home, ... Read More

Dengue fever is a terrible viral disease blighting many of the world's tropical regions. Carried by mosquitoes, such as Aedes aegypti, 40% of the world's population is believed to be at risk from the infection. What is more, previous exposure to other strains of the fever does not confer protect... Read More

If a little-known microbe called Arcobacter butzleri has contaminated the water you drink or the food you eat, this troublesome pathogen could make you sick. Symptoms include diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting and fever, all of which can become chronic if left untreated.

But investiga... Read More

The U.S. Forest Service is closing thousands of caves and former mines in national forests in 33 states in an effort to control a fungus that has already killed an estimated 500,000 bats.

Bats have been dying at alarming rates from what scientists call "white-nose syndrome," so-named because ... Read More

With the advent of the rapid spread of H1N1 it is often a challenge to explain the need to be vigilant about hand hygiene. CNN's Randi Kaye reporting on Anderson Cooper 360 reports on how germs from one sneeze can spread to hundreds, maybe thousands. The video has a great animation and illustr... Read More

I stumbled across this web video while on a search for resources about the importance of hand hygiene. Show this to your class and they will never forgot about the need for hand hygiene. With the recent outbreak of the new variant of H1N1 also known as Swine flu, you might be seeing this vid... Read More