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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…)

Identical Virus, Host Populations Can Prevail for Centuries, WHOI Researcher Reports

By Guest PostJuly 23, 2011Environmentalgae ecosystems, algal host cells, ancient plankton dna signatures, andrew w mellon foundation, atmosphere, benjamin van mooy, black sea, calcium carbonate shell, carbon cycle, carbon dioxide, climate, CO2, coccolithovirus, e huxleyi, ecological significance of viruses, emiliania huxleyi, fresh water, genetic populations of a virus, geological records, global carbon cycle, greenhouse emissions, marco coolen, marine algae, microbial ecologists, microscopic analysis, ocean, photosynthesis, phytoplankton, sediments, viral host dynamics in the ocean, viral pathogens, viruses, whoi, woods hole oceanographic institution

A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientist, analyzing ancient plankton DNA signatures in sediments of the Black Sea, has found for the first time that the same genetic populations of a virus and its algal host can persist and coexist for centuries. The findings have implications for the ecological significance of viruses in shaping algae ecosystems in the ocean, and perhaps fresh water as well.

“The finding that the DNA of viruses and algal host cells can be preserved in the geological records is of great interest to microbial ecologists,” said Marco Coolen of WHOI’s Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry department and author of the study, which appears in the July 22 issue of Science. “This offers unprecedented insights into long-term algal, viral, and host population dynamics between globally important algae and their viral pathogens in the ocean.” (more…)

When Viruses Infect Bacteria

By Guest PostJuly 9, 2011Sciencebacterial dna, bacteriophages, coevolution of a virus and its host, flu virus, human hosts, in vitro, microfluidic technology, national science foundation, phages, plant hosts, prophage, rob phillips, termite, termite hindgut, tobacco mosaic virus, viral dna, virus bacterium interactions, viruses, viruses infecting bacteria

*Looking in vivo at virus-bacterium associations sets stage for better understanding of such interactions in human health*

Viruses are the most abundant parasites on Earth. Well known viruses, such as the flu virus, attack human hosts, while viruses such as the tobacco mosaic virus infect plant hosts.

More common, but less understood, are cases of viruses infecting bacteria known as bacteriophages, or phages. In part, this is due to the difficulty of culturing bacteria and viruses that have been cut off from their usual biological surroundings in a process called in vitro. (more…)

The Natural World of the Human Mouth

By PravdaAugust 21, 20102 commentsHealthanaerobic bacteria, bacilli, bacteria, bacterial equilibrium, bacteroids, chromosome number, dental plaque, fungi, fuziformis, gene-villains, human oral cavity, jeff hillman, lactic acid bacteria, lactobacilli, microorganisms, oral microflora, oral mucosa folds, pathogenic microflora, pathogenic microflorabacteria, periodontitis, porphyromonas gingivalis, prevotelly, protozoa, saprophytic, saprophytic microflora, spirochetes and actinomycetes, streptococcus, veillonella, viruses

According to scientists, the number of species of microorganisms that permanently reside in the human oral cavity amounts to 200-500. Of those, only fifty are named and studied. They have various looks: balloons, ovoids, bacilli, those that look like corn on the cob, bottle brushes, spirals, zippers, etc. What of the inhabitants of the mouth are our enemies, and what are friends?

(more…)

Tag Archives: viruses

Close Up Look at a Microbial Vaccination Program

Identical Virus, Host Populations Can Prevail for Centuries, WHOI Researcher Reports

When Viruses Infect Bacteria

The Natural World of the Human Mouth