Category Archives: Microorganisms

Pumping out Petrol with Bioengineered Bugs

Posted on 2 November 2013 by

One of the terribly tricky questions in this ol’ world of ours is how to sustain a species that likes to extract toxic crude oil from the ground and use it in a way that’s disturbingly damaging to the environment … Continue reading →

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Posted in Bacteria, Bioengineering, Genetics, Microorganisms, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to: boost resistance to tuberculosis

Posted on 5 October 2013 by

Most kiddies receive the very effective Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine against tuberculosis during childhood, but as they grow up, the protection afforded by this vaccine wanes. Since cases of adult TB are on the rise, receiving an immune upgrade would … Continue reading →

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Posted in Bacteria, Disease, Immunology, Medicine, Microorganisms, Science, Vaccines | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Marvellous Month of Infectious Science

Posted on 4 October 2013 by

Cold weather helps to spread flu across the country A very cool new study from McMaster University researchers shows how weather patterns impact the spread of influenza A virus across Canada. Using outbreak data gathered over more than 13 years, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Bacteria, Disease, Immunology, Microorganisms, Science, Vaccines, Viruses | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Clouds of decoy viruses help cure genetic disease

Posted on 19 July 2013 by

The presence of foreign objects, like viruses, in our bloodstream is usually a bad thing. Evolution has created some extremely efficient immune cells that patrol the blood, seeking out material that should not be there, and shutting it down. Sometimes, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Disease, Genetics, Medicine, Microorganisms, Science, Viruses | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A huge variety of fungi call your feet home

Posted on 29 June 2013 by

Human skin is a hardy, water-resistant covering that keeps important biological stuff from falling out of the body. It’s also a camping ground for millions of bacteria (picked out in magenta, above), fungi (seen in blue-green, above) and yeast that … Continue reading →

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Posted in Disease, Fungi, Genetics, Medicine, Microorganisms, Science | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment