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Marine Microbiology
2007-09-18 11:23:00
Following the tide (unintentionally, I guess) of Microbial Week at Deep Sea News, Nature Reviews in Microbiology gives us the opportunity to learn more about the wonderful microbes from the sea, with a new special issue focused on Marine Microbiology. There is FREE online access to all Focus issue articles.


Antibiotics and viruses: a natural alliance?
2007-09-17 14:36:00
At the right concentration, an antibiotic may be effective enough to kill a microbe, or at least to stop its growth. But lower antibiotic concentrations may have subtler effects on microorganisms. For instance, some bacteria respond in a funny way to very low, sub-lethal amounts of those antibiotics inhibiting cell division (such as penicillins): instead of dividing, cells become longer and longer, forming filaments. In this situation, cells are stressed but alive and still growing. Now, researchers from Université Paul Sabatier-Toulouse, France, have noticed that bacterial viruses (or phages) have also adapted to these circumstances. When infected by these viruses, filamenting cells produce more offspring phages than the "healthier" cells do. The increased production of phages seems to be the result of faster lysis (due to defects on cell wall caused by the antibiotic) and a higher phage assembly. From the point of view of a phage making its living off bacteria, filamenting cells mig
Read more: Antibiotics

Finding a needle in the ocean
2007-09-11 16:03:00
The deep ocean may be similar to a rainforest in terms of the range of existing microbes and their genetic diversity. The resulting biochemical diversity might provide us with novel natural drugs and enzymes for cleaner industrial processes. The following clips are available for download from Out of the Blue, a DVD on marine microbes produced by Panache Productions with support from the NERC BlueMicrobe knowledge transfer network. The interviewed researchers are Alan Bull and Jem Stach, from the Universities of Kent and Newcastle (UK), respectively. For bioprospecting, the researchers use a combination of molecular techniques, bioinformatics, novel culturing strategies and screening approaches. In addition to potential pharmaceutical and biotechnological applications, these efforts will broaden our knowledge of microbial ecology and evolution (scarce knowledge, by the way). *******************************************************This post is a contribution to Microbial Week, a col


From Aladdin’s Cave to Treasure Island
2007-09-10 16:53:00
For a long time, it was thought that the land of actinomycetes was... well, land. I mean, they were supposed to be terrestrial creatures, even although some of them were isolated from samples taken in sea habitats (for instance, read this article from 1958). But these "marine" bacteria, generally found in shallow waters, were quite similar to their counterparts from land. For this reason, it was assumed that any actinomycetes obtained from the sea were just wash-offs from the shore.Now this view is changing. But how can we say if a microbe isolated from a particular sea location is a true neighbor on the block (as opposed to be just derived from a passing-by or dormant spore, coming from land)? Ideally, it should be recognized by the following criteria: its ability to grow optimally at native conditions (salinity, pressure, temperature, nutrients); demonstration that the organism is really active on location; and the recognition of particular metabolic profiles, not found in terrestria
Read more: Aladdin , Treasure , Island

International Microbiology
2007-09-04 16:49:00
If you are a researcher in the microbiology field, you might consider to submit a manuscript to International Microbiology, a peer-reviewed journal edited by the Spanish Society for Microbiology (Sociedad Española de Microbiología, SEM). International Microbiology publishes original research papers, short communications, critical reviews and opinion letters dealing with all fields of microbiology, and it addresses the international scientific community. As a member of SEM, I was glad to learn that the 2006 impact factor for International Microbiology was 2.455, according to Journal Citation Reports (JCR, Thomson-Institute for Scientific Information). It is quite a good score for a microbiology journal after only two years of JCR tracking (its first score was 1.866, for 2005).Source: Mercedes Berlanga, Associate Editor, International Microbiology. Via NoticiaSEM No. 5, Sept. 2007 (monthly electronic bulletin of the Spanish Society for Microbiology).Note added


