Antimicrobial 3D Printing Material

This week’s antimicrobial news story covers an antimicrobial 3D printing material that has the potential to be used for tooth implants and other dental products. It is made of a dental polymer that is imbibed with ammonium salts. The creators claim their material kills 99% of bacteria, and will curb infections that result from dental procedures. However, …

A Novel Approach to Combating Antibiotic Resistance?

It is well known that antibiotic resistance in bacteria happens much faster than we can possibly develop novel antibiotics. So what if instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, we just rearrange it? Well, researchers at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute had a similar idea in regards to reducing antibiotic resistance …

California Limits Antimicrobials in Livestock

I’m very excited about this news story. California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill requiring antimicrobial drugs to be available only through veterinary prescription and not simply for growth promotion. It’s a small step in limiting widespread resistance from overuse of antibiotics, but hopefully it serves as an example to other states and nations. China …

mSystems – Yet Another Microbiome Journal?

Yet Another Microbiome Journal? Jack A Gilbert Earlier this year I was invited by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) to be the Founding Editor in Chief of a new journal that they insisted would add to the cadre of existing publications supported by the ASM. As a constant editor I was interested, but also …

Wrap up of talk by Norm Pace on “Metagenomics and the Tree of Life”

Norm Pace gave a talk at UC Davis yesterday on “Metagenomics and the Tree of Life”. I and a few other people posted live Tweets from the talk which I have compiled together via the Storify system.  This “Storify” is embedded below. In addition, Lisa Cohen, who was at the talk posted her notes which …

Nominations sought for NAS Committee on Microbiomes of the Built Environment

Just got sent this by Katherine Bowman from the Board on Life Sciences.  This is really important and if you know of someone who would be good please consider nominating them.     Request for Committee Nominations — Microbiomes of the Built Environment: From Research to Application The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are …

Antibiotic resistance spreads into wildlife populations

Antibiotic resistance is a global problem, threatening both human and animal health. A recent study shows that antibiotic resistance has spread into wildlife populations in Chobe National Park, a spectacular park located along the Chobe River in Botswana. In this region, humans and wildlife live in close proximity and significant antimicrobial resistance occurs in human populations. In a study published in the …

Special Seminar at #UCDavis: Dr. Norman Pace on Metagenomics and the Tree of Life

Special Seminar Dr. Norman Pace Distinguished Professor Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology University of Colorado, Boulder Metagenomics and the Tree of Life Tuesday, October 6th, 2015 1.30 pm Genome and Biomedical Science Facility (GBSF) 1005 Host: Jonathan Eisen (jaeisen@ucdavis.edu) For more about Pace’s work see http://pacelab.colorado.edu

Invasion of the Built Environment by a Microbiologist

So – I thought some people here would be interested in this.  As someone who has been involved in the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s program in “Microbiology of the Built Environment” for many years, I have been trying to get more involved with the built environment crowd.  And I have not always been exceptionally successful …