MicrobeWorld

Over half of all new diseases in humans since 1940 have jumped from animals to humans and researchers predict that the bulk of new and emerging diseases in humans over the next century will come from domestic animals and wildlife.  Anthropozoonoses... Read More

What is metabolomics? Oh, that's easy. It's the study of the metabolome. Very good. Now, what is the metabolome?

* the collection of all metabolites in a biological organism, which are the end products of its gene expression. (Source)
* the complete set of small-molecule metabolites ... Read More

This poster, presented at the 109th ASM general meeting demonstrates the relationship between clinical measures of cystic fibrosis, a common and serious genetic disease, with the microbial ecology of bacteria that colonise the airways of these patients. The technique used to characterise the mi... Read More

In 2007, as the world worried about a possible avian flu epidemic, Laurie Garrett, author of "The Coming Plague," gave this powerful TED talk to a University audience. Her insights from past pandemics are may be more relevant than ever today as we strive to understand the potential threat from s... Read More

Melanie Cushion holds down two jobs: she’s a research career scientist at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and she’s also professor and associate chair for re... Read More

DNA synthesis technology, in combination with other rapidly-evolving capabilities in the life sciences, such as directed molecular evolution and viral reverse genetics, has galvanized segments of the scientific community.1 It also has captured the attention of the general public and policymaker... Read More

The authors analyze the influenza outbreak in Mexico, and make an early assessment of transmissibility and severity. Read More

In resource-limited countries, a lack of training, proper reagents, supplies, and equipment has impacted their laboratories' ability to identify key pathogenic bacteria and detection of antimicrobial resistance. This has led to an environment of syndromic diagnosis by clinicians who have little ... Read More

The title pretty much sums up the main thrust of the post, which also includes section on cheap, rapid diagnostic tests that not only can identify known pathogens, but provide quite a bit of information about novel pathogens (link to a great Pop!Tech video lecture by Ian LIpkin). There's also a ... Read More

Wow, the NEJM is really knocking out some great "perspectives" in their most recent issue.

The Internet has become a critical medium for clinicians, public health practitioners, and laypeople seeking health information. Data about diseases and outbreaks are disseminated not only through onli... Read More

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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

A recent paper published on Biomedcenteral by Jonathan E Allen , Shea N Gardner , Elizabeth A Vitalis, and Tom R Slezak discovers that new genetic markers for human host-specificity and high lethality in influenza viruses were identified by considering combinations of amino acids conserved amon... Read More

The link in the source field above will download the CDC's handwashing flyer which they just pushed out for public distribution in response to concerns about H1N1 (Swine Flu). Read More

This is a great article by Carl Zimmer in the NY Times (@carlzimmer on Twitter) about the evolution process of viruses.

"Some viruses use DNA, like we do, to encode their genes. Others, like the influenza virus, use single-strand RNA. But viruses all have one thing in common, said Roland Wolk... Read More

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

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

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

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