Scientists uncover how superbug fights off antibiotic

Investigators working to stem the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria have taken a major step in their efforts to develop new treatments. Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston have identified a novel mechanism that the hard-to-treat superbug called vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) uses to fend off the key front-line antibiotic daptomycin. VRE often affects critically ill patients.

Richness of human gut microbiome correlates with metabolic markers

We are facing a global health crisis caused by an obesity epidemic. Scientists report the human gut microbial composition in a population sample of non-obese and obese individuals. The 2 groups differ in the number of gut microbial genes and thus gut bacterial richness. They contain known and previously unknown bacterial species at different proportions; individuals with a low bacterial richness (23% of the population) are characterized by more adiposity, insulin resistance, dyslipidaemia, and a more pronounced inflammatory phenotype when compared with high bacterial richness individuals. The obese individuals among the lower bacterial richness group also gain more weight over time. Only a few bacterial species are sufficient to distinguish between individuals with high and low bacterial richness, and even between lean and obese participants. Classifications based on variation in the gut microbiome identify subsets of individuals in the general population who may be at increased risk of progressing to adiposity-associated health problems.

The Next Big Microscopic Thing - Nanobugs, Inc.

Here a nice website with very basic info about microbes (bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites). The mission of Nanobugs, Inc. is to both entertain and educate people of all ages about practical microbiology for the purpose of infection prevention and health promotion. Their entertaining formats communicate knowledge that is both memorable and usable.

How will crops fare under climate change? Depends on how you ask.

The damage scientists expect climate change to do to crop yields can differ greatly depending on which model was used to make projections. While the most dire scenarios always loom large in the minds of the public and policymakers, most are usually not aware of how the modeling influences the outcome.

The report in the journal Global Change Biology is one of the first to compare agricultural projections generated by empirical models to those by mechanistic models. Building on similar studies from ecology, the researchers found yet more evidence that empirical models may show greater losses as a result of climate change, while mechanistic models may be overly optimistic.

Learn Medical Microbiology

Check it out microbiology folks, a new flash card app for pathogenic microbes. SPOILER ALERT! They are not free. :-(

The Microbe Cards from Eye Cue Cards are designed to look like classic trading cards, with full color images, diagrams, and text for medically important microbes. The set has 103 cards organized into bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.

The Horrifying Story of the Last Death by Smallpox

So, the last unfortunate victim of smallpox in 1978 was infected by an unsafe research lab at the University of Birmingham in the UK. She had the misfortune of an office 1 floor above a smallpox lab that was not properly fitted with biosafety equipment.