Tag: Microbiology

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Nature’s Living Magnets: An unexpected tool to treat disease

by Saman Hussain figures by Daniel Utter All living organisms have developed ways to move to places that are beneficial for them. Even tiny organisms like bacteria need to move towards food sources. Finding food becomes much easier if information from the environment is used to help in the search. For example, if you are looking for free pizza in your workplace, relying on randomly … Continue reading Nature’s Living Magnets: An unexpected tool to treat disease

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Antibiotic Resistance: Old genes, new problems

by Alexandra Cantley figures by Joy Jiao and Shannon McArdel Over the last several years, antibiotic resistance has gripped the attention of the public. Recently, newspapers have alerted us to a “superbug” in China and detailed the struggles of Daniel Fells, a Giants team member who is facing surgery for a persistent MRSA infection [1,2]. Yet, a recent survey conducted by the World Health Organization … Continue reading Antibiotic Resistance: Old genes, new problems

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Double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble: A medieval drug raises cautious hope in the fight against MRSA

A 1000-year-old Anglo-Saxon recipe for eye stys in Bald’s Leechbook directs the reader to take the ingredients and “pound them well together” before letting them stew for nine days. A group from Nottingham University followed Bald’s recipe and their close attention to the medieval text paid off when they saw that the garlicky slime produced by their efforts killed 90% of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) on … Continue reading Double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble: A medieval drug raises cautious hope in the fight against MRSA

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New Weapons in the Fight against Germs: A Technique to Find More Anti-bacterial Compounds

Certain types of life-threatening bacteria are no longer killed by current antibiotics, creating a need to develop new compounds to fight them. Scientists have been studying proteins produced by animals and humans, called cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs), that the body uses to fight off infections. Recently, scientists developed a new method to identify CAMPs, and they hope the method can uncover CAMPs that are effective … Continue reading New Weapons in the Fight against Germs: A Technique to Find More Anti-bacterial Compounds

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Which rodent is to blame for Bubonic Plague outbreaks?

In many elementary schools, students are introduced to the idea that rats spread one of the deadliest diseases in human history – the Bubonic plague. It was told in history classes that rats carried fleas, which carried the bacteria responsible for the Bubonic plague. These rodents prospered in the poor sanitary conditions of European cities and went on to spread the disease to humans throughout … Continue reading Which rodent is to blame for Bubonic Plague outbreaks?

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A “dirty” trick to discover new drugs

Overprescription of antibiotics pressures bacteria to evolve resistance. The rise of antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” – harmful bacteria that cannot be treated with antibiotics – is an often overlooked threat to public health. The World Health Organization, however, recognizes bacterial antibiotic resistance as a “major threat,” and the problem is gaining media attention including a recent Science in the News article [1,2]. Recently, a research team from … Continue reading A “dirty” trick to discover new drugs

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The Human Microbiome and Media Confusion

Science journalism is an essential medium for keeping the general public well informed about ground breaking and exciting science. But in the process of translating complex research into attractive material for general consumption important details and subtleties are often lost. Unfortunately these losses can result in misleading representations of science, communicating preliminary and correlative data as nearly proven fact. Separating truth from hype isn’t easy … Continue reading The Human Microbiome and Media Confusion

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Credit: Geralt (Pixabay).
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Big Role for Bacteria in Human Population Dynamics?

The age distribution of human populations is unique among animal species. Children remain dependent on their parents for an extended time, and the elderly live long after the end of their reproductive period. Some scientists now speculate that microorganisms may be responsible for this unusual aspect of human nature. To test this idea, researchers created mathematical models of early hunter-gatherer societies and divided each population … Continue reading Big Role for Bacteria in Human Population Dynamics?

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Virus May Be Making Sea Stars Sick

Sea stars are famed for their multiple arms, ability to regenerate limbs, and colorful camouflage. While more than 2,000 species of sea stars inhabit the world’s oceans, millions of these creatures have died from sea star wasting disease (SSWD) within the past 18 months. SSWD begins when a sea star’s arms curl up, and grotesquely concludes when the entire animal disintegrates. Scientists now believe that … Continue reading Virus May Be Making Sea Stars Sick

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Keeping the peace: Bacteria and immune responses in the human gut

The human gut is host to 100 trillion bacteria. To put this number into perspective, bacteria outnumber our cells by more than 10 to 1. These microbial tenants, however, are not just free loaders taking advantage of our generosity. In fact, the majority of beneficial bacteria (“symbionts”) have undergone a rapid period of evolutionary change likely benefitting not only themselves but also their hosts. For … Continue reading Keeping the peace: Bacteria and immune responses in the human gut

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