Microbiology

The emerging field of metagenomics, where the DNA of entire communities of microbes is studied simultaneously, presents the greatest opportunity -- perhaps since the invention of the microscope -- to revolutionize understanding of the microbial world, says a new report from the National Research Council. The report calls for a new Global Metagenomics Initiative to drive advances in the field in the same way that the Human Genome Project advanced the mapping of our genetic code. Microorganisms are essential to life on Earth, transforming key elements into energy, maintaining the chemical…

Biology and chemistry researchers from Virginia Tech are creating molecular complexes to bind to and disrupt the DNA of diseased tissues, such as tumors or viruses. Testing the activity of each of the therapeutic molecule designs has been a time-consuming process. But a student’s invention now provides rapid screening to accelerate discovery of promising new drugs. Aaron J. (A.J.) Prussin II of Blacksburg, Va., a second year student at Virginia Tech who is majoring in biochemistry and biology, with a minor in chemistry, has created an LED system that glows a beautiful shade of blue when the…

In one of the most comprehensive and definitive studies of its kind to date, a team of researchers at the University of California, Davis have proven that organically grown kiwifruit contain more health-promoting factors than those grown under conventional conditions. The research is reported in the SCI’s magazine Chemistry & Industry. The debate over the relative health benefits of organic versus conventional food has raged for years, with UK environment secretary David Miliband declaring in January that buying organic is just a lifestyle choice. The Davis scientists, led by Drs. Maria…

Futures in Biotech On the latest episode (#14, posted on 3/23/07) of Futures in Biotech, host Marc Pelletier talks with the founder and scientists from the Myelin Repair Foundation. The MRF is pioneering a new collaborative form of research aimed at developing treatments for multiple sclerosis, which is a disease where the myelin insulation of neurons is destroyed in an intermittent and unpredictable manner. As of March 24, there are no show notes on the website, but I will mention that although this podcast appears fairly irregularly, it often has interviews with leading edge scientists in…

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have mapped out many of the dynamic genetic and biochemical changes that make up a cell's response to a shortage of a molecule called Coenzyme A (CoA), a key player in metabolism. The results provide the most detailed look ever obtained of the complex metabolic changes in a cell triggered by a potentially fatal stress. Metabolism is the sum of all biochemical reactions involved in maintaining the health of the cell, including breaking down and synthesizing various molecules to produce energy and build substances the cell needs to…

A group of organisms that has never had sex in over 40 million years of existence has nevertheless managed to evolve into distinct species, says new research published today. The study challenges the assumption that sex is necessary for organisms to diversify and provides scientists with new insight into why species evolve in the first place. The research, published in PLoS Biology, focuses on the study of bdelloid rotifers, microscopic aquatic animals that live in watery or occasionally wet habitats including ponds, rivers, soils, and on mosses and lichens. These tiny asexual creatures…

If you own a birdbath, chances are you’re hosting one of evolutionary biology’s most puzzling enigmas: bdelloid rotifers. These microscopic invertebrates—widely distributed in mosses, creeks, ponds, and other freshwater repositories—abandoned sex perhaps 100 million years ago, yet have apparently diverged into nearly 400 species. Bdelloids have remained an enduring enigma in part because biologists are still debating whether the species actually exist as true evolutionary entities. And if they do, what forces determine how they diverge? In the traditional view of species diversification,…

Inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis, severely impair the lives of more than four million people worldwide. The development of effective therapies against these diseases requires an understanding of their underlying molecular mechanisms. Researchers from the Universities of Cologne and Mainz in Germany, the Mouse Biology Unit of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Italy and their collaborators, have now deciphered a molecular signal that triggers chronic intestinal inflammation. The study, which is published in the current online issue…

I recently posted a list of some of my favorite science podcasts. Today I want to mention a few recent episodes that I think are worth listening to. First, on March 8th, the BBC 4 podcast In Our Time did an excellent review of the history of Microbiology. Host Melvyn Bragg is joined by John Dupré , Professor of Philosophy of Science and Director of Egenis, the ESRC Centre for Genomics in Society, at Exeter University, Anne Glover , Chief Scientific Advisor for Scotland and Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology at Aberdeen University, and Andrew Mendelsohn , Senior Lecturer in the History…

With an innovative combination of a novel application of synchrotron imaging, high-resolution microtomography, and developmental analysis, the team reconstructed tooth growth and determined the age at death of a fossil juvenile from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco. This study represents the first non-destructive approach to characterize dental development with a high degree of precision, as synchrotron images reveal microscopic internal growth lines without damage to the specimen. The team found that the Moroccan fossil child showed an equivalent degree of tooth development to living human children at…