A video podcast by the American Society for Microbiology that highlights the latest in microbiology, life science, and related topics. ASM is composed of over 42,000 scientists and health professionals with the mission to advance the microbial sciences as a vehicle for understanding life processes and to apply and communicate this knowledge for the improvement of health and environmental and economic well-being worldwide. Click here for more information about ASM.
On May 25th, 2010 science writer Carl Zimmer gave a keynote address at the American Society for Microbiology's General Meeting in San Diego, California. The presentation entitled “Newspapers, Blogs, and Other Vectors: Infecting Minds with Science in the Age of New Media” was given at the President’s Forum, “Telling the Story of Science.”
Zimmer is a lecturer at Yale University, where he teaches writing about science and the environment.
In addition to writing books, Zimmer contributes articles to the New York Times, as well as magazines including National Geographic, Time, Scientific American,Science, and Popular Science. He also writes an award-winning blog, The Loom. From 1994 to 1998 Zimmer was a senior editor at Discover, where he remains a contributing editor and writes a monthly column about the brain. Zimmer also hosts "Meet the Scientist," a podcast from the American Society for Microbiology.
Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone in the iTunes app store.
Pandemic H1N1 virus may be or may soon become endemic in large modern swine confinement facilities. Despite this, there is a paucity of influenza surveillance that is currently being conducted among swine populations.
Watch Dr. Jeff Fox, Features Editor for Microbe Magazine interview Dr. Gregory Gray, University of Florida, Gainesville, about the importance of conducting influenza surveillance among pigs and workers in these facilities in hopes that we might quickly detect the emergence of novel influenza viruses.
This video was recorded live on May 25, 2010, at the American Society for Microbiology's 110th General Meeting in San Diego, Ca.
Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone in the iTunes app store.
Watch Dr. Jeff Fox, Features Editor for Microbe Magazine talk with Arturo Casadevall, MD, Ph.D., the editor-in-chief of mBio, the new online, open-access journal from the American Society for Microbiology, about an opinion/hypothesis article he co-authored suggesting that rising global temperatures will result in new fungal infections for mammals living in temperate climates.
This video was recorded live on May 24, 2010, at the American Society for Microbiology's 110th General Meeting in San Diego, Ca.
Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone in the iTunes app store.
On March 18, 2010, Roberto Kolter, Harvard Medical School and ASM President, gave a presentation to a group of graduate and postdoctoral students on why scientists need to be able to communicate effectively. This talk opened up the 2010 ASM Scientific Writing and Publishing Institute that was held at ASM Headquarters in Washington, DC on March 18 - 21, 2010.
The Institute provides four days of hands-on intensive training in scientific writing and publishing under the mentorship of ASM Journal editors and reviewers. Groups of four to six participants are paired with one experienced mentor from their field to provide individual critique and resources.
Every year the American Society for Microbiology offers several graduate and postdoctoral level programs that provide professional skills development in grantsmanship, scientific presentations, scientific publishing, teaching and mentoring, scientific ethics, career planning, and networking. For more information visit ASM's Graduate and Postdoctoral Opportunities website at asmgap.org.
Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone in the iTunes app store.
From the flu to HIV, RNA viruses challenge our immune systems like no other infectious agent on the planet. RNA viruses provide unique insights into the patterns and processes of evolutionary change in real time. The study of viral evolution is especially topical given the growing awareness that emerging and re-emerging diseases (most of which are caused by RNA viruses) represent a major threat to public health. How do RNA viruses adapt and change, and how do our bodies respond? Why are diseases like HIV so difficult to predict and contain?
In episode 35 of MicrobeWorld Video, Eddie Holmes, professor in Biology at Pennsylvania State University leads a discussion before a live audience at Busboys & Poets in Washington, D.C. on the genetics and evolution of RNA viruses and how we can combat them.
Don't miss an episode of The Dish or MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone in the iTunes app store.
Mobile health or mHealth is part of a movement towards citizen-centered health services delivered through cellular technologies. Mobile phones in particular are becoming a first line of defense against emerging infectious diseases by keeping healthcare practitioners and the public informed about outbreaks. For individuals mHealth technologies can provide real-time monitoring of vital signs and even deliver treatment services in the form of risk assessments, medication regimens and doctor appointment reminders. In addition, this new technology also has the potential to supply researchers and public health officials with up-to-date community and clinical health data.
