Monthly Archives: January 2013

The journey to parasite egg paradise

Posted on 26 January 2013 by mmmbitesizescience

The parasite, Schistosoma mansoni, is a remarkably cunning and efficient worm. It spends the first part of its life infecting freshwater snails, where it vigorously multiplies to bulk up numbers. This parasite army then marches out of the snail and … Continue reading →

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What makes the smallpox vaccine so great?

Posted on 19 January 2013 by mmmbitesizescience

Perhaps one of the most incredibly effective vaccines ever used, against smallpox, has completely eradicated a terribly nasty human disease. Yet the way in which vaccinia virus, the live poxvirus contained in the smallpox vaccine, actually orchestrates a protective immune … Continue reading →

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Sexy times don’t help induce labour in late pregnancies

Posted on 13 January 2013 by mmmbitesizescience

Even though I’ve never been pregnant, I’ve lived in the world long enough to have absorbed random nuggets of wild information, like there are lots of ways to try and bring on labour in women at the end of their … Continue reading →

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Colonised livestock transmit MRSA to farmers

Posted on 6 January 2013 by mmmbitesizescience

These days, most people are aware of the increasing threat of antibiotic resistance, where bacteria that cause human disease become resistant to antibiotic therapy. This change is at least partially driven by the overprescription of antibiotics. Even our most robust … Continue reading →

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