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Close Up Look at a Microbial Vaccination Program

By Guest PostOctober 3, 2011Health, Sciencebacterium, berkeley lab, blake wiedenheft, casa, casb, case, cells, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repea, complex of proteins, crispr, cryo electron microscopy, e coli, escherichia coli, eva nogales, gabriel lander, human pathogens, immune system, infections by bacteria, invading pathogens, jennifer doudna, john van der oost, kaihong zhou, microbe, microbial, microbial immune systems, microbiome, perturbations, protein complex called cascade, seahorse, short interfering rnas, sirnas, symbioses, toxins, unit of dna, viruses

*Berkeley Lab Researchers Resolve Sub-nanometer Structure of Cascade, an Ally for Human Immune System*

A complex of proteins in the bacterium E.coli that plays a critical role in defending the microbe from viruses and other invaders has been discovered to have the shape of a seahorse by researchers with the U.S Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). This discovery holds far more implications for your own health than you might think.

In its never-ending battle to protect you from infections by bacteria, viruses, toxins and other invasive elements, your immune system has an important ally – many allies in fact. By the time you reach adulthood, some 90-percent of the cells in your body are microbial. These microbes – collectively known as the microbiome – play a critical role in preserving the health of their human host. (more…)

A Bug Like a Russian Doll

By Guest PostAugust 20, 2011Scienceanimal metabolism, bacteria, bacterial symbiont, bacterium, carol von dohlen, cytoplasm, dual symbiont systems, human gut, immune system, john mccutcheon, lyle buss, metabolic pathways, moranella, nested symbiosis of mealybugs, relationships between bacteria and citrus mealybugs, relationships between organisms, tremblaya

*A former UA postdoctoral fellow has discovered amazing relationships between organisms: a bacterium living inside a bacterium living inside an insect. Evolving together, the organisms depend on each other for survival, and each contributes a subset of the enzymes needed in shared metabolic pathways.*

Sure, many bacteria cause disease, but most people don’t realize how beneficial they can be. The human gut, for example, brims with bacteria that play critical roles in everything from immune system development and extracting energy from food to providing necessary nutrients.

They get a nice comfy home living inside people, and in return they help us. It’s a symbiotic relationship. However, these beneficial partnerships are nothing compared to the complex relationships between bacteria and citrus mealybugs recently discovered by a team of biologists led by former UA researcher John McCutcheon, who recently took a position as an assistant professor at the University of Montana. (more…)

Tuberculosis Protects Itself Against Toxic Agents Sent to Destroy It

By Guest PostOctober 12, 2010Health, Sciencebacterium, cleavage function, harsh conditions, immunology, latent tuberculosis, mycobacterium tuberculosis, tapan biswas, tuberculosis, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Tuberculosis fights off the toxic agents, acidity and oxidants, that our immune system sends to destroy it, which is why the maddeningly drug-resistant bacterium can survive in harsh conditions in our bodies for essentially as long as its human host lives, new research shows. (more…)

Bacteria Make Thrift a Habit

By Guest PostAugust 26, 2010Scienceamino acids, bacteria, bacterial protein, bacterium, balance function, curli, daniel smith, e coli, economic cost, escherichia coli, fibers, flagellu, glycine, illness, matthew chapman, mbio, metabolic, microbes, proteins, smith and chapman, ssga, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— In these lean times, smart consumers refuse to pay a lot for throwaway items, but will shell out a little more for products that can be used again and again. The same is true of bacteria and other microbes, researchers at the University of Michigan have learned.

(more…)

Tag Archives: bacterium

Close Up Look at a Microbial Vaccination Program

A Bug Like a Russian Doll

Tuberculosis Protects Itself Against Toxic Agents Sent to Destroy It

Bacteria Make Thrift a Habit