Last week I blogged about the FDA's ruling to classify human stool as an investigational new drug, making it more difficult for patients with recurrent C. difficile infection to undergo fecal transplantation, an incredibly effective therapy. I was scheduled to perform a fecal transplant on a patient this morning, but notified her a few weeks ago that we could not proceed because of the new ruling. She asked to keep the appointment with me anyway. She presented to clinic this morning and […]

Slow lorises in the deep dark of the Vietnamese forest are probably wise to avoid the scientist who wanders by with a flashlight and a notebook. There are other humans about with less noble intentions.

Illustration of a Generic Flu Virus Centers for Disease Control and Prevention A synthetic biology method proves its chops. A copy of the genetic code of an H7N9 avian flu-similar to, but not exactly the same as the flu that has killed 36 people in China-arrived in a lab in Boston Easter Sunday, 2011. By Saturday, scientists had made a vaccine against it, the Boston Globe reported. That turnaround time is weeks faster than the current best vaccine-making methods. The new shot-making strategy […]

Well, I haven’t been to Chelsea (again) this year, but I have been to Ikea, which has got to be the next best thing ;) In fact, they have quite a range of GYO products this year, including some funky fabric planters, grow kits, tomato plants and the occasional Calamondin orange. They’ve bought into the living wall trend as well: If you’d like to create your own version, it uses the GRUNDTAL containers. I hear that edibles have been a big feature of Chelsea this […]

I am pleased to have a guest post in my "Story behind the paper" series.  This one is from Jeremy Barr in Forest Rohwer's lab about a new PNAS paper.  Bacteriophage and mucus. Two unlikely entities, or an exceptional symbiosis? By Jeremy J. Barr Our recent research at The Rohwer Lab at San Diego State University investigates a new symbiosis formed between bacteriophage, viruses that only infect and kill bacteria, and mucus, that slimy stuff coating your mouth, nose, […]