MicrobeWorld

Like bacteria, cancer cells rely on communication and cooperation, says TAU research

Experts agree that, more than ever before, modern wars will be fought in the cyber zone, targeting an enemy’s communications technology to cause untold damage. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher is suggesti... Read More

Did you know that your body is home to 10 times more microbes than human cells? Join us at ASM Headquarters on Thursday, July 19, 2012, from 6-8 PM to learn about the human microbiome and its fascinating practical applications. Come mingle with like-minded enthusiasts and curious citizens ove... Read More

At an ill-fated press conference in 1984, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Margaret Heckler boldly predicted an effective AIDS vaccine would be available within just two years.

But a string of failed attempts - punctuated by a 2007 trial in which a Merck vaccine appeared to make peopl... Read More

A 15-year-old Inca girl who lived 500 years ago had a lung infection at the time of her death, according to a new method of analyzing protein samples.

A team of scientists that used the method of analyzing proteins from samples is the first to detect an immune response from a 500-year-old Inc... Read More

The popular spice turmeric packs more than just flavor — it shows promise in fighting devastating viruses, Mason researchers recently discovered.

Curcumin, found in turmeric, stopped the potentially deadly Rift Valley Fever virus from multiplying in infected cells, says Aarthi Narayanan, lead... Read More

After 18 months of controversy, the official verdict is in: an arsenic-tolerant bacterium found in California’s Mono Lake cannot live without phosphorus.

In 2010, a group led by Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a microbiologist now at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, repo... Read More

Bacteria can use minerals in soil as electrical grids, which helps the microbes generate chemicals they need to survive, a new study says.

The process involves different bacterial species trading electrons—negatively charged subatomic particles.

Electrons are key to all life-forms, from mi... Read More

One of the world's oldest vaccines now has a new use. Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, or BCG, is an 80-year-old vaccine designed to tread tuberculosis. Bit it has now been found effective in treating long-term type 1 diabetes, which is on the rise worldwide.

BCG has long been administered to chi... Read More

Certain bacteria in the gut may be associated with various components of the metabolic syndrome, a study in an Old Order Amish community showed.

All of the study participants belonged to one of three groups defined by the presence of separate communities containing six to 12 genera of bacteri... Read More

Dog owners and parents, take a deep breath. Get your children to take a deep breath.

And most importantly, shake some carpets, fluff your pillows and get your infants to take a deep breath – or lick the floor.

Because new research from UC San Francisco and the University of Michigan indic... Read More

Scared of bird flu? How about the viral Rift Valley fever? These diseases and many others are animal diseases that have grown the ability to infect humans. They’re known as zoonoses. You heard it, zoonoses. And humanity’s ever-growing taste for livestock products could stoke the growth of these ... Read More

A Taliban commander in Pakistan’s tribal belt has banned a vaccination campaign against child polio in protest over frequent United States drone attacks there.

Hafiz Gul Bahadur said that the U.S.-funded vaccinations for tens of thousands of children would be outlawed until drone attacks sto... Read More

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Read More

Here's your vocabulary word for the week: zoonosis. It describes an infection that is transmitted between species. For example, the disease that the husband and wife team of Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy have written about in their new book, Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolica... Read More

Soil is the most species-rich microbial ecosystem in the world. From this incredible diversity, plants specifically choose certain species, give them access to the root and so host a unique, carefully selected bacterial community from which they then benefit in a variety of ways. To achieve this... Read More

La Crosse virus has become the most common insect-borne viral disease in children, greatly surpassing the better-publicized West Nile virus. Also this week: cost management joins the medical curriculum.

La Crosse Virus Outpaces West Nile

West Nile virus infections may get all the headlines... Read More

In a quest to make safer and more effective vaccines, scientists at the Biodesign InstituteÒ at Arizona State University have turned to a promising field called DNA nanotechnology to make an entirely new class of synthetic vaccines.

In a study published in the journal Nano Letters, Biodesign ... Read More

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Joseph... Read More

Fall is on the horizon, bringing with it freshly-sharpened pencils, vibrantly-colored leaves, and of course - the annual influenza season. Join us at ASM Headquarters on Tuesday, October 9, 2012, from 6 - 8 PM ET ( Read More

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