Posts
May 03, 2013
+
Related articles New and Improved B.inky the bacterium: Now in 3D (mhrussel.wordpress.com) A work in progress: scene 2 of extracellular electron transfer as animated GIF (mhrussel.wordpress.com) Bacteria Illustrations Image Gallery Slideshow (mhrussel.wordpress.com) Filed under: Bacteria, Education, Microbiology, STEM Tagged: Animation, Bacteria, Biology, Educational Resources, Environment, Microorganism, Science, STEM
+
Credit WHO # 7226 The World Health Organization has posted an update on their Global Alert & Response news page on the latest three coronavirus cases reported in Saudi Arabia (see ProMed Mail: Details On 10 Coronavirus Cases In Saudi Arabia) Among the details, preliminary confirmation that two of the cases were in the same family. Whether that signifies a common exposure, or human-to-human transmission, is not yet known.
[…]
+
Photo Credit NIAID # 7225 ProMed Mail has recently published two emails from Ziad Memish, Deputy Minister for Public Health for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, that outline – in far greater detail – the first 7 coronavirus cases reported yesterday – and adds 3 more to the list. You’ll find the details, including commentary by ProMed Editors, at NOVEL CORONAVIRUS - EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN (17): SAUDI ARABIA. Subject: Urgent update on nCOV from KSA
[…]
+
2:55 PM | Do viruses require the cytoskeleton?
Maybe not.The post Do viruses require the cytoskeleton? appeared first on MicrobiologyBytes.
+
Coronavirus – Credit CDC PHIL # 7224 It’s been just over 24 hours since Saudi Arabia first announced their discovery of a number of novel coronavirus (nCoV) cases (see hCoV-EMC: Saudi Arabia Reports 7 Cases, 5 Fatal). Disappointingly, their announcement contained pathetically little in the way of useful epidemiological information. Since then journalists, public health experts, and bloggers have expressed deep concerns over what appears to be ongoing and
[…]
+
1:17 PM | All Too Frequent Flyers
# 7223 Two weeks ago, during a CDC: COCA Call On H7N9, a question was asked about the importation of potentially infected poultry from China. Dr. Faye Bresler supplied the following answer: (Dr. Faye Bresler): Hi, this is (Dr. Faye Bresler). I was formally with USDA, and I did a very quick search on the animal and plant health inspection service page on live poultry. It does indicate that there is no importation from the People's Republic of China.
[…]
+
I like to think that my food contains the stuff that is advertised on the label or placard – whether it’s beef, lamb, a specific variety of tomato or pet food. Substituting for cheaper inputs or adding supplemental ingredients isn’t … Continue reading →
+
11:37 AM | WHO: H7N9 Candidate Vaccine Viruses
# 7222 The road to creating, producing, and deploying an emergency pandemic vaccine can be long and fraught with many unexpected twists and turns. Under the best of circumstances it takes several months before the first commercial batches can roll off the production line. So it pays to start the development process as early as possible, even before you know for certain a vaccine will be needed. We’ve seen the precautionary selection of CVVs (Candidate
[…]
+
11:00 AM | TMI Friday: An Unusual Rectal Injury
The year was 1953, it was the fifth of November and a 24 year old man stumbled into Beckett Hospital complaining of abdominal pains. He told the doctors that it was a regular occurrence, that he had been plagued by abdominal pain for the past ten years. He told them that the evening before, he had noticed blood issuing from his bowels, and that he had vomited that morning.
As the doctor noting his horribly swollen and tender belly, he fainted. This made finding the source of the problem
[…]
Butters A.G. (1955). Unusual Rectal Injury, The British Medical Journal, 2 (4939) 602-603. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.2.4939.602
Citation
+
Hächler et al. report in the current issue of Eurosurveillance that from 24 April to 31 July 2011, nine cases of listeriosis were registered in the cantons of Aargau, Basel-Land and Zurich, Switzerland. In six of the cases, infection with Listeria … Continue reading →
+
6:33 AM | Alleged chicken ring found in NZ
Authorities have swooped on an alleged illegal poultry operation in South Auckland, seizing chickens, eggs and cash. Two Manukau properties were raided by investigators after several months of monitoring the chicken enterprise. Operation Ginger was run by the New Zealand … Continue reading →
+
When you do an internet search for "autism" and "vaccine", you open the rotten can of worms that was the claim that MMR vaccines caused autism. That fraudulent research and the conniving scientist behind it, Andrew Wakefield, have been totally discredited. End of story. (Talk to your doctor, your psychologist or your speech-language pathologist - anyone who knows about the scientific studies having to do with autism - and they'll confirm there is no credible evidence that links the vaccine to […]
+
Filed under: Bacteria, Education, Microbiology, STEM Tagged: Bacteria, Biology, Microorganism, Science, STEM
May 02, 2013
+
Coronavirus – Credit CDC PHIL # 7221 Maryn McKenna, writing on her Superbug Blog this evening, takes a hard look at the delays in reporting, and absence of details, in Saudi Arabia’s announcement today of 7 new novel coronavirus cases (see hCoV-EMC: Saudi Arabia Reports 7 Cases, 5 Fatal). Since Maryn needs no prefacing from me, I’ll simply invite you to follow the link and read: New Diseases And National Transparency: Who
[…]
+
Photo Credit NIAID # 7220 It’s been roughly 12 hours since the news of 7 new nCoV (aka hCoV-EMC) coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia broke (see hCoV-EMC: Saudi Arabia Reports 7 Cases, 5 Fatal). The World Health Organization has recently posted an update on their Global Alert & Response page, and its glaring lack of detail reinforces how difficult it has been to get information out of Saudi Arabia on these cases over the past year. We have no onset
