The 4th International Conference on Responsible Use of Antibiotics in Animals is scheduled for 26-28 September in the Hague, the Netherlands. This is an important and timely topic with federal regulations changing current agricultural practices. Here is some information from the conference website: Antibiotics are used worldwide both in veterinary and human medicine. The widespread …
Last week, Melissa Dsouza and Jack Gilbert at the University of Chicago hosted a Sloan sponsored MoBE Early Career Workshop. I had the pleasure of attending this well organized event and was inspired by this highly intelligent and motivated group of scientists. The future for the MoBE is bright indeed if these scientists are able to find jobs …
An open access article entitled “Evaluation of disinfection efficiency in pet’s hospital by using chlorine dioxide” was recently published in Sustainable Environment Research. In this study, the authors investigated the efficacy of chlorine dioxide in reducing the concentration of bacteria and fungi in bioaerosols in an animal hospital. Chlorine dioxide is an effective disinfectant commonly …
The electron microscope facility on campus here at UC Davis has been hosting a tabletop scanning electron microscope for the past two weeks. We were invited to bring samples and test it out, no sample preparation required. And so for fun, I brought in a dust bunny from the floor of my house, where I live …
Anyone considering the possibility of welcoming a new furry friend into their home must first come to terms with an unfortunate fact: animals are dirty, like us most of them have lots of hair and are messy. And for a place like the Berkeley Animal Shelter, which sees well over a thousand animals each year, “poop …
The ASM Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education recently released a special themed issue focusing on Scientific Citizenship (table of contents) that was guest edited by Jack Gilbert, Karen Klyczek and Samantha Elliott. In this issue, the editors seek to address the question: How can we engage people in science? And they hope to provide a snapshot of current ideas …
UPDATE from Jonathan Eisen 3/17/2017 8:30 AM. I was futzing around with the microBEnet web site and I think I may have converted this from a “DRAFT” post to a “PUBLISHED” post without the author’s permission. I am checking into this. Last week the California Academy of Sciences held a Women in Science Summit …
While it has long been known that some cyanobacteria move (or crawl) towards light, how these cells detect the direction and source of light was undescribed until recently. In Cyanobacteria use micro-optics to sense light direction, Schuergers et al. (2016) investigated Synechocystis phototaxis and found that each cell acts as a microscopic spherical lens, focusing an intense light spot close to the opposite side …
This recent PLoS One article on Associations with Fungal DNA and Mycotoxins in Classroom Dust seems especially appropriate considering the blossoming of flowers and accompanying seasonal allergies that’s now happening in our part of the world. Sick building syndrome (SBS) is associated with the following symptoms: ocular, nasal, throat and dermal symptoms, headache and tiredness. Norback et al (2016) studied …
As you all know, we are not alone in living in buildings. We have lots of things that live with us, some are invited guests like our pets and some we may or may not appreciate. Today I came across a lovely book by Richard Jones on insects that live in houses with us: House Guests, …