Microbiology

Blood Vessel Glue Is Like Mussel Goo

A gel similar to the amino acid that enables mussels to resist the power of churning water can be painted onto the walls of blood vessels and stay put, forming a protective barrier with potentially life-saving benefits.  Mussels have a knack for clinging ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 11 2012 - 6:58pm

Diffract And Destroy!

This sounds a bit like a Dalek invasion.  But in fact it’s research from Arizona State University: ...

Article - Robert H Olley - Dec 12 2012 - 2:34pm

Poop Shows Ancient Human Gut Microbiomes Resemble Modern Non-Human Primates More Than Us

If you are an organic food or paleo diet lover and think it means your gut microbiome resembles your ancestors in any way, you are wrong.  We aren't even close to 100 years ago much less ancient times.  The microbiome does not lie. A team analyzed mi ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 13 2012 - 2:00pm

Black Death Bacteria Reveals How A Vaccine May Be Created

The plague-causing bacteria Yersinia pestis evades detection and establishes a stronghold without setting off the body's early alarms but new discoveries reported this week help explain how the stealthy agent of Black Death avoids tripping a self-des ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 17 2012 - 11:23am

Altered Gut Microbiota Can Protect Against Stroke, Says Paper

A new paper says that altered gut microbiota in humans is associated with symptomatic atherosclerosis and stroke.  The human body contains ten times more bacterial cells than human cells, most of which are found in the gut. These bacteria contain an enorm ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 14 2012 - 1:00pm

Anthropocentricism And Germs

In many modern discussions about bacteria, or germs, we find that novel descriptions are used that are more self-involved than accurate regarding the role of bacteria and microbes.  Certainly there is an increased awareness that many microbes are commensal ...

Article - Gerhard Adam - Dec 19 2012 - 9:00pm

Koch's Postulates

While many people may not be explicitly familiar with Koch's Postulates, they are generally viewed as a type of "common sense" when it comes to pathogens.  Briefly the postulates consist of four criteria. 1.  The microorganism must be found ...

Article - Gerhard Adam - Jan 4 2013 - 9:32pm

Discovery: Penicillin Fungus Can Reproduce Sexually After All

In biology, you learned that the penicillin-producing mold fungus Penicillium chrysogenum only reproduces asexually through spores- it has been taught that way for much of the last century. But a group of researchers now say that the fungus also has a sex ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 8 2013 - 11:51am

New Mechanism Discovery: How A Parasite Causes Cancer

About 200 million people across 75 of the poorest countries in the world are now infected by the blood parasite Schistosoma haematobium (S. haematobium). The infection causes severe urogenital disease, but also causes bladder cancer in a number of patients ...

Article - Catarina Amorim - Jan 16 2013 - 10:07pm

Cyanobacteria And The Great Oxidation Event

Cyanobacteria belong to the Earth's oldest organisms. They are still present today in oceans and waters and even in hot springs. By producing oxygen and evolving into multicellular forms, they played a key role in the emergence of organisms that brea ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 20 2013 - 2:17pm