There is a new paper in AEM of interest: Characterization of biofilms developing on hospital shower hoses and implications for nosocomial infections by Maria J. Soto-Giron, Luis M. Rodriguez, Chengwei Luob, Michael Elkd, Hodon Ryu, Jill Hoelle, Jorge W. Santo Domingo and Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis They used 16S rRNA gene sequencing of cultured isolates, and metagenomic sequencing, to characterize the microbes living in hospital shower hoses. …
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 …
The Microbiology Student Group at UC Berkeley welcomes you to join us for the 17th Annual Microbiology Student Symposium (MSS) on Friday, May 6, 2016 at the David Brower Center in Berkeley. This year, our keynote speakers are Victoria Orphan from Caltech and Micheal Laub from MIT. The MSS provides a forum for students researching …
The Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole. MA will be offering their “STAMPS”: (Strategies & Techniques for Analyzing Microbial Population Structures) Course this August (8/3-8/13). Course Dates: August 3 — August 13, 2016 Deadline: April 8, 2016 | Apply here Course Website Course Schedule Directors: Mitchell L. Sogin, MBL and David B. Mark Welch, MBL …
Here at microBEnet we are big fans of citizen science… focusing not surprisingly on citizen microbiology projects. We’ve hosted several workshops and conference sessions on the topic as well as running a couple of projects ourselves. Personally I think engaging people through the process of actually doing science is incredibly valuable and I hope the …
Forensic microbiology A cloud of distinction – Julian Smith – New Scientist ($1.99) Could the trails of microbes we leave behind be used to solve crimes? Julian Smith picks up the scent. (…) Like our hapless suspect, we all leave traces of our microbes behind. We are haloed by an invisible nebula of bacteria, fungi and viruses. …
You have all heard of Tilikum the killer whale. He’s known for killing 3 of his trainers and is featured in the documentary Blackfish. Regardless of where you stand in all of the controversy, Tilikum has been making the news once again due to an untreatable bacterial infection in his lungs. Here is the statement from SeaWorld: …
A great review has come out on the use and ramifications of antibiotics in agroecosystems. “Antibiotics in Agroecosystems: Introduction to the Special Section” by Allison Frankiln et al is a review that attempts to get everyone on the same page about antibiotics, antibiotic resistant bacteria, and antibiotic resistant genes in the environment. The article highlights …
The Los Angeles Times posted an article yesterday on “Deadly superbugs from hospitals get stronger in the sewers and could end up in the Pacific Ocean”. While there is some truth to the matter, it is necessary to approach it with some skepticism. It is well known that antibiotic resistant bacteria are extremely prevalent in …
The authors of this new paper have really cooked up something interesting! “Microbial Safety of Wood in Contact with Food: A Review” by Florence Aviat, et al and published in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety is an 86-reference review on materials found in kitchens. Elisabeth Bik did list this in her March 7 blog of new papers, but this one …
