Microscopic Organisms - The World of Microbes.
A microorganism (from the Greek: mu; iota; kappa; rho; #972; sigmaf;, mikrós, "small" and #8000; rho; gamma; alpha; nu; iota; sigma; mu; #972; sigmaf;, organismós, "organism"; also spelled micro-organism, micro organism or microörganism) or microbe is a microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell (unicellular), cell clusters, or multicellular relatively complex organisms. The study of microorganisms is called microbiology, a subject that began with Anton van Leeuwenhoek #39;s discovery of microorganisms in 1675, using a microscope of his own design. Microorganisms are very diverse; they include all of the prokaryotes, namely the bacteria and archaea; and various forms of eukaryote, comprising the protozoa, fungi, algae, microscopic plants (green algae), and animals such as rotifers and planarians. Some microbiologists also classify viruses as microorganisms, but others consider these as nonliving. Most microorganisms are unicellular (single-celled), but this is not universal, since some multicellular organisms are microscopic, while some unicellular protists and bacteria, like Thiomargarita namibiensis, are macroscopic and visible to the naked eye. Microorganisms live in all parts of the biosphere where there is liquid water, including soil, hot springs, on the ocean floor, high in the atmosphere and deep inside rocks within the Earth #39;s crust. Microorganisms are critical to nutrient recycling in ecosystems as they act as decomposers. As some microorganisms can fix nitrogen, they are a vital part of the nitrogen cycle, and recent studies ...

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Microscopic Organisms - The World of Microbes. - Video

University of Maryland School of Medicine Researchers Identify Gut Bacteria Associated With Obesity
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have identified 26 species of bacteria in the human gut microbiota that appear to be linked to obesity and related metabolic complications. These include insulin resistance, high blood sugar levels, increased blood pressure and high cholesterol, known collectively as "the metabolic syndrome," which significantly increases an individual #39;s risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke. The results of the study, which analyzed data from the Old Order Amish in Lancaster County, PA, were published online on Aug. 15, 2012, in PLOS ONE, which is published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS). The study is the result of an ongoing collaboration between Claire M. Fraser, PhD, professor, Departments of Medicine and Microbiology Immunology and director of the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) and Alan R. Shuldiner, MD, who is the John L. Whitehurst Professor of Medicine, associate dean for personalized medicine, and director of the Program in Personalized and Genomic Medicine. The collaboration is in connection with the NIH #39;s Human Microbiome Project, which seeks to characterize microbial communities in the body. In this video, Dr. Shuldiner explains their research. Learn more: somvweb.som.umaryland.edu

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University of Maryland School of Medicine Researchers Identify Gut Bacteria Associated With Obesity - Video

How Needle And Thread Influenced My Life: Garabed Antranikian at TEDxTUHH
Dr. Garabed Antranikian studied Biology at the American University in Beirut. At the University of Göttingen he completed his PhD in Microbiology in 1980 and qualified as a post-doctoral lecturer in 1988.In 1989 he was appointed to a professorship in Microbiology at the Hamburg University of Technology where he has been the head of the Institute of Technical Microbiology since 1990. From 1993 to 1999 he coordinated the EU network project Extremophiles. From 2000 to 2003 Prof. Antranikian coordinated the national network project Biocatalysis and is coordinating the Innovation Center Biokatalyse since 2002. He was president of the International Society for Extremophiles and is chief editor of the scientific journal Extremophiles. In 2004 he was awarded the most prestigious prize for environment protection by the president of the Federal Republic of Germany. Since 2007 he is the coordinator of the "Biocatalysis2021" Cluster and the bdquo;Biorefinery2021" Cluster of the Ministry of Education and Research and he is chairman of IBN Industrial Biotechnology North. He is member of the Academy of Sciences of Hamburg and member of the Union of the German Academies of Sciences. He was vice president for academic affairs from 2009 to 2011 before he became president of Hamburg University of Technology in April 2011. Being open-minded, creative and goal oriented is the key for success. Garabed Antranikian describes his extraordinary path that led him to become an international recognized ...

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How Needle And Thread Influenced My Life: Garabed Antranikian at TEDxTUHH - Video

Newswise Feb. 4, 2013 Dr. Lance Price, an Associate Professor at the Translational Genomic Research Institute (TGen), has been appointed to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF).

Dr. Price also is Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at the School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) at George Washington (GW) University.

As a member of the NACMCF, Dr. Price will counsel President Obamas Cabinet the Secretaries of Agriculture and of Health and Human Services on food-safety issues. Specifically, the 30-member panel assesses the microorganisms that indicate whether foods have been properly processed.

This appointment is a tremendous opportunity for the work that we've been conducting at TGen and GW to be translated into a safer food supply for the American public, Dr. Price said.

Dr. Price is Director of the Center for Food Microbiology and Environmental Health at TGens Pathogen Genomics Division, also known as TGen North, in Flagstaff, Ariz. There, Dr. Price and his team are helping pioneer a technique called "genomic epidemiology" to study new and emerging foodborne pathogens.

Dr. Price's group uses the genetic code of foodborne bacteria and human bacterial infections to measure how often these bacteria make us sick. His team is currently studying a special kind of E. coli found on poultry products that may be causing antibiotic-resistant urinary tract infections, particularly in women.

Dr. Paul Keim, Director of TGen North and the Cowden Endowed Chair of Microbiology at Northern Arizona University (NAU), praised the selection of Dr. Price.

Lance is one of the leading scientists in his field. This appointment is not only an honor for him, but also will add to the quality of information and knowledge available to the NACMCF, and thereby brace the governments ability to help protect public health, said Dr. Keim, a world-renowned expert in anthrax and other infectious diseases who also is Director of NAUs Microbial Genetics & Genomics Center, a program that works with numerous government agencies to help thwart bioterrorism and the spread of pathogen-caused diseases.

