Julian’s Bug Blog

Arturo Casadevall and David A. Relman Abstract | Anxiety about threats from the microbial world and about the deliberate misuse of microorganisms has led to efforts to define and control these dangers using lists and regulations. One list with tremendous legal implications and a potentially huge impact on research is the Select Agents and Toxins [...]

Cows raised at pasture are not immune to deadly E. coli bacteria. By James E. McWilliams Posted Friday, Jan. 22, 2010, at 7:24 AM ET On Monday, Huntington Meat Packing Inc. recalled a whopping 864,000 pounds of beef thought to contain a particularly nasty strain of E. coli bacteria called O157:H7. Coming shortly after the [...]

22.03.2010 Findings could help tame extremely drug-resistant strains Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found two novel ways of killing the bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB), a disease responsible for an estimated two million deaths each year. The findings, published in the March 21 online issue of Nature Chemical Biology, [...]

“Caring for ourselves is like caring for the planet” By David Suzuki and Faisal Moola Ecosystems come in all shapes and sizes, often without distinct boundaries. And what happens in one ecosystem affects other ecosystems. We can even consider the human body as an ecosystem, or perhaps more correctly as a number of interrelated ecosystems. According to a [...]

Nestlé USA recalled its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough on Friday after health officials linked the dough to infections from the bacteria E. coli in as many as 66 people in 28 states. The recall, by a company with a reputation for strong quality-control measures, once again demonstrates the difficulty of ensuring the safety of [...]

New research has shown that the bacteria in our gut can be a cause of obesity. The human gut is filled with health-giving bacteria, which provide energy, nutrients and digestive aids. Research has now demonstrated that the amount and type of bacteria in your digestive tract can reduce obesity, and not just improve digestion. A [...]

The following is the article discussed: http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2010/03/15/researchers_trying_to_outwit_undead_germs_that_may_cause_chronic_infections/ This is the paper in the Public Library of Science which the article discusses: http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000317 We’ve learned that when the survival of a bacteria is threatened it can retreat in effect to a dormant stage, which will allow it to become active once more in the future, and protect [...]

The article I chose was from The New York Times website: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/06/science/space/06yeast.html?_r=1&scp=28&sq=microbes&st=cse I found further information on the project and its results from the NASA website linked here: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats/pharmasat/main/index.html The point of the experiment was essentially to measure the influence of microgravity on yeast resistance to an anti-fungal agent.  Previous experiments had indicated that some [...]

Soap is better at killing germs than hand sanitizer  A study at the University of Ottawa says that hand sanitizers claiming to kill 99.9% of germs actually kill much fewer in real-world conditions. Although the statement of 99.9% effectiveness may be true in lab settings, in ordinary life using soap and water is a much [...]

The article can be found on the website of the Globe and Mail via the following link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/your-business/business-categories/innovation/pinpointing-lethal-bacteria-within-minutes/article1284589/ I think that such a test would greatly enhance food security and hence have important impacts on society. The need for better and faster control has been demonstrated yesterday: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency had to issue [...]