Aetiology

Profile

"...a veritable expert on tawdry cosmetic procedures gone horribly awry..."--Kevin Beck

Tara C. Smith is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology. Her research involves a number of pathogens at the animal-human nexus. Additionally, she is the founder of Iowa Citizens for Science and also writes for The Panda's Thumb and WIRED SCIENCE's Correlations. Please note the views expressed on this site are Dr. Smith's alone and may not be representative of the groups mentioned above.

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Infectious Disease Series

Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses series

Did Yersinia pestis really cause the Black Death? series

Pandemic Influenza Series

"The Basics" series

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Infectious disease:

The controversy surrounding the existence of nanobacteria

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...

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Posted on April 16, 2008 12:30 PM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

A Deeper Look into Adenovirus-36 and Obesity

How strong is the link between adenovirus and obesity?

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Posted on April 16, 2008 8:00 AM • 21 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, and Milk

A unique perspective on Crohn's and infectious disease.

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Posted on April 15, 2008 5:00 PM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Bacteriophages to Fight Bacteria: Is this the Beginning of the End?

Will bacteriophage treatment for "superbugs" save lives, or create even worse pathogens?

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Posted on April 14, 2008 12:15 PM • 18 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Raw milk demand increases despite the risk

In this "natural" = "better" world, raw milk consumption is increasing. Is it worth the risk?

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Posted on April 11, 2008 12:45 PM • 137 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Mumps in the midwest: a 2006 retrospective

How did mumps make a resurgence in 2006? A new paper examines the factors.

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Posted on April 10, 2008 2:35 PM • 14 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Landscape ecology and infectious disease: macro meets micro

Little organisms + big ideas = novel interdisciplinary work.

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Posted on April 8, 2008 5:20 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

On E. coli, super soil bacteria, and Hank Williams Jr.

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...

Posted on April 3, 2008 3:35 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Elsewhere...

Busy here; good stuff other places to check out.

Posted on April 2, 2008 2:40 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

The threat of emerging poxviruses: replacements for smallpox?

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,...

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Posted on March 25, 2008 3:35 PM • 23 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Objection to vaccination: they cause immunology

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...

Posted on March 24, 2008 6:40 PM • 207 Comments • 0 TrackBacks