The NACMCF is chartered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS).

NACMCF members are scientists from academia, industry, other organizations, and federal and state government, as well as one individual affiliated with a consumer group. They are appointed by the USDA Secretary in consultation with the Secretary of HHS, and with advice from the Department of Commerce's National Marine Fisheries Service, the Department of Defense's Defense Logistics Agency, and the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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TGen/GW Microbiology and Environmental Health Expert Dr. Lance Price Appointed to Federal Food-Safety Panel

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

President Barack Obama honored Jan Vilcek, MD, PhD, professor of microbiology at NYU Langone Medical Center, and co-inventor of the rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade, with a prestigious National Medal of Technology and Innovation during an awards ceremony held at the White House last Friday. The medal recognizes those who have made lasting contributions to Americas competitiveness and quality of life and helped strengthen the nations technological workforce. This year 11 individuals received this medal, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government upon scientists, engineers, and inventors.

Dr. Vilcek received this award for his pioneering work on interferons and for his role in the development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. A monoclonal antibody generated in Dr. Vilceks laboratory by he and his colleague Junming Le, PhD, adjunct associate professor of microbiology at NYU Langone, was developed with the biotechnology company Centocor (now Janssen Biotech, Inc.), into a drug that has become known as infliximab or Remicade . To date, Remicade has been used to treat more than 1.6 million patients worldwide.

I am happy and feel greatly honored to receive this award, said Dr. Vilcek. I am grateful that my work in the field of interferon and cytokine research, done over the span of several decades, has been recognized in such an important way.

Dr. Vilcek joined NYU Langone at the age of 31 as an assistant professor of microbiology. He devoted his entire career to the study of a group of natural regulators of the immune system called cytokines, and much of it to the study of a class of cytokines called interferons. He has made contributions to the understanding of the nature of interferons that helped in the development of their clinical applications. Dr. Vilcek and his colleagues were the first to show that there are two distinct families of interferons. Alpha interferon is used to treat Hepatitis B and C, and beta interferon is used to treat multiple sclerosis.

In the early 1980s, Dr. Vilcek with his colleagues took up the study of a cytokine called TNF, at the time still poorly understood. The recognition that overproduction of TNF can contribute to the development of many diseases encouraged Dr. Vilcek and Dr. Le to generate the monoclonal antibody that in collaboration with Centocor resulted in the development of Remicade .Remicade was the first anti-TNF treatment approved for use in patients and the first TNF inhibitor to be approved in three different therapeutic areas: gastroenterology, rheumatology and dermatology. The success of Remicade has spurred the development of other anti-TNF agents that are now being used to treat a variety of inflammatory conditions including Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, psoriasis, and ulcerative colitis.

Dr. Vilcek and his wife Marica F. Vilcek have generously given more than $120 million to NYU Langone Medical Center to fund scholarships, research, and the new medical student residence hall at NYU School of Medicine. Their ongoing support is an outward display of their deep gratitude for the many opportunities the medical center has provided Dr. Vilcek as his intellectual home.

Dr. Vilcek, a native of Bratislava, Slovakia, received his medical degree from the Comenius University Medical School in Bratislava in 1957, and his Ph.D. from the Institute of Virology, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, also based in Bratislava, in 1962.

The National Medal of Technology and Innovation was created by statute in 1980 and is administered for the White House by the U.S. Department of Commerces Patent and Trademark Office. By highlighting the national importance of technological innovation, the medal is also meant to inspire future generations of Americans to prepare for and pursue technical careers to keep America at the forefront of global technology and economic leadership.

Nominees are selected by a distinguished independent committee representing the private and public sectors. Dr. Vilcek is being recognized for his pioneering work on interferons and monoclonal antibodies.

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Jan Vilcek, MD, PhD, Honored At White House Awards Ceremony

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The microbiology testing market is one of the most rapidly evolving segments of the IVD industry globally. Some of the major forces propelling the market include the unceasing propagation of AIDS, cloud of bioterrorism, revolutionarymolecular diagnostic technologies, and wider accessibility of immunosuppressive medications. Furthermore, recent breakthroughs in genetic engineering (GE) are creating capturing opportunities for highly sensitive, specific and cost-effective products. With all these advantages though, there are also huge challenges faced by suppliers these days.

New research study 2012 World Microbiology Market Strategic Analysis: Supplier Shares and Sales Forecasts for 100 Infectious Disease Tests by Country drawn up by Venture Planning Group (VPG) provides a worldwide overview of the microbiology testing market environment, dynamics, trends, structure, sizing and growth potential.

The report provides market segmentation analysis of over 90 diseases and viruses in the seven countries (France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK, and the US), assesses emerging technologies, and reviews current instrumentation. It also features estimates of the number of laboratories performing microbiology tests, as well as test volume and sales projections for microbiology assays by country. The research provides strategic profiles of 32 major suppliers and emerging market entrants with innovative technologies and products. Additionally, emerging opportunities for various products with significant market appeal during the next decade are examined, as well as strategic recommendations are given.

Report Details:

Title: 2012 World Microbiology Market Strategic Analysis: Supplier Shares and Sales Forecasts for 100 Infectious Disease Tests by Country

Published: December, 2012

Pages: 1900

Price: US$ 28,700.00

http://marketpublishers.com/report/in_vitro_diagnostics/microbiology-virology/2012-world-microbiology-market-strategic-analysis-supplier-shares-n-sales-forecasts-4-100-infectious-disease-tests-by-country.html

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Global Microbiology Testing Market Analyzed in New Cutting-Edge Report by VPG Published at Marketpublishers.com