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Category Archives: Microbiology

Turns out you can learn a lot from a belly button

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Salisbury, North Carolina

Catawba College News Service

SALISBURY It turns out you can learn a lot about microbiology by simply sampling the bacteria from a belly button. Catawba College students enrolled in Dr. Carmony Hartwigs microbiology and immunology course last spring swabbed their own navels and discovered a new bacterial world.

Hartwig says her class went wild when offered the chance to have some inquiry-based fun. Twenty students worked to emulate an N.C. State University research project studying belly button bacterial biodiversity done in conjunction with the N.C. Science Museum in Raleigh (Huclr et al., 2012; in the lab of Robert Dunn).

The original (NCSU) project used a high-throughput genetic sequencing method to look at identification of bacterial species from isolated individual navel cultures. I decided that since the students were in the process of learning microbial identification techniques through testing unknown bacteria this would be a fantastic opportunity to characterize one isolated bacterial colony from their own sample using both microscopy and biochemical tests.

We also decided to perform genetic sequencing of the students samples, which taught the students not only genetics-based laboratory skills, but bioinformatics techniques using known genetic information to get identification of an unknown species.

Hartwig explained that the DNA from each students belly button bacteria was isolated and then a probe was run for a specific and conserved 16S rRNA sequence. Of the samples sequenced we successfully generated over 50 percent clean and identifiable DNA sequence; fantastic for the first time our students attempted this kind of project, she added, noting that the biology department is doing a smaller inquiry-based modification to this project in the introductory molecules and cells course.

Senior Linda Castillo of China Grove was one of Hartwigs students and expressed her enthusiasm for the project. The belly button project was a great way to build skills required in a research environment. While we were performing this small research experiment, we learned the techniques to build and form many types of bacterial cultures. We awaited the results and problem-solved if something went awry.

Not only did Dr. Hartwig teach us the necessary for class, but she expanded it to give us a taste of what research really consists of. Each step of the way, we were curious to see what sort of bacteria each of us grew on our skin and were anxious to see the results making the experience all the more worthwhile and enjoyable!

When we began the experiment some of us were rather skeptical of the probability that we would get interesting results. This couldnt have been farther from the truth. After taking samples from our own belly buttons and culturing the bacteria, we were amazed to see that the type of bacteria from one student to the next varied greatly. We learned many laboratory techniques throughout this project and Dr. Hartwig did an amazing job of making us see lab as an exciting experience rather than work we were required to do, senior Juliana Conte of Hampton, Ontario, explained. It was interesting to take something that was on our bodies, culture it and analyze our results. Overall, it was a great experience.

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Turns out you can learn a lot from a belly button

MWV Episode 78 / This Week in Microbiology 64: URI and UTI at ICAAC in Denver – Video

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MWV Episode 78 / This Week in Microbiology 64: URI and UTI at ICAAC in Denver
A recorded version of a live streaming video episode of This Week in Microbiology (TWiM), a podcast about unseen life on Earth, with Vincent Racaniello, a Hi...

By: American Society for Microbiology

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MWV Episode 78 / This Week in Microbiology 64: URI and UTI at ICAAC in Denver - Video

Event holds lens to region innovation

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HAMMOND | Cardboard 3-D glasses with red and blue lenses were passed down rows of people seated in folding chairs.

The lights dimmed, and a video appeared on a large projector screen, taking viewers on a 3-D virtual tour of the space behind the screen: the PCL Alverno microbiology lab.

Minutes later, the group saw the equipment and procedures firsthand.

The Hammond lab was the site Thursday of the 20th Innovators Cafe. PCL Alverno hosted the event, which was sponsored by the Gerald I. Lamkin Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center and the Society of Innovators of Ivy Tech Community College Northwest.

Lab director Dale Kahn and microbiology manager Jim Clark described in depth the work Alverno performs, namely processing samples submitted by local physicians, research groups and 26 hospitals in Indiana and Illinois.