Beauty on the surface
2007-09-02 02:52:00
In my previous post (Beauty inside a cell) I showed an application of a powerful microscopy technique for studying the inner structure of cells. Here I comment on the results of applying a different technique to obtain wonderful images of the surface of cells. Researchers from University of Wales Swansea (UK) used atomic force microscopy to study the surfaces of growing hyphae during the life cycle of Streptomyces. If you're not much interested in the scientific details, just admire the textures and shapes of the pictures in large format (see fig. 1, fig. 2, fig. 3).In addition to be visually captivating, the images support previous reports on cell differentiation processes which are characteristic of these bacteria. Young vegetative mycelium has a smooth surface and is attached to the substrate by an extracellular matrix. Then, older hyphae get covered with fibers, while loosing the extracellular matrix. Finally, the dense fibrous layer completely covers the surface of aerial myceliu


Environment, microbes and infections
2007-10-08 03:45:00
The Fundación Lilly (Lilly Foundation, Spain) organizes a scientific symposium titled Environment al Changes, Microbial Systems and Infections, to be held at San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Madrid (Spain), 15-16 November 2007. Topics: Keynote Address, by Julian Davies: "Everything depends on everything else"Environmental changes and microbial evolutionary trajectoriesThe impact of major environmental changes in the microbiosphereDiagnosing... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]


A new web 2.0 for scientists
2007-10-07 14:44:00
From a post at Science Blog: "Scientists from Harvard and some other universities from different countries started a project, in which they try to establish a web 2.0 application for scientists . This platform would facilitate the communication between researchers and would increase the efficacy of the research work." Learn more at Facebook for researchers: www.researchgate.com [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]


The froth of the liquid jade
2007-10-03 16:38:00
Thirteen centuries ago, Tibetans started to enjoy the drinking of tea. However, the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) did not grow on the Tibet plateau, so the product had to be brought from the neighbor regions of Sichuan and Yunnan (present southwest China). Around the year 1000, a large-scale commerce was already established: tea, sugar and salt came in exchange of horses, furs and other Tibetan goods. All these products were transported through... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]


An imaginary experiment
2007-10-02 09:22:00
Imagine that you are a principal investigator, or the director of a research center (well, some of you may already be, or will be in the future?). And you have infinite funding and contacts, so that getting the money and the right staff is not a problem (yes, this is definitely fiction). ***** What would you do with that superpower? ***** [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]


Science Linked: Bacteria
2007-10-23 06:28:00
Antonio Marques, author of the blog Science in Review, has just presented the results of the Group Writing Project entitled Science Linked: BACTERIA. Here is the list with all the submissions: Adventures in Bacteria , at Brightest_Kidz Artificial Life has Been Created at Evolution Viruses versus Bacteria at Sciencebase Slowburn Treatment for Chronic Disease at Sciencebase The Froth of the Liquid Jade at Twisted Bacteria An Unfortunate Truth... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]


Happy birthday, Microbiology!
2007-11-25 18:07:00
According to Institut Pasteur (Lille, France): "(...) 2007 is the year of the 150th anniversary of Microbiology, born in Lille on August 3rd 1857, when Louis Pasteur, then dean of the Science Faculty at the Lille University, presented his work on lactic acid fermentation at the Société des Sciences de Lille"(So my congratulations arrive some months late) I don't know how many people support such a defined birthday for Microbiology (do other... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]
Read more: Happy

Germ Stories, by Arthur Kornberg
2007-12-19 10:32:00
This book might be a good present... and not necessarily for a child! From University Science Books: Over the years, Nobel laureate Arthur Kornberg regaled his children and grandchildren with rhyming tales of the tiny beasties in the germ parade. Arthur's poems and stories are now available for all in this beautifully rendered children's picture book. Germ Stories will bring the microscopic world to life for the very youngest readers and... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]


Too many techniques, too little time
2008-03-11 12:41:58
Are you overwhelmed by the progress in biological techniques? Have you recently read about some interesting research but could not follow the basic details of a technical procedure? Are you breathing? In case you do want to understand a little bit more about those ... techniques, you can try this collection of articles: Evaluating Techniques in Biomedical Research (Dec. 2007) (All articles are freely available) Topics: 3D structure determination by electron microscopy, X-ray crystal structures, proteomics, two-hybrid experiments, DNA microarrays, chromatin immunoprecipitation, RNA... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]


Women scientists, sixty years ago
2008-03-11 11:59:28
New York City, 1949. During the last three years, Elizabeth Hazen had been isolating hundreds of microbes from dirt samples taken at different locations. Many microbiologists at the time were following a path open by Alexander Fleming, Selman Waksman and others, who discovered that some soil microbes produced certain substances—antibiotics—with powerful activities against bacteria. However, rather than looking for a new agent against prokaryotic microbes, Elizabeth searched for a medicine to fight fungal infections. For this purpose, she grew the soil microbes and tested the cultures against... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]
Read more: Women , scientists

