by Elio — It has happened. Stephn Zielinski has come up with one way to translate a protein sequence into music. To find out how this was done, click here. One more click there and you can listen to the music. Is the process to be called “transcomposition?” The inspiring protein is a swine flu hemagglutinin. The music? Read more →
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Happy Together… Life of the Bacterial Consortium Chlorochromatium aggregatum
by Mark O. Martin — With apologies to the old Turtle’s song (which knocked the Beatle’s “Penny Lane” off the Billboard charts in the spring of 1967), there are many ways that microbes interact with one another. Some intermicrobial interactions can be negative, ranging from competition for resources to predation. Others can be essentially indifferent... Read more →
Of Terms in Biology: Obligate Parasite
by Elio — For bacteria, the term "obligate parasite" can have at least two distinct meanings. 1. A parasite that naturally only reproduces within a host and cannot be artificially cultured... Read more →
The Scandalous Bdelloid Rotifers
by Merry — Sexually reproducing organisms that abandon sexual reproduction are typically doomed to early extinction. This phenomenon, it has been said, is the chief reason that evolutionary biologists think that sex is essential. ☺ Reports of "ancient asexuals" — eukaryotes that have lived without sex for millions of years — have often not held up to close scrutiny. But then there are... Read more →
Coxiella Escapes from Cell!
by Elio — Surprise! Coxiella burnetii, the agent of Q fever, has been grown in cell-free media. This is news because, along with rickettsiae and a few others, C. burnetii is the stereotypical obligate intracellular bacterial parasite. Until now, coxiellae could only be grown within a host or in host cells in culture. So how did... Read more →
ASMCUE 2009
by Elio — ASM sponsors a Conference for Undergraduate Educators (AMSCUE) that is attended by over 300 people every year. Having been there several times, I can attest to the quality and usefulness of... Read more →
Viruses and the Tree of Life
by Vincent Racaniello — Are viruses living entities? I don’t believe so, but it’s an engaging question for debate. On a recent episode of 'This Week in Virology' we concluded that it’s somewhat of a futile argument because everyone has their own view; perhaps our time is better spent studying viruses than... Read more →
Talmudic Question #47
My microbiome and I are in balance and harmony, which seems miraculous. I wish you the same regularity. Here's a thorny question that arises. We know that our bacteria communicate with our body, but what do we know about... Read more →
What You Didn’t Know About Janthinobacterium
by Jenna Tabor-Godwin, Rhona Stuart, Rosa I. León Zayas, and Chitra Rajakuberan — Some bugs are exciting but it takes them a while to become well known. The rod-shaped, Gram-negative Janthinobacterium lividum falls in this category. But recent discoveries about its physiology, ecology, and medicine highlight its importance.J. lividum is commonly found in soil and... Read more →
Of Terms in Biology: Eremacausis
by Elio — Hardly a household word, eremacausis means, according to the dictionary: 'a gradual oxidation from exposure to air and moisture', as in the decay of old trees or of dead animals. This is a microbial activity par excellence and includes what happens in compost piles. Where does this strange term come from? Read more →