This page needs to be reorganized! We should have subpages for
1. Cool Things with Microbes
2. Diseases in the Media
3. Swine Flu Updates
4. Benefits of Bacteria
Vitamin B Makes bacteria generate more electricityKombucha Benefits 
WHY IS H-PYLORI MORE COMMON IN PEOPLE WITH TYPE O BLOOD? According to the New York Times it is because the antigens on RBC's and the stomach cells of people with type A, B, or type AB have different chemistry than those of people with O blood so as a result people with O blood type have more receptors for the H-pylori bacteria. Ulcers are 1.5-2 time more common in people who are type O. For more info go to www.nytimes.comFUN FACTS ABOUT H-PYLORI - in the US 20 % of the population is infected by the time they are 20, and 50% of people 60 and older have had h-pylori, and worldwide 80% of the population is infected by the time that they are 10
- for nearly 100 years scientist and doctors thought that ulcers were caused by spicy foods, stress, and alcohol, and to much stomach acid, it wasn't until 1982 that it was discovered to be caused by a bacteria.
Salmonella blamed for killing dozens of Utah birds
April 20th, 2009 @ 10:03pm
By Whit Johnson
SALT LAKE CITY -- A growing number of common backyard birds are dying, and experts are blaming salmonella. The event is occurring nationwide, but there have been at least a couple dozen reported cases in Utah. Experts say some of us are making the problem worse. The Pine Siskin is smaller than the House Finch and usually has yellow and dark streaks down its body. These birds are common in Utah, but now they're running into trouble. "Some birds recover, get better and move on, and some birds don't," said Bill Fenimore, owner of the Wild Bird Center of Layton.
Across the Wasatch Front, there have been at least 30 reports of Pine Siskins dead from salmonella. Fenimore says the birds are likely infecting each other around feeders. "They gather around in large flocks and as they defecate and that falls onto the ground, any seed that may fall on the ground can become contaminated with those droppings," Fenimore said. "What happens is the bacteria gets built up on their bird food and then it goes from one bird to the next," explained. Leslie McFarlane, with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. DWR has been watching the problem since dead bird reports began popping up in Idaho. Experts say when the birds are sick, they become lethargic, more approachable and their wings may droop. "They get really thirsty, so you'll see them maybe around your bird baths and things like that," McFarlane said. Experts say clean your bird feeders frequently with a 10 percent bleach solution, replace old bird seed and rake up seeds that may have fallen on the ground below. "It's kind of like if we went to the Jazz game and there's 14,000 screaming fans, every once and a while you'll notice someone sneezing, coughing and shaking hands with other people," Fenimore said. Experts believe the salmonella is not coming from the bird seed itself. They also say it's important to keep your bird feeders clean to protect your pets and young children.
Cool articles relating to bacteria and viruses
| Bacteria Invade Genomes | Do bacteria crave chocolate?
| Studies show that bacteria are common in the snow |
| Bacteria still alive-after 8 million years! | Probiotics and your metabolism
| Bacteria fool immune system with human-like proteins |
| Yet another E. coli meat recall | New Bacteria Strain is Striking Gay Men in San Fansisco, and Boston | Day Care, Siblings, and Asthma--Please Sneeze on My Child (New England Journal of Medicine) |
| Viruses useful in wound treatment | New way to control a parasitic ameba that kills and eats human cells | Drugs on tap -- in our drinking water |
| Mousepox "SuperBug" Test Riles | Six Gym Health Hazards | Killing cancer cells |
| Dirty Lemons: a restaurant threat | Frog skin to the rescue! | Finding a breakthrough on bird flu |
| The Wonderful World of E. coli | Do antibacterial wipes spread more bacteria? | Montana cow tests positive for brucellosis |
| Clostridium difficile become even more difficult | Did the Tomato Scare Start with Excessive Hygiene? | Zapping HIV with lasers |
| Was this the mastermind behind the anthrax killings or an innocent victim of innuendo? | Is this excessive hype or sound government advice? | "Sputnik" virushijacks other viruses!
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| New bacterial species found in human mouths | People exposed to 1918 flu virus as children are still immune to it in their old age | "Sniffer rats" can detect tuberculosis with much greater speed than other methods! |
| 5 Next Generation antibiotics that may save your life! | Can Malaria be eradicated in 10 years?? | Honey effective in killing bacteria, even biofilms! |
| 'Friendly' Bacteria Protect Against Type 1 Diabetes | Enoki Mushrooms Contaminated with Listeria Recalled | AIDS cured after bone marrow transplant |
| Chicken Pox Parties | Beneficial Bacteria | Number of Utah RSV cases triples in one month
Human respiratory syncytial virus(RSV) is a negative-sense, single stranded RNA virus of the family Paramyxoviridae, which includes common respiratory viruses such as those causing measles and mumps. RSV is a member of the paramyxovirus subfamily Pneumovirinae. |
| Vitamin D lowers risk of respiratory infections | Platelets help control malaria | AIDS cured after bone marrow transplant! |
| Remember the catalase test? And that your own cells produce catalase? Well, it looks like catalase production decreases as we age, which explains why your hair goes gray! | Ancient Microbes Found |
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This video is on Maggot Therapy used to help treat MRSA, however, the reason I posted this video pertains to the improper MRSA preventing techniques the Doctor exhibited while treating this patient. Notice at the beginning that the Dr.'s gloved hand leaves the screen and seems to have gone to his face, like he wiped his brow or something. Then notice when he takes one of his gloves off, how he touches the other glove, handles a syringe with his bare hand contaminating his free hand and probably his nose since he seemed to keep touching it. This is one of the biggest problems today in fighting the battle with MRSA (or any other infectious bacteria): the lack of proper handling or disposing of contaminated gloves, gowns, etc by medical personnel! This is one of the main causes of this bacteria spreading.