Anthropomicrobiology
2008-03-11 10:29:17
The current issue (February 2008) of Microbiology Today includes a number of articles devoted to the microorganisms that live in our body. In an introductory article (Life on us), Robin Weiss writes: "As an ecosystem, it has become clear that we are only part human, because a significant amount of our biomass is microbial. In demographic terms, microbes outnumber our own cells. While there are 1014 human cells in the average adult, there are probably ~1015 bacteria and >1017 viruses associated with the human body. In terms of genetic diversity and complexity, the microbial metagenome of... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]


How is a cow like an ethanol production plant?
2008-03-04 07:18:15
Hummm... dunno, but microbes may have something to say... (Found via Microbeworld) [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]
Read more: ethanol

Microbial Biotechnology
2008-03-01 08:02:10
Microbial Biotechnology is a new scientific journal, published by Wiley-Blackwell and the Society for Applied Microbiology (UK's oldest microbiological society). The first two issues include research articles, reviews, and web alerts, such as: - Massively parallel pathogen identification using high-density microarrays (research article). - Metabolically engineered bacteria for producing hydrogen via fermentation (review). - Renewable fuels. An annotated selection of World Wide Web sites relevant to the topics in Microbial Biotechnology (web alert). Free access for all issues during... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]
Read more: Microbial

This gun shoots golden bullets (and genes)
2008-02-18 14:52:09
The first time I read the term biolistic, I thought it was a misprint. Then I found out it was a chimera-like word, with a "biological" head and a "ballistic" body. The term describes a method for introducing DNA into cells by literally shooting them with microscopic bullets, which have been previously coated with the desired DNA. Although the technique is mainly used for the genetic engineering of plants, sometimes it is also employed for animal cells and tissues, fungi or bacteria. I have never used a gene gun, not even been close to one, so I greatly enjoyed the following video from JoVE... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]
Read more: shoots

The Bio-Art Case: The End?
2008-02-12 17:00:02
Fresh news on the bio-art case, as read on The Scientist: "A geneticist was sentenced to one year of unsupervised release (no jail time) and a $500 fine for supplying bacteria to an artist, according to the Buffalo News, bringing to an end a well-publicized case that began more than three years ago."Further reading: Geneticist sentenced in art case, The Scientist (11-Feb-2008). Researcher in Kurtz case fined $500, avoids jail, The Buffalo News (11-Feb-2008).Outburst follows fining of figure in Kurtz case, The Buffalo News (12-Feb-2008).Prof sent bacteria to artist; no jail, The Buffalo News... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]


Research Blogging
2008-02-11 08:12:26
From now on, some of my posts (only those discussing peer-reviewed research) will be indexed by Research Blogging , a community-run non-profit organization. Their web site allows readers to find and share blog posts about peer-reviewed research. Additionally, I will edit the code of some of my previous posts, in order to adapt them to the indexing requirements. However, the content of the re-edited posts will remain the same (even with mistakes!). [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]


Microbial Astronauts
2008-02-11 07:56:34
Do you want to increase your productivity? Buy a ticket for the next spaceflight! It may work... if you are a microbe with the ability to produce an interesting metabolite, such as an antifungal agent. The treatment involves some kind of unknown mutation, but that's OK as long as you become a better producer with a stable behavior. Scientists from Zhejiang University and Shandong Lukang Pharmaceutical Co. (China), recently published the following article: Jingle, L., Jianping, L., Zhinan, X., Wei, S., Peilin, C. (2007). Space-flight mutation of Streptomyces gilvosporeus for enhancing... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]
Read more: Microbial

The Virus that Cures
2008-02-04 12:19:32
The following documentary, entitled The Virus that Cures , was produced in 1997 by the BBC for the Horizon series. The 49-minute video illustrates some aspects related to phage therapy, or the use of bacteriophages (i.e., bacterial viruses) to treat bacterial infections. Phage therapy was practiced in the Soviet Union and it is still in use in some countries such as Georgia. The video allows us to listen to researchers from the Institute of Bacteriophage at Tbilisi, Georgia (full name: George Eliava Institute of Bacteriophage, Microbiology and Virology). It is frustrating to see that this... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]