[…]
+
8:15 PM | Science: A New H5N1 Reassortant Study
BSL-4 Lab Worker - Photo Credit –USAMRIID # 7219 Ed Yong, writing for Nature News, has the details on a new H5N1 study that – like the Fouchier and Kawaoka studies from 2012 – involved the creation of a more transmissible bird flu virus. A voluntary moratorium on`gain of function’ studies – those seeking to enhance the transmissibility and/or virulence of the H5N1 virus – went into effect in January of 2012 after biosecurity
[…]
+
Images. Filed under: Bacteria, Bioenergy, Microbiology, STEM Tagged: Bacteria, Biology, Cell (biology), Educational Resources, Microorganism, Nature, Science, STEM
+
During the modern era of antibiotic treatment, we have gained unprecedented control over diseases that have plagued humans for centuries. Among the pathogens that the average American never encounters is Mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy. This is also … Continue reading →
+
FIGURE 1. Location of confirmed cases of human infection (n = 126) with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus and deaths (n = 24) — China, February 19–April 29, 2013 # 7218 Playing a little catch-up after having been away from my desk for much of yesterday, we’ve an Early Release MMWR on the avian H7N8 virus outbreak in China. It’s a fairly lengthy report, so I’ll just include a few excerpts (reparagraphed for readability) and invite you to follow the link
[…]
+
3:10 PM | Measles, MMR and the Media
“Scholars have argued that in risk communication a dilemma exists between the media functions of informing the media audience about rational risk behavior, and providing an arena for public deliberation about risk. Optimizing the information function would suggest that media provide clear, unanimous advice without creating confusion by reporting uncertainty and controversy. Optimizing the deliberative [...]The post Measles, MMR and the Media appeared first on MicrobiologyBytes.
+
2:59 PM | An intracellular receptor for antibodies
Posted by: Kasra We usually consider exiting the phagolysosome and entering the cell cytoplasm to be a immune evasion mechanism for pathogens. The pathogens inside the phagolysosome can be processed and presented via MHCII to the adaptive immune system, but once free of that compartment, the pathogen could potentially ‘hide’ from the immune system, well [...]
McEwan WA, Tam JC, Watkinson RE, Bidgood SR, Mallery DL & James LC (2013). Intracellular antibody-bound pathogens stimulate immune signaling via the Fc receptor TRIM21., Nature immunology, 14 (4) 327-36. PMID: 23455675
Geijtenbeek TB & Gringhuis SI (2013). An inside job for antibodies: tagging pathogens for intracellular sensing., Nature immunology, 14 (4) 309-11. PMID: 23507635
Citation
+
Heat map – Credit Laidback Al FluTrackers # 7217 Three days ago, in Chinese Science Bulletin: Early H7N9 Risk Analysis, we looked a a sobering threat analysis of the H7N9 virus by a group of researchers from the China National Avian Influenza Professional Laboratory in Qingdao, China. Crof has managed to contact the corresponding author of the study, Professor Ji-Ming Chen, and has posted (with permission) their illuminating exchange on his blog.
[…]
+
Coronavirus – Credit CDC PHIL # 7216 My thanks to Gregory Hartl, spokesperson for the World Health Organization, for the link to the Saudi Press release on the seven new novel coronavirus cases (see hCoV-EMC: Saudi Arabia Reports 7 Cases, 5 Fatal). What follows is a machine translation from the original Arabic. “Health" monitor seven cases of HIV Coruna five people have died Riyadh 21 Jumada II 1434 H corresponding to May
[…]
+
by Elio A visible portion of the rhizosphere. Source. If you had heard of glomalin, you are a better person than I am. Until a couple of months ago I wasn’t aware of its existence, which is close to sinful: it happens to be a very abundant protein in the soil rhizosphere, playing a key role in the soil’s mechanical...
+
10:53 AM | H7N9: Video Chat Via Science Live
# 7215 Each week Science Magazine holds an online chat with top experts on the hottest topics in science as part of their ScienceLive Series. Later this morning (10 am EDT) they will hold a live video Chat on the H7N9 virus, with guests Yuelong Shu, Marion Koopmans, and moderator Jon Cohen. Here are the details for what should prove a very interesting discussion. Live Chat: The Threat of H7N9 Bird Flu (Video) by Jon
[…]
+
Photo Credit NIAID UPDATED: Confirmed at 7:20am EDT by Gregory Hartl, spokesperson for WHO. # 7214 It’s being widely reported this morning (see Reuters, AFP, Al Jazeera stories) that 5 Saudis have died in recent days from the novel coronavirus (hCoV-EMC aka NCoV), and that two more remain in Intensive Care. Caveat: Thus far, I’ve not been able to find an official announcement from the KSA Ministry of Health. All of the media reports read as if they
[…]
+
In March 2012, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) investigated a foodborne illness outbreak of salmonellosis that included 85 cases, and caused 26 emergency room visits and six hospitalizations. Over a year later, OPH announced staff provided safe food handler training to food premises … Continue reading →
+
Two-year-old Gage Lefevers died on Oct. 12, 2012 after acquiring E. coli O157:H7 at the Cleveland Count, North Carolina, fair. At least 105 additional people were sickened, primarily children. According to wsoctv.com, a task force created to come up with … Continue reading →
+
Monday I gave a talk for the SMBE Eukaryotic Omics satellite meeting that has been going on at UC Davis. When Holly Bik, a post doc in my lab asked me to talk at the meeting, I said, basically "Well, OK, but I don't really do much work on eukaryotes." And then I came up with an idea - I could make my talk about how it might be good to have a better phylogenetic sampling of eukaryotic genome sequences. I have been a bit obsessed for many many years about phylogenetic sampling […]
