Meningitis/steroid case highlights desperate need for more studies of microbiology of the built environment

Well, the meningitis outbreak tied to steroid injections gets scarier and scarier by the day: Poor Sanitation Found at Pharmacy Linked to Meningitis Outbreak – NYTimes.com.  One of the latest pieces of news is that the pharmacy that was “compounding” the steroids for injection appears to have been a “microbiology of the built environment” nightmare.  Some …

Call me a skeptic but “beneficial microorganisms” in natural pools/ponds?

Hmm – in this story in the LA Times: Natural swimming ponds – latimes.com there is a discussion of a move towards more “natural” swimming pools using less chlorine.  And there is a part of the article of which I am deeply skeptical BioNova pools, as well as those designed locally by Environmental Sculpturing, are biologically active. …

Very interesting story “Destination — not the flight — more likely to make you sick”

Very very interesting article in the Globe and Mail by Alex Hutchinson: Destination — not the flight — more likely to make you sick, study says – The Globe and Mail.  The article discusses the issue of people (well, mostly athletes) getting sick when they travel.  What is fascinating is that a few lines of evidence indicate …

Residual viral and bacterial contamination of surfaces after cleaning and disinfection.

Interesting new paper on cleaning surfaces … and what seems to work or not work: Residual viral and bacterial contamination of surfaces after cleaning and disinfection. It is an advanced PDF in AEM – not sure if people have access to the advanced PDF or not – unclear if those are freely available.  I have added it …

Update: Marriott in Chicago identifies possible source of Legionnaires outbreak

Quick update: A few days ago I wrote about a Legionnaires outbreak in Chicago at the Marrioott hotel: Time for hotels to start surveying their microbes. CNN is reporting that the hotel has identified a putative source for the Legionella bacterium that causes Legionnaires: the fountain in the lobby and/or a spa:  Chicago hotel shuts fountain, …

The “danger” of eliminating reusable plastic bags

Hmm … Not sure what to think of this.  The Percolator (which is labelled as a free market environmentalism blog) has a mini story on possible dangers of banning reusable plastic bags: http://percolatorblog.org/2012/08/21/the-health-costs-of-plastic-grocery-bag-bans/ They embed a Youtube video with an interview they did with Jonathan Klick into their post … I am embedding it here too. …

Time for hotels to start surveying their microbes #Legionnaires #Chicago #Marriott

Well, I wonder if this will get Marriott Corporation more involved in microbial studies in the indoor environment: Legionnaires’ disease outbreak kills 2 at Chicago hotel – CNN.com.  Seems that there has been Legionella lurking around somewhere in the JW Marriott hotel in Chicago.  The outbreak has led the hotel to drain all major standing water …

Crosspost: How to find an Open Access journal for submitting your paper(s) #Jane #DOAJ

Crossposting from “The Tree of Life”: How to find an Open Access journal for submitting your paper(s)  … Got asked a question on Twitter that seems worthwhile to post here @phylogenomics any suggestions for appropriate open access journal for a geomicrobio/clay mineral – Cr reduction/ kinetics paper? – Paul Glasser (@glasserp) August 21, 2012 Well, @glasserp …