MicrobeWorld

When you've collapsed in a hotel bed at the end of a day of vacationing, the last thing you want to worry about is whether a previous guest left germs behind. But germs are invisible to the naked eye, so how do hotel housekeepers — who have an average of 30 minutes to clean a room — make sure th... Read More

Staying safe at the beach involves more than just sunscreen and lifeguards. Beaches and oceans are prone to unhealthy levels of bacteria which can cause sickness in people. Pathogens make their way into the water and onto the sand from many sources, including but not limited to, animal and hu... Read More

A wonderful musical A - Z of nasty microbes and related topics. By Jennifer Gardy and friends. Read More

A number of variables can cause signficant changes in the human microbiome early in life including birth method and antibiotic exposure. Understanding these shifts is important because new research suggests that shifts in the microbiome of infants could make them more prone to gain weight as adu... Read More

The NIH Human Microbiome Project has been a 5-year endeavor to produce community resources to support the field of human microbiome research. Although the HMP has already produced hundreds of peer-reviewed publications, in the past week 2 major HMP Consortium papers as well as 20+ companion pap... Read More

The health of humans, animals, and the environment are inextricably interconnected. Disruption of the environment often creates new niches for the evolution of infectious diseases, and provides opportunities for the transmission of pathogens to animals or humans. The majority of infectious disea... Read More

On the issue of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and animals, the first thing that comes to mind is livestock and other farm-based animals that are regularly fed antibiotics as growth promoters, but they are not the only source of resistance. Participants discuss studies showing that non-farm anim... Read More

A newly added session at the 2012 General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology will focus on the latest data release by the NIH Human Microbiome Project (HMP).

The HMP has been a five-year endeavor to produce community resources to support the human microbiome field. These activit... Read More

The human microbiome consists of thousands of viral and microbial species which inhabit the human body and have co-evolved with us to protect against pathogens, regulate organ function and supply nutrients and other factors essential for health. When these members fall out of balance, it can le... Read More

A survey of surfaces in hotel rooms finds television remotes to be among the most heavily contaminated with bacteria and items on housekeeping carts carry the potential to cross-contaminate rooms. Participants will discuss the results of this survey, the first step in to objectively assess sani... Read More

Traditionally, colonization of a host has been described in terms of a microbial community that does not affect the host, but recent research (such as the Human Microbiome Project) suggests that colonizing microbes are having an effect not only on the host, but on each other. Participants discu... Read More

Talk by Jonathan Eisen at TEDMED2012 meeting on "The microbes among us." Read More

In episode 61 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Vancouver, Canada on February 17th, 2012, Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Read More

Be part of the studio audience for the 2012 General Meeting's live internet talk show, ASM Live. Host Stanley Maloy, Chair of the Communications Committee for the American Society for Microbiology will discuss hot topics at the meeting with presenters and will take questions from audience and... Read More

Microscopic pathogens have been causing mass coral die-offs around the world. But now researchers are using high-speed video to spy on the behavior of killer microbes and potentially learn how to better manage coral disease.

“We finally have the tools to watch how bacteria behave in the ocean... Read More

We believe that college students need more microbiology, earlier in their first year biology curriculum. Thus, we interviewed first year biology students regarding some basic concepts in microbiology. We see this as a "call to arms": more microbiology, earlier in the curriculum! Read More