I admit I was skeptical when I saw this headline from TIME magazine: You Asked: Should I Use Antibacterial Soap? Research shows they offer zero health benefits. But by changing the makeup of your skin and body bacteria, antibacterials may be fostering new health concerns–especially for kids. But the article by Markham Heid is quite …
Nice to see the FDA digging around into this topic: FDA seeks more data on safety of hospital hand cleaners – The Washington Post. Clearly there is some major value in having people at hospitals (and other helath care facilities) wash their hands often – this is a key step in limiting the spread of pathogens. …
I know I am late to the game here but I am getting more and more fascinated by “chamber” studies in which people are placed in a sealed chamber and then emissions from those people (or from other things in the chamber with the people) are characterized. With ever improving sensors, particle analysis tools, mass-specs …
Just got this from NSF and thought it would be of interest: Dear Colleagues, Applications are invited for an Ideas Lab on “Interdisciplinary Approaches to Biomedical Data Science Challenges” taking place at the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI) located in the Research Triangle Park, North Carolina: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Biomedical Data Science Challenges …
Well, as with some other recent posts here, the paper I am writing about is not open access and I do not have any obvious way to get it at this time. But it looks interesting, and more importantly it shows just how many places are thinking about microbial ecology in built environments. The paper …
Well this certainly seems of interest to the microBEnet audience Ann Med. 2015 Apr 23:1-8. Helsinki alert of biodiversity and health. Alas the paper is an absurd $52 to access for 24 hours. So all I have is the abstract, which certainly seems interesting: Urban living in built environments, combined with the use of processed water …
There is an interesting and potentially very useful paper just out: Optimized DNA extraction and metagenomic sequencing of airborne microbial communities A brief summary from the journal: This protocol enables collection of airborne particulate matter; and after sample pretreatment, it allows sufficient quantities of microbial DNA to be extracted and prepared for downstream applications such …
Just heading back (on the train) from the Association of Health Care Journalists 2015 which was in Santa Clara, where I participated in a session on The Microbiome. The session participants: Jonathan Eisen, Ph.D., professor, School of Medicine and College of Biological Sciences, University of California Susan Lynch, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine, University of California, …
Today is Earth Day. Every Earth Day I try to do something for, well, the Earth. Yes, there are some aspects of Earth Day that are a bit fluffy and hippyesque (in good and bad ways) but I do think it is a really important concept. Our planet is in need of more care …
Just got this announcement by email and I thought it might be of interest: Join the curation effort & enroll in our first workshop! What: Workshop to produce curated 18S rDNA reference database. When: July 19th — 25th, 2015. Where: Vancouver, Canada on the University of British Columbia campus. How much: We will cover the cost of housing, breakfast and …