Microbiology
We each give off millions of bacteria from our human microbiome to the air around us every day, and that cloud of bacteria can be traced back to an individual. New research focused on the personal microbial cloud -- the airborne microbes we emit into the air -- examined the microbial connection we have with the air around us.
The findings demonstrate the extent to which humans possess a unique 'microbial cloud signature.'
To test the individualized nature of the personal microbial cloud, University of Oregon researchers sequenced microbes from the air surrounding 11 different people in a…
Genetic mutations called "escape variants" in the deadly Ebola virus appear to block the ability of antibody-based treatments to ward off infection, according to a team of U.S. Army scientists and collaborators.
Ebola virus causes severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates with high mortality rates and continues to emerge in new geographic locations, including West Africa, the site of the largest outbreak to date. Over 28,000 confirmed, probable and suspected cases have been reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with more than 11,000 reported deaths, according to…
New research has uncovered why a particular strain of Staphylococcus aureus -- known as HA-MRSA -- becomes more deadly than other variations. These new findings open up possible new pathways to vaccine development against this bacterium, which the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions says accounts for over 10,000 deaths annually, mostly among hospital patients.
In a series of experiments in mice and in human immune cells in the lab, a team found that the presence or absence of dueling toxins, or bacterial poisons, appears to explain the major difference between HA-MRSA, and its less…
Every now and then you get a 3-1, 86 mph fastball down the middle of the plate. You just have to swing.
This exact pitch was thrown in Washington this week. Not the Nationals. By the Post. They ran a superbly silly story this week entitled "The dirtiest places on an airplane, ranked." I swung.
One thing you will guess immediately: "it is never the bathroom." This is the aeronautical equivalent of "the butler did it." Everyone knows that the butler never does it.
You see these kind of stories now and then. They grab your attention, but ultimately they mean…
Diets rich in fish oil versus diets rich in lard produce very different bacteria in the guts of mice, reports a study from Sahlgrenska Academy published in Cell Metabolism.
The researchers transferred these microbes into other mice to see how they affected health. The results suggest that gut bacteria share some of the responsibility for the beneficial effects of fish oil and the harmful effects of lard.
In particular, mice that received transplants of gut microbes associated with a fish oil diet were protected against diet-induced weight gain and inflammation compared with mice…
Researchers have unraveled the mystery cause of the emerging wheat disease White Grain Disorder, by isolating three previously undiscovered fungi from infected wheat samples and sequenced their genomes.
Australian wheat exports are worth more than $6 billion a year with diseases costing the industry around $1 billion a year. White Grain Disorder emerged about 20 years ago and has sporadically affected crops in Southern Queensland and South Australia, but until now has been poorly understood.
"Until now, growers and pathologists have recognized the symptoms of White Grain Disorder, but…
The crucial genetic mashup that spawned the yeast that brews the vast majority of beer occurred at least twice -- and both times without human help -- according to a new study.
Lager yeast, a hybrid that thrives in cold temperatures, is used in lager beer production, which accounts for about 94 percent of the world's beer. And while 15th century Bavarian monks invented lager beer, they probably did not deliberately cause the hybridizations detailed in the new paper. The invention of lager beer happened centuries before Louis Pasteur proved that fermentation is caused by microbes in the mid-…
By: Karin Heineman, Inside Science TV – Viruses: they’re too tiny for us to see, yet they’re lurking everywhere. And guess what? They spread really fast through an office environment.
“Most people don’t realize they easily spread by your hands,” said University of Arizona microbiologist Charles Gerba. Most people think that viruses spread by inhaling sick people’s coughs or sneezes, but “it’s really when those droplets settle out and you touch that surface” that tiny viruses spread, he said. People unknowingly bring their virus-covered fingers to their noses, mouths, or eyes,…
The New York City subway system is notorious for its filth and grime, something that was captured well in Jonath Hertzberg’s 2013 video essay, titled Dirty Old New York Subway, which cataloged the trains’ cinematic history.
New Yorkers and tourists alike expect to be told about how dirty the Big Apple’s public transit is, so when a group of scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College published a study in February describing just how dirty it was, many people were willing to believe it.
Even when they claimed that the causative agents of the plague (Yersinia pestis) and anthrax (Bacillus…
In patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), atherosclerosis is exceedingly common and contributes to the development of heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in this group. New research suggests that an organic byproduct generated by intestinal bacteria may be responsible for the formation of cholesterol plaques in the arteries of individuals with decreased kidney function. The findings suggest that targeting this byproduct may be a novel strategy for safeguarding the heart health of patients with CKD.
Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) is generated by certain intestinal…