by Roberto
As a U.S. citizen living abroad, I often get queried about COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Why do so many people refuse the vaccine? Let me put it bluntly: I do not understand it.
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Typhus Vaccines
Fine Reading: Did You Know That Algae Can Be Pathogens?
by Elio
Not all of us, me included, are fully aware that the algae include pathogens of many vertebrates, such as humans and domesticated animals. The most important ones are Prototheca bovis (once P. zopfii) and P. wickerhamii. A fine overview of this subject by Shave, Millyard and May from the University of Birmingham, UK, has been...
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Bacterial Symbionts Halt The Disease Burden of Dengue Virus
by Rupinder Kaur, Sarah R. Bordenstein, and Seth R. Bordenstein
Amidst a global surge and focus on COVID-19 infections, other diseases that have had and will continue to have impact on human health cannot be forgotten. Dengue, for example, continues to be a major mosquito-borne viral infection, impacting more than 100 million people per year. Dengue can inflict...
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Having the bow and arrow might not be enough...
by Natália C. Drebes Dörr
Daily challenges in the life of microscopic organisms are not that different from those experienced by cheetahs and gazelles in the savannas. Bacteria are usually embedded in communities where they need to actively compete for food and space. Also, they are often under the attack of voracious predators such as bacteriophages and protists, which they fight...
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Spy Gadgets
by Janie
Some bacterial enzymes have interesting character arcs. DNA polymerase, courtesy of Thermus aquaticus, soaks up the limelight as an enzyme pulled out of bacteria and catapulted into molecular biology stardom. One enzyme that is certainly less-known is FbaB, which helps Streptococcus pyogenes adhere to and invade host cells...
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The Streptococcal Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
by Janie
In Norse mythology, the goddess Freyja has a cloak of feathers that can ferry her between human and falcon forms. The Aztec deity Tezcatlipoca sometimes wore a jaguar skin to disguise himself. Sneaking into the ranks of such mythological figures is the more tangible and much smaller Group A Streptococcus...
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Erisipelothrix rhusiopathiae on TV – A Snippet
by Elio
A recent episode of the British TV series 'Doc Martin' dealt with a somewhat unusual bacterium. Several children in the small town in Cornwall came down with what the good doctor thought was impetigo, a highly contagious skin infection caused by staph or strep. But the lab report...
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A Change in the Plan of Construction
by Roberto
On occasion you might come across an odd-looking plant where the flower organ has been replaced by a leafy structure. To the amateur gardener this will seem a remarkable curiosity, to the professional plant grower it will signify substantial economic losses. To Johann Wolfgang von Goethe such sights meant the...
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Family Feud: Commensal vs. Pathogenic Neisseria
by Camille Brzechffa
Although several current research endeavors developing preventative measures focus on vaccines for N. gonorrhoeae, few have examined how resident bacteria of the human body can combat its colonization.
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Touch-Tone Transcription: A Pathogen's Sense of Touch
by Janie
In a world buzzing with sensory input of all stripes and colors, a bacterium isn't one to miss out on any of the latest surrounding scoop. The sense of touch is not ignored. Mechanical feedback influences how a bacterium might move or stay in place...
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