General biology
Category archives for General biology
The controversy surrounding the existence of nanobacteria
Posted by Tara C. Smith on April 16, 2008 This is the sixth of 6 guest posts on infection and chronic disease. By Courtney Cook Kidney stone disease affects approximately 5% of Americans. While several risk factors are well-established, including genetic predisposition, metabolic diseases, lifestyle, and diet, there are still questions over the actual mechanism of calcium stone formation. Many cases do not have…
A Deeper Look into Adenovirus-36 and Obesity
Posted by Tara C. Smith on April 16, 2008 This is the fifth of 6 guest posts on infection and chronic disease. By Whitney Baker My previous blog post examined the idea of an infectious etiology for obesity by a group of possible infectious agents. While these pathogens have been associated with obesity in humans or animals, their causative role in human obesity has…
Infectious Disease-Chronic Inflammation-Cancer
Posted by Tara C. Smith on April 15, 2008 This is the third of 6 guest posts on infection and chronic disease. Does chronic IL-6 levels lead to epigenetic changes in DNA methylation that contribute to this pathway? By Matthew Fitzgerald How can infection be a carcinogen? How do infectious diseases lead to cancer, if at all, is still a highly debated area of…
Big Questions, Little Answers: the debate over autism
Posted by Tara C. Smith on April 14, 2008 This is the second of 6 guest posts on infection and chronic disease. By Rachel Kirby In light of April being Autism Awareness Month it is only natural that certain topics be brought about in the media. Until now I was not aware of the controversy behind the “risk factors” of autism. Let’s begin with…
Bacteriophages to Fight Bacteria: Is this the Beginning of the End?
Posted by Tara C. Smith on April 14, 2008 This is the first of 6 guest posts on infectious causes of chronic disease. By David Massaquoi Is this the Beginning of the end of antibiotic resistant problem or just another scientific false hope of eradicating microorganisms that have co-existed with humans for millions of years? In the days before antibiotics, some researchers saw bacteriophages,…
On E. coli, super soil bacteria, and Hank Williams Jr.
Posted by Tara C. Smith on April 3, 2008 Early this week, grant application; yesterday and today, IRB and IACUC for another project. But once again, fellow Sbers are keeping me busy reading about stories I’d like to be writing on; see yet again Mike on E. coli O157:H7–everything old is new again; Ed on a new study showing yet again how amazing bacteria…
The threat of emerging poxviruses: replacements for smallpox?
Posted by Tara C. Smith on March 25, 2008 1980 marked a milestone in infectious disease epidemiology: the World Health Organization declared the smallpox virus eradicated in the wild. However, while smallpox currently exists only in frozen stocks, poxviruses as a class certainly haven’t disappeared. A related virus, monkeypox, regularly causes illness in Africa, and even spread half a world away in the American…
Objection to vaccination: they cause immunology
Posted by Tara C. Smith on March 24, 2008 In this NY Times article on parents who are opting out of vaccinations, one mom notes her objections: “I refuse to sacrifice my children for the greater good,” said Sybil Carlson, whose 6-year-old son goes to school with several of the children hit by the measles outbreak [in San Diego]. The boy is immunized against…
The ABCs (and DEGs) of hepatitis viruses
Posted by Tara C. Smith on March 7, 2008 It’s just not been Vegas’ week. First a ricin-laced hotel room, then a clinic-associated outbreak of hepatitis C virus (and potentially hepatitis B and HIV) that could become enormous. Meanwhile, an outbreak of hepatitis E is raging in Uganda. So what are these virues, and how in the world could a medical catastrophe of this…
Thar’s bacteria in that there snow!
Posted by Tara C. Smith on February 29, 2008 I really need more time to fill in a gap in my microbiology education: environmental microbiology. I run across papers all the time that are absolutely fascinating, and wish I had a free year to just take some additional coursework in this area. For instance, a paper in today’s Science magazine discusses how atmospheric bacteria…