One piece of high-tech equipment can identify bacteria a day earlier than traditional methods and help physicians identify the best antibiotic to fight it. Another equipment system automates specimen processing.

PCL Alverno is a designated Siemens Microbiology Innovation Center, serving as a reference for other labs interested in what Siemens offers in microbiology testing.

"May I remind you: this is not Silicon Valley, this is not Boston, this is not New York. This is Northwest Indiana," said John Davies, managing director of the Society of Innovators.

The Innovators Cafe is a series of two-hour sessions that draw leaders from local businesses, municipalities, organizations and academic settings. Each event is at a new location, which groups can tour.

Thomas Coley, chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College Northwest, said hosting the event at the lab would deepen people's appreciation for having such technology in their own backyard.

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Event holds lens to region innovation

Donald Low: Colleagues remember a voice of reassurance in Toronto’s SARS crisis

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More Video

A healthy high school lunch

"Splinter Cell" continues to evolve

He was the calm, approachable voice of reason during a public health disaster that gripped Toronto a decade ago.

She was the tiny but powerful woman who helped lead the city through its darkest days battling the disease.

Both were the public faces of SARS in Toronto and both are now gone.

Dr. Donald Low, chief of microbiology at Mount Sinai Hospital for nearly three decades and a key figure in the fight against infectious diseases, died this week of a brain tumour at 68.

His death comes five years after Dr. Sheela Basrur who as Torontos chief medical officer of health stood beside Low to reassure the public during the SARS crisis died of a rare cancer at age 51.

They both had the ability to deal with very difficult situations with grace, a sense of humour, a sense of humility, said Public Health Ontario president Dr. Vivek Goel, a former colleague of both.

A lot of it was the chemistry between them. They had different strengths they were able to bring, and worked together on answering the questions that were coming up.

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Donald Low: Colleagues remember a voice of reassurance in Toronto’s SARS crisis

Indian girl, 13, begins master’s in microbiology

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Sushma Verma, 13, is honored as "India's Child Prodigy" in Lucknow, India. (The Associated Press)

LUCKNOW, India In a country where many girls are still discouraged from going to school, Sushma Verma is having anything but a typical childhood.

The 13-year-old girl from a poor family in northern India has enrolled in a program for a master's degree in microbiology, after her father sold his land to pay for some of his daughter's tuition in the hope of catapulting her into India's growing middle class.

Verma finished high school at 7 and earned an undergraduate degree at age 13 milestones she said were possible only with the sacrifices and encouragement of her uneducated and impoverished parents.

"They allowed me to do what I wanted to do," Verma said. She lives with three younger siblings and her parents in a cramped single-room apartment in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state.

Having no television and little else at home has advantages, she said. "There is nothing to do but study."

Her older brother graduated from high school at 9, and in 2007 became one of India's youngest computer science graduates at 14.

This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to an editing error Sushma Verma's age was misstated in the headline. Verma is 13 years old.

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Indian girl, 13, begins master's in microbiology

Indian girl, 19, begins master’s in microbiology

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Sushma Verma, 13, is honored as "India's Child Prodigy" in Lucknow, India. (The Associated Press)

LUCKNOW, India In a country where many girls are still discouraged from going to school, Sushma Verma is having anything but a typical childhood.

The 13-year-old girl from a poor family in northern India has enrolled in a program for a master's degree in microbiology, after her father sold his land to pay for some of his daughter's tuition in the hope of catapulting her into India's growing middle class.

Verma finished high school at 7 and earned an undergraduate degree at age 13 milestones she said were possible only with the sacrifices and encouragement of her uneducated and impoverished parents.

"They allowed me to do what I wanted to do," Verma said. She lives with three younger siblings and her parents in a cramped single-room apartment in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state.

Having no television and little else at home has advantages, she said. "There is nothing to do but study."

Her older brother graduated from high school at 9, and in 2007 became one of India's youngest computer science graduates at 14.

