by Roberto — There are literally thousands of fungal species that cause plant diseases and their effects on agricultural crops ends of costing billions of dollars every year. Many of these fungal plant pathogens are fascinating subjects for study. Among the many, I have a personal "favorite." I place the word in quotes because I recognize the oddity of labeling a pathogen... Read more →
Fungomania II. Singing Frogs
by Roberto — Like many others, I am having trouble focusing on work these days. I admit it, I've had difficulties sitting down to write this post; the mind keeps wandering off, imagining the likely scenarios of the coming months. After all, we are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to overcome my anxiety, I find solace in thinking that... Read more →
@NAChristakis on COVID-19 and Immunity
by the STC team — We came across a long thread on Twitter these days that outlines realistic perspectives for a way through and out of the pandemic. The author, Nicholas A. Christakis (@NAChristakis), a sociologist and physician who conducts research in the areas of social networks and biosocial science at Yale University, kindly granted us permission to re-blog... Read more →
A Bacterial Protein Takes on "Birds of a Feather Flock Together"
by Janie — For a bacterium, sticking onto things is the go-to way to play it safe. The ability of bacteria to adhere to surfaces is a major boon to their survival, enabling them to colonize and form communities in diverse environments ranging from deep sea vents to steel piping to animals' teeth. In many instances, sticking onto surfaces... Read more →
Pictures Considered #49 : C-Reactive Protein
by Elio — Among the blood tests that your doctor may prescribes is the one for C-Reactive Protein (CRP). What is it? CRP is a protein made by the liver in response to inflammation anywhere in the body, so a positive result will alert the physician that something along those lines is going on some place within you. Read more →
Whipple’s Disease and Its Bovine Ilk
by Elio — Whipple’s disease is both uncommon and strange. Among clinicians, it is best known for causing malabsorption, leading to malnutrition and even death. The causative agent is a bacterium but its identity was mysterious, being that it was (and remains) "not-yet-cultured" in laboratory media. It was one of the first bacterial pathogens to be identified using molecular techniques (see this 1992 paper by Relman et al., and was subsequently named Tropheryma whipplei. Read more →
Bullseye! Promising Research on a Vaccine for Lyme Disease
by Samantha Rocha — Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the United States, with most cases occurring in the Northeastern states. Western blacklegged ticks commonly reside on deer, where they become infected with Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease. Read more →
Limiting Manganese to Reduce Enterococcus faecalis Virulence
by Madeline Beaulieu — With the reported rise in antibiotic-resistant pathogens, it remains important to study the basic biology of these organisms to uncover what makes them so durable. Why do they survive so well in certain environments, and how might we effectively interfere with that? Read more →
Outer Membrane Vesicles and Biopearling. A Snippet
by Elio — When I started out in microbiology some 70 years ago, bacteria were just little balls or sausage-shaped rods, and, if you were of a fancy mindset, corkscrew-like structures. Some were endowed with flagella or capsules, but not much else. Their surface area was limited to what you could see under an optical microscope. Read more →
Phage Therapy – an Update
by Elio — Has there ever been a more perplexing topic in microbiology than phage therapy? Well, that of probiotics comes close. Both have an over 100-year history, both have proponents as well as detractors, both have seen major investments in research and commercialization. Read more →