There is also a news video from CBS on this very problem, It cannot be embedded here, but you can watch "Fighting a deadly superbug" by clicking on the link. |
Here is a video on maggot therapy that does more to show the actual use of maggots (amazing how quickly they grow!) |
| colonoscopy patients have hepatitis | Is there danger lurking in your lunch? |
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| Playing in the dirt may lift your seratonin levels | Hospital workers and mobile phones, "superbug" scare | Evolution-proof Insecticides May Stall Malaria Forever |
| Lizard blood kills spirochete that causes Lyme disease! | Great article about Craig Venter making synthetic life and being amazed by what real microbes can do | Novel treatment of Staph infections using nanoparticles to deliver Nitrous Oxide |
| Article discussing reasons to vaccinate your children--do you agree? | Interesting article on biofilms in Discover magazine | Treating Staph infections with bacteriophages |
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Bed BugsHere is a video showing how Utah is trying to save money by using bacteria to help improve the water treatment plants. Very interesting.
Methane gas producers.
The Human Gut Is A Real Melting PotTalk of the Nation, November 21, 2008 · Scientists found 5,600 different species or strains of bacteria living in human intestines, making gut bacteria 10 times more diverse than expected. David Relman, one of the authors of the study, explains the findings and how a common antibiotic disrupts this bacterial community.
To have a listen go here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97303406
Stomach Bacteria Could Prevent AsthmaTalk of the Nation, July 18, 2008 · Several years ago, researchers proposed the provocative idea that bacteria living in the human stomach could be responsible for the development of some stomach ulcers — and the doctors found that treating those bacteria, H. pylori, with antibiotics could reduce ulcer risk. New research suggests, however, that those bacteria may not be all bad — they could help prevent the development of childhood asthma.
To have a listen go here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92677188
Gut Bacteria May Cause And Fight Disease, ObesityWho lives here in the large intestine? What do they do?
All Things Considered, November 4, 2008 · Quick question: Whose genes matter most to you? Your mom's? Your dad's? Or genes inside the trillions of bacteria living in your intestine, your mouth, your nasal passages and a lot of places we'd rather not mention? The answer: Obviously, your parents' genes matter, but it turns out we humans have two sets of genes in us: the ones we inherited from our human ancestors and the ones that walk in through our mouths starting when we're just hours old.
To read more or to listen, go here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95900616
Bacteria, Where Would We Be Without You?Talk of the Nation, January 26, 2007 · Without bacteria, we probably wouldn't be here. Infections can help as well as harm us. Joe Palca talks about infection — both the good and the bad — with researcher and writer Gerald Callahan, the author of Infection: The Uninvited Universe.
To listen, go here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7039533
Sick of Getting Sick? Embrace Your Inner Bacteria! by Deborah Franklin
Morning Edition, August 24, 2006 · No one has time to be sick anymore, not even for a fiercely raw throat or a nasty sinus infection. But will an antibiotic help or hurt? The answer depends on how your garden grows.
To read or listen to more, go here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5697054
Enjoy! I love NPR and have been a fan for years. There's plenty more out there if you care to search for them. Bacteria are found thriving beneath Antarctic glacier
Cold, dark » They have survived millions of years, living on sulfur and iron compounds.
By Randolph E. Schmid
The Associated Press
Updated: 04/18/2009 06:00:08 PM MDT
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** EMBARGOED UNTIL 2:00 P.M. THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2009 ** This undated... (The Associated Press)
Hidden in the bone-chilling dark beneath an Antarctic glacier, a colony of strange bacteria is thriving.
Scientists investigating the flow of blood-red water from beneath the glacier discovered the bacteria, which have survived for millions of years, living on sulfur and iron compounds, they report in Friday's edition of the journal
Science .
"Among the big questions here are: 'How does an ecosystem function below glaciers?', 'How are they able to persist below hundreds of meters of ice and live in permanently cold and dark conditions for extended periods of time, in the case of Blood Falls, over millions of years?" said lead researcher Jill Mikucki, of Harvard University.
Blood Falls, flowing from beneath Taylor Glacier, has long evoked curiosity because of its color. The researchers determined that iron compounds provide the color, and in the process of their research they discovered bacteria in the water, an extremely salty pool.
John Priscu, of Montana State University, said that because the ecosystem has been isolated for so long in extreme conditions, it could help explain how life might exist on other planets, and serve as a model for how life can exist under ice.
The researchers believe the pool of water was trapped about 1.5 million years ago when the glacier moved over a lake. It doesn't freeze because it is four times saltier than the ocean.
The pool is so deep under the ice and so far back from the edge that the researchers couldn't drill down to it, but they were able to collect some of the outflow for testing.
"When I started running the chemical analysis on it, there was no oxygen," Mikucki said. "That was when this got really interesting, it was a real 'eureka' moment."
Most of the bacteria she found were descended from marine microorganisms -- not from those found on land -- and they were able to live without the food and light sources of the open ocean.
The researchers concluded that the ancestors of the bacteria probably lived in the ocean millions of years ago and when the Antarctic valleys rose, a pool of seawater was trapped and was eventually capped by the flow of the glacier.
The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Harvard Microbial Sciences Initiative and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Latest Microbial News from the New York Times
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