This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to an editing error Sushma Verma's age was misstated in the headline. Verma is 13 years old.

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Indian girl, 19, begins master's in microbiology

Minister Ambrose Visits Leading Edge Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory in Canada

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WINNIPEG, MANITOBA--(Marketwired - Sep 17, 2013) - The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health, and Member of Parliament Joyce Bateman, Winnipeg South Centre, today visited the Public Health Agency of Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) to meet with scientists and see first-hand the latest leading edge research and innovation contributing to protecting the health of Canadians.

"Our Government understands the importance of scientific research," said Minister Ambrose. "Scientific research and innovation will continue to be a priority because they make advances in healthcare possible and ultimately make our health system more efficient, more sustainable and more productive."

Highlights of the Minister's tour included:

The Public Health Agency of Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory is a Level 4 laboratory that is dedicated to the protection of Canadians and global public health. Through internationally recognized leadership, scientific excellence and public health innovation, the NML conducts research on established, emerging and rare pathogens. Its activities include disease surveillance; reference microbiology services; and emergency preparedness and response.

For well over a decade, the NML has played a leading role in Canada's response to several public health challenges both domestically and internationally, including the appearance of West Nile virus in 1999, SARS in 2003 and H1N1 in 2009.

The NML is internationally renowned among laboratories for safety and security systems. The lab continues to meet or exceed all national and international standards for biocontainment. It is also a world leader when it comes to strong connections with the community and the lab's Community Liaison Committee is a role model for other high containment laboratories.

"Our Government is pleased to support Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory," said Minister Ambrose. "We are a world leader in innovation and research and this leading edge laboratory demonstrates what we have to offer Canada and the world."

Minister Ambrose is also holding a roundtable meeting with health leaders to explore the role of technological innovation in improving the efficiency and productivity of the healthcare system. The Minister will be holding similar roundtable sessions in various locations across Canada. Each roundtable meeting will include researchers, healthcare practitioners, IT innovators, and system management experts.

galement offert en franais

Public Health Agency of Canada news releases are available on the Internet at: http://www.phac.gc.ca

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Minister Ambrose Visits Leading Edge Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory in Canada

Viruses and algae in the Sea

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16.09.2013 - (idw) Max-Planck-Institut fr marine Mikrobiologie

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology and their colleagues from the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research uncover how viruses regulate carbon release from the alga Phaeocystis globosa. They published their discovery in the ISME Journal.

Phaeocystis globosa is an alga forming harmful blooms in the coastal waters of the North Sea. The decay of algal biomass at the end of the bloom leads to massive release of organic matter, which in turn stimulates the growth of a variety of heterotrophic gamma- and alpha-proteobacteria. An important source of mortality for these algae are lytic P. globosa viruses. We therefore investigated how algal viral infection and subsequent lysis affects the community structure of the associated bacteria, explains Dr. Abdul R. Sheik, the lead author of this study. In control experiments they showed that the bacterial composition of infected algal cultures differed from non-infected cultures after 5 hours. In order to understand the underlying mechanism Dr. Sheik and colleagues monitored the uptake of the released organic material by the bacterioplankton using isotopically-labeled algal biomass (with isotopes of nitrogen and carbon). Assimilation of the substrate was quantified in single bacterial cells using imaging secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS) with a sub-micrometer spatial resolution. Surprisingly, we saw colonization of algal cells and uptake of labeled carbon and nitrogen by Alteromonas cells long before the algal cells lysed, explains Abdul Sheik. This suggests that infected but still intact algae can already shape the microbial community composition by excretion or leakage of organic matter.

These results reveal a new pathway in the transfer of algal biomass to the bacterioplankton and, in a larger picture, new mechanism of retaining carbon in the euphotic zone.

