MicrobeWorld

This blog posting has links to 100 lectures by notable scientists in the areas of biology and medicine, earth and environment and much more. It says, "thanks to the Internet, and our list of 100 incredible lectures, you’ve now got access to the cutting edge theories and projects that are changin... Read More

Contemporary human viruses most likely originated by cross-species transmission from non-human animals. Examples include HIV-1, which crossed from chimpanzees to humans, and SARS coronavirus, which originated in bats. Since the 1989 discovery of hepatitis C virus (classified as a hepacivirus in ... Read More

This episode: Probiotic yogurt doesn't seem to change microbial community much!

D... Read More

Adam writes:

What up Doc's?

I'm writing to voice my complete disagreement with the sentiments of Sven Urban, in his letter on TWIP 38, that you as hosts are prone to engage in a ‘degree of banter which is distracting'.

I'm sure Dickson does not mind being ant... Read More

Science writer Carl Zimmer writes a masterful blog piece tracing the history of the study of ecosystems, from lakes to the human microbiome. Just one interesting fact: In their lifetimes, individual humans will produce about five elephants worth of microbes. Read More

Are you interested in proposing an interdisciplinary topic with maximum appeal? Do you have an idea for a core colloquium or symposium of scientific significance? ASM's General Meeting Program Committee is soliciting suggestions to help build the program for asm2012 in San Francisco, June 16-1... Read More

Julian Davies, Professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia and a Fellow of the Royal Society, has authored a humorous post on the Small Things Considered blog on the various methods an attendee of a scientific meeting can employ to enhance "maximum satisfaction and poise" one gets o... Read More

Jim writes:

How about using compost that includes road kill? I heard a billion pounds of animal byproducts go to landfills rather than into animal feed to prevent spread of mad cow disease. Compost that, too?

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Virginia may compost roadkill<... Read More

What is a vaccine, and why do we need them? How do vaccines work, and how were they developed? In this lesson, students gauge their previous knowledge about vaccines. They then explore the history and biology of vaccines and create educational posters on the nature of vaccines and public opinion... Read More

This 2000 paper, published in Chest, shows that chicken soup is capable of inhibiting neutrophil chemotaxis in vitro, thus providing some evidence for the soup's traditional role as a home cure for respiratory infections.

Helpfully, the soup recipe used in the study is also included. And it ... Read More

Raihan writes:

Hi Guys,

I saw this video during the course of listening to TWiP. Is there any parasitic truth behind this phenomenon?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL_48wUQeXQ

Amaz... Read More

First, you may be asking yourself – Why viral bioinformatics? Good question! Although it’s true that much in the world of bioinformatics can be applied to all manner of protein and DNA sequences, there are a number of resources that are specific for viruses and there are a number of analyses tha... Read More

On the Small Things Considered blog, Michael Schmidt, Professor and Vice Chairman of Microbiology and Immunology at the Medical University of South Carolina, reviews a recent paper entitled "Precise Manipulation of Chromosomes in Vivo Enables Genome-Wide Codon Replacement" by Church and colleagu... Read More

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Vanessa Cowton, Mary Holton, Mark Robinson, Swetha Vijayakrishnan, and Gavin Wilkie

Vincent returns to t... Read More

Joe writes:

Twivers

I did the homework Professor Vince assigned and went to see the movie Contagion. I really liked the movie and was very pleased with the way the science was portrayed.

I am an Environmental Health and Safety Manager ... Read More