Microbiology

Haptic Optical Tweezers Let You Touch The Microcosmos

Researchers at Université Pierre et Marie Curie in France have unveiled a new technique that allows microscope users to manipulate samples using a technology known as haptic optical tweezers. The new technique allows users to explore the microworld by sen ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 15 2013 - 6:28pm

Open Gut Swimming: Fish Skin Immune Responses Resemble Those Of Stomach

A new study has found that not only does fish skin resemble the gut morphologically, but key components of skin immune responses are also akin to those of the gut.  Fish skin is unique in that it lacks keratin, the fibrous protein found in mammalian skin ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 15 2013 - 7:30am

The Cat And Mouse Nature Of The Parasite Behind Toxoplasmosis

The Toxoplasma parasite has been linked spontaneous abortion in pregnant women and killing immune-compromised patients, but it has even stranger effects in mice.  Infected mice lose their fear of cats. That's good for cats and then for the parasite, ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 18 2013 - 6:32pm

CSI: A 'Microbial Clock' May Help Determine Time Of Death

A new study finds that a 'microbial clock' may help forensic scientists who are attempting to determine the time of death in cases involving human corpses.  The 'clock' in this instance is essentially the lock-step succession of bacter ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 24 2013 - 4:33pm

Oceanic Crust Shows Evidence Of Microscopic Life

The bottom of the deep ocean is not the most hospitable place in the world, but it is not devoid of life either. Scientists have recently documented that oxygen is disappearing from seawater circulating through deep oceanic crust, a possible step in under ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 27 2013 - 9:00am

Cold, Salty And Promiscuous In Antarctica

In Antarctica's Vestfold Hills, Deep Lake has been isolated from the ocean for the last 3,500 years ago, a result of Antarctic continent rising that has left a saltwater ecosystem that remains liquid, even in extreme cold. ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 1 2013 - 6:30am

Fight Fat With Botox

Nothing says weight loss like botulism. Obesity is a growing problem across the globe. Being overweight can lead to severe diseases and conditions, like diabetes and heart problems. The World Health Organization estimates that obesity is responsible for 2 ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 14 2013 - 7:00am

Raw Milk Not Worth The Risk- Study

As a kid, I drank raw milk. It didn't kill me. If I got sick from it, I have no idea, kids get sick from lots of things and just want to get back to playing baseball, we weren't thinking about how we got ill. ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Dec 13 2013 - 12:42pm

HDM-4: New Substance Kills Multi-Resistant Bacteria

Since their invention, antibiotics have made it possible to cure lethal bacterial infections but in recent years the efficacy of antibiotics has been drastically reduced due to overuse and resulting bacterial resistance. Today, bacteria resistant to nearl ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 30 2013 - 10:01am

Horseshoe Bats In China Confirmed As SARS Origin

A team of international scientists has isolated a very close relative of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) from horseshoe bats in China, confirming them as the origin of the virus responsible for the 2002-3 pandemi, which killed ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 31 2013 - 11:02am