Further Information Dr. Abdul R. Sheik, +352 46 66 44 5746, abdul.sheik@uni.lu Prof. Dr. Marcel Kuypers, +49 421 2028602, mkuypers@mpi-bremen.de

Press office Dr. Manfred Schloesser, +49 421 2028704, mschloes@mpi-bremen.de

Involved institutions Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystems Dynamics, Amsterdam

Original article Responses of the coastal bacterial community to viral infection of the algae Phaeocystis globosa Abdul R. Sheik, Corina P. D. Brussaard, Gaute Lavik, Phyllis Lam, Niculina Musat, Andreas Krupke, Sten Littmann, Marc Strous and Marcel M. M. Kuypers doi: 10.1038/ismej.2013.135 Weitere Informationen:http://www.mpi-bremen.de Webpage of the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology

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Viruses and algae in the Sea

Indian girl, 13, enrolls in microbiology master’s

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Biswajeet Banerjee, The Associated Press Published Monday, September 16, 2013 8:23AM EDT

LUCKNOW, India -- In a country where many girls are still discouraged from going to school, Sushma Verma is having anything but a typical childhood.

The 13-year-old girl from a poor family in north India has enrolled in a master's degree in microbiology, after her father sold his land to pay for some of his daughter's tuition in the hope of catapulting her into India's growing middle class.

Verma finished high school at 7 and earned an undergraduate degree at age 13 -- milestones she said were possible only with the sacrifices and encouragement of her uneducated and impoverished parents.

"They allowed me to do what I wanted to do," Verma said in an interview Sunday, speaking her native language of Hindi. "I hope that other parents don't impose their choices on their children."

Sushma lives a very modest life with her three younger siblings and her parents -- eating, sleeping and studying alongside them in a cramped single-room apartment in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state.

Their only income is her father's daily wage of up to 200 rupees (less than $3.50) for labouring on construction sites. Their most precious possessions include a study table and a second-hand computer.

It is not a great atmosphere for studying, she admitted. "There are a lot of dreams ... All of them cannot be fulfilled."

But having no television and little else at home has advantages, she said. "There is nothing to do but study."

Sushma begins her studies next week at Lucknow's B. R. Ambedkar Central University, though her father is already ferrying her to and from campus each day on his bicycle so she can meet with teachers before classes begin.

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Indian girl, 13, enrolls in microbiology master's

13-Year-Old Child Prodigy From India, Sushma Verma, Begins Her Pursuit For A Master’s In Microbiology

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The Associated Press reports Verma will attend Lucknow's B. R. Ambedkar Central University and will get her masters degree in microbiology. The 13-year-old plans to work towards her doctorate but she will have to wait until she is 18 prior to enrolling into a medical school. Verma graduated high school at the age of seven, besting her older brother by two years. As noted by AP, Vermas brother graduated high school at the age of nine and went on to become a computer science graduate at the age of 14.

According to Verma, her success is due her family, saying to AP, They allowed me to do what I wanted to do. Education, at times, is not an option for many girls in India as families opt for marriage or push for a male siblings education. According to recent estimates, anywhere from 2.8 million to eight million children may not be enrolled in public school, reports the Guardian.

Even if a child is enrolled in public school, pupils have to face overcrowding and unsanitary conditions at understaffed schools. For girls, they face harassment and are too scared to report it, fearing they will be held responsible, notes the Guardian. Even though almost an equal amount of girls and boys attend primary school, girls are soon discouraged from continuing their education, opting to work, provide support for their family or get married.

Vermas father is the only source of income for the family, making less than $3.50 a day as a construction worker, reports AP. For her tuition, her father sold some land to help pay the bill while Sulabh International, a charity promoting social change and improving sanitary conditions in rural areas of India, gave the girl a check for 800,000 Rupees ($12,732) for her education. In addition to the tuition check, the charitys founder, Bindeshwar Pathak, also gave the girl an iPod, an iPhone, laptop, desktop computer and a LED TV and will give her 3,000 rupees (4,744.50), reports the Asian Age.

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13-Year-Old Child Prodigy From India, Sushma Verma, Begins Her Pursuit For A Master's In Microbiology


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