In episode 34 of MicrobeWorld Video, we talk with William Warshauer about the work he's doing with Voxiva, a company that specializes in interactive mobile health information services. By leveraging the web, email, text messaging, interactive voice response systems and smart phone apps, he hopes to stay one step ahead of infectious disease outbreaks wherever they may occur.
We also speak with Amy Sonricker from Healthmap.org about their unique web interface and iPhone application that allows for real-time viewing and reporting of disease-related events around the globe.
This episode of MicrobeWorld Video was filmed in October 2009 at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C., at one of their frequent events for the public.
For more information about the Koshland Museum, upcoming events and online resources visit them online at www.koshland-science.org.
Whether you are making lunch for work, school or a summer picnic, knowing what food to pack and how to prepare it can be the difference between enjoying your day or going home sick. From recent peanut butter and pistachio nut recalls to E. coli outbreaks associated with hamburger patties, people are increasingly concerned about the safety of the food they eat. Many illnesses can be prevented with proper food preparation and a clean kitchen.
Animal, human and environmental health are inexorably intertwined. Diseases are making the jump from animals to humans and vice-versa at an increasing pace. The emergence of animal borne diseases such as Avian flu, Ebola, and most recently H1N1 (swine flu), demonstrate the need for an integrated strategy across several scientific, medical and environmental fields for improved public health.
In this episode of MicrobeWorld Video, Dr. Mark Lutschaunig, director of the Governmental Relations Division of the American Veterinary Medical Association discusses the need for a holistic approach to human and animal health. He emphasizes that our ability to better predict when and where disease outbreaks are likely to occur depends on a strong relationship between veterinarians, doctors, and health agencies.
In addition, Dr. Ron Atlas, chair of the One Health Commission, gives an overview of the organization's mission to foster closer professional interactions, collaborations, and educational opportunities across the health sciences professions, together with their related disciplines, to improve the health of people, animals, and our environment.
This episode of MicrobeWorld Video was filmed at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C., during one of their popular public science events. For more information about the Koshland Museum, upcoming events and online resources visit them online at www.koshland-science.org.
Bacteria communicate with chemical languages that allow them to synchronize their behavior and thereby act as multi-cellular organisms. This process, called quorum sensing, enables bacteria to do things they can’t do as a single cell, like successfully infect and cause disease in humans.
Bonnie Bassler, Ph.D., the Squibb Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University and President-elect for the American Society for Microbiology, has been researching strategies that can interfere with quorum sensing and will hopefully yield novel antibiotics to prevent disease.
In this episode of MicrobeWorld Video we present the full presentation Dr. Bassler gave at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C. on June 18, 2009. Not only does Dr. Bassler explain the mechanisms of bacterial communication, but she also puts forth her theories on how we can disrupt this communication for human benefit.
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Video/Audio Running Time 1 hour 14 minutes and 22 seconds
Puerto Rico is widely known as the "La Isla del Encanto," which translated means "The Island of Enchantment." And while its beaches, tropical rain forest, and biolumescent bays are wonders of nature, the island is not without its problems. From energy needs to economics, Puerto Rico shares many issues facing the rest of the world.
In this MicrobeWorld Video episode we talk with Nadathur S. Govind, Ph.D., Professor, Marine Sciences Department at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, and William Rosado, Marine Sciences Department at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, about the sustainable biofuel program they are launching in southwestern Puerto Rico.
According to Govind, the island's successful sugarcane industry died in the 1990's. In fact, local rum manufacturers now import their molasses from as far away as Malaysia. As a result, approximately 70 percent of the population in southwestern Puerto Rico is on welfare.
Govind believes he can rebuild the local economy by harnessing bacterial enzymes extracted from the guts of termites and shipworms (mollusks) found in the mangroves off the coast to break down the lignocellulose in sugarcane and hibiscus. The idea is that if he can bring agricultural production back to his community, he can use the crop waste to produce ethanol to supplement Puerto Rico's demand for fuel. And since the byproduct of ethanol is carbon dioxide, he also plans to use algae to capture the gas and produce biodiesel. The waste that he has left over can then be returned to the soil as fertilizer or given to livestock as feed, completing the cycle.
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