A medicine cabinet in her ears
2008-01-28 07:40:14
Image: European beewolf carrying a honeybee towards its tunnel. Source: Wikipedia. In a previous post (Intertwined lives: symbiosis), I mentioned the friendship between beewolf wasps and their pet microbes: female beewolves carry live cultures of fungicide-producing streptomycetes in specialized glands of their antennae. The insect spreads a secretion from these glands all over its underground nest, just before leaving an egg. The secretion (rich in streptomycetes) protects the beewolf offspring against fungal infections. The symbiosis seems to be quite specific for this particular kind of... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]


Phytochemistry Letters
2008-01-23 06:05:45
The Phytochemical Society of Europe and Elsevier have given birth to a new journal, Phytochemistry Letters , which will cover all aspects related to natural products. Submissions from any field of natural product research are encouraged, including: structural elucidation of natural products, clinical efficacy, safety and pharmacovigilance of herbal medicines, natural product biosynthesis and chemical synthesis, chemical ecology, biotechnology, pharmacology, metabolomics, ethnobotany and traditional usage, natural product metabolism, genetics of natural products... Despite the "phyto-" (=... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]


Petri Dish Circus
2008-01-22 07:23:14
The following video (by MicrobeWorld, grabbed from SciVee) portrays an interview to Mary Resing, artistic director for Active Cultures, a theater company from Maryland, US. She talks about Petri Dish Circus , a play inspired by the extraordinary, classic book Microbe Hunters by Paul de Kruif. The video includes some excerpts from the actual performance. (If video functioning is not smooth: click on "pause", wait for a few minutes as the video gets fully loaded [indicated as a blue bar growing from left to right], then click on "play") Links: Petri Dish Circus (MWV12), the video, as... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]


Deadly Mycelia: Predatory Streptomycetes
2008-01-16 13:16:34
Streptomycetes are often viewed as friendly, soil-dwelling saprophytic bacteria —feeding on dead or decaying matter. But, actually, some of them are pathogenic agents. For instance, Streptomyces scabies is responsible for the common scab of potatoes and other root crops. And some streptomycetes are able to cause human diseases called actinomycetomas, or actinomycotic mycetomas. An example is Bouffardi's white mycetoma, produced by Streptomyces somaliensis. Nevertheless, most actinomycetomas are generally caused by other, non-Streptomyces actinomycetes such as Nocardia and... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]


Twisted Picks 2: Science, Poverty and Medicine
2008-01-10 05:32:47
This is my second edition of Twisted Picks. First Pick: Poverty and human development The Council of Science Editors organized a Global Theme Issue on Poverty and Human Development on October 22, 2007. More than 200 science and health journals participated: PLoS Journals: Poverty CollectionNature: Poverty and Human developmentPNAS: Poverty and Hunger Special FeatureFull list of articles published in the journals participating in the CSE Global Theme Issue Second Pick: Pharma companies and medical literature As read in ScienceDaily, Influence of drug companies on medical literature... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]
Read more: Medicine

The Bio-Art Case
2008-01-09 05:58:44
The news came out on Oct. 11, 2007 (by Carolyn Thompson, AP, as seen at Examiner.com)*: “A college researcher has admitted to illegally mailing bacteria to an avant-garde artist friend in a federal case that arts supporters see as an attack on artistic expression. Dr. Robert Ferrell's attorney, who characterized the mailed material as "high school science bacteria," said the University of Pittsburgh genetics professor agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of "mailing an injurious article" because of his poor health.” This is a sad story, you may know the case. Steven Kurtz, artist and... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]


World TB Day
2008-03-24 08:32:46
From WHO - A world free of TB (WHO = World Health Organization, TB = tuberculosis): "Tuberculosis is an airborne infectious disease that is preventable and curable. People ill with TB bacteria in their lungs can infect others when they cough. An estimated 1.5 million people died from TB in 2006. In addition, another 200,000 people with HIV died from HIV-associated TB. If TB disease is detected early and fully treated, people with the disease quickly become non-infectious and eventually cured. Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), HIV-associated TB, and... [Please follow the link on the title for reading the complete post with images and links]


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