MicrobeWorld

This episode: Some bacteria respond to attacks from other bacteria with their own deadly strike!

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A simple new method better assesses the risks posed by emerging zoonotic viruses (those transmissible from animals to humans), according to a study published in PLOS Medicine this week. Dr. Simon Cauchemez and colleagues from Imperial College London in the UK and the Centers for Disease Control ... Read More

For what may be the first time, researchers have discovered a virus inside a host with a non-standard nuclear genetic code — one that differs from the standard genetic code that almost all living things use to produce proteins.


“The finding is significant because it shows that these viruses... Read More

Constructed in 2009 in the highly populated South End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) facility contains labs that operate at biosafety levels 2, 3 and 4. Due to its location the NEIDL has faced a raft of legal and regulator... Read More

Researchers report the detection of a strain of Seoul hantavirus (SEOV) in pet rats in England and Wales. The discovery followed an investigation of a case of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Wales. Hantavirus RNA was detected via real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reactio... Read More

The norovirus (NoV) season in Denmark in late 2012 was characterised by an increase in the number of NoV infections caused mainly by the 2012 Sydney variant, but also by the 2009 New Orleans variant. Analysis of approximately 85% of the capsid gene from 10 Sydney 2012 and 9 New Orleans 2009 isol... Read More

This episode: Fungi sense worms coming and trap them!

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The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has developed the benthic microbial fuel cell (BMFC) as a persistent power supply for marine-deployed applications. The BMFC operates on the bottom of marine environments where it oxidizes organic matter residing in sediment with oxygen in overlying water. The... Read More

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit,  Read More

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier

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Each year as I teach my undergraduate virology course, I record each lecture and put them online where they are freely accessible. A student in my virology course approached me recently to thank me for making the lectures available online, and wondered why other professors did not so the same. T... Read More

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and  Read More

The US Office of Science and Technology Policy recently released proposed guidelines for maximizing the benefits and minimizing misuse of life sciences research. The measures establish oversight responsibilities for universities and other institutions that receive Federal funding. Read More

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Read More

 ¿Cuan seguras son las aguas recreacionales? Esta es una de las preguntas que le hacemos a la Dra. Helena Solo-Gabriele de la Universidad de Miami en Florida, EE.UU.

La Dra. Solo-Gabriele, ... Read More

Sourdough bread resists mold, unlike conventionally leavened bread. Now Michael Gaenzle and colleagues of the University of Alberta, Edmonton, show why. During sourdough production, bacteria convert the linoleic acid in bread flour to a compound that has powerful antifungal activity. The researc... Read More

The risk of being infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is substantially enhanced in individuals with other sexually transmitted diseases. For example, infection with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) increases the risk ratio of acquiring HIV from 2 to 4. Explanations for t... Read More

This episode: Salmonella strain engineered to induce our cells to immunize us against diseases!

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Harvard University is home to some of the world’s finest virologists. But apparently they do not communicate with the writers at Harvard Magazine, where a botched story on the avian H5N1 influenza virus has just been published. Read More

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, Alan Dove, and Kathy Spindler

Vi... Read More