Whether or not a microbe is successful at establishing an infection depends both on the microbe and the host. Scientists from Duke found that a single DNA change can allow Salmonella typhi, the bacteria that causes typhoid fever, to invade cells. That single genetic variation increased the amount of cholesterol on cell membranes that Salmonella and other bacteria use as a docking station to attach to a cell to invade it. They also found that common cholesterol-lowering drugs protected zebrafi...
Being infected with HIV means a lifetime of antiviral therapy. We can control the infection with those drugs, but we haven't been able to cure people by ridding the body completely of the virus. But thanks to a new study published in Molecular Therapy by scientists at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine (LKSOM) at Temple University and the University of Pittsburgh, all that may change.
In these times of identity theft, terrorism, and the TV criminology craze, learn just how genetic fingerprinting occurs.
Is stress genetic? No it is not. How we deal with stress is not genetic. Is how our parent’s deal with stress that we adapt form them. Many parents have busy schedules and might not have the time to talk to their children about their own problems. Yet there are some parents that think teens and children might not be dealing with stress. We might also not have any emotional support by our own parents and they do not under stand us. We also do not have “realistic” expectations from our parents....
The Trailer for "The Genetic Opera REPO!"
Fight the blues by getting rid of your bags under your eyes. It's time to stop looking depressed and looking fantastic, but for some, dark circles around the eyes can be genetic, which means it will be impossible to get rid of. And that's where concealer comes in. This video will show you how to battle the blues and cover those bags with orange and golden concealers.
Grafting plants together is the oldest and thus far most important kind of genetic engineering practiced in the world. This video features a farmer demonstrating how to graft plants together, using a tomato and a eggplant as an example. He aims to create an eggplant that will yield for longer by grafting the tomato plant into it. Learning these skills will allow you to expand the world of your gardening by creating your own plants!
The evolution of our infection-fighting systems may have something to teach modern scientists. That's what a group from the University of Granada in Spain found when they studied a protein that's been around for over four billion years. Their work, by senior author José Sánchez-Ruiz and colleagues in the Department of Physical Chemistry, was published in the journal Cell Reports.
To shine light on the future of the relationship between humans and viruses, a team of researchers from the University of Oxford looked into the dim and distant past.
All fields of study have their own language. For people interested in learning about microbes, the language can sometimes be downright difficult — but it doesn't need to be. From antibiotics to xerophiles, we have you covered in an easy-to-understand glossary.
Blind Mag is a, well, blind singer from the movie "Repo! The Genetic Opera," who is given her sight back in exchange for singing for the GeneCo Genetic Opera. Portrayed by classically trained Sarah Brightman in the movie, she has a beautiful voice and a gorgeous face but deathly white eyes.
Polyglot Alexander Arguelles presents a series of videos to provide introductory overviews of the languages of the world. Working diachronically through various language families in turn, he demonstrates how to identify each language, translates a text sample to show how it works, and discusses its genetic affiliation and cultural context. Watch this video language tutorial and learn how to get a general linguistic overview of the Dutch language.
Old High German is the forefather for contemporary German and Dutch. Polyglot Alexander Arguelles presents a series of videos to provide introductory overviews of the languages of the world. Working diachronically through various language families in turn, he demonstrates how to identify each language, translates a text sample to show how it works, and discusses its genetic affiliation and cultural context. Watch this video language tutorial and learn how to get a general linguistic overview ...
Old Swedish and Old Danish began to split off into two separate languages around the 13th century. Polyglot Alexander Arguelles presents a series of videos to provide introductory overviews of the languages of the world. Working diachronically through various language families in turn, he demonstrates how to identify each language, translates a text sample to show how it works, and discusses its genetic affiliation and cultural context. Watch this video language tutorial and learn how to get ...
Middle Dutch is the forefather of modern Dutch, Flemish, and Afrikaans, dating around the Middle Ages up through part of the Renaissance. Polyglot Alexander Arguelles presents a series of videos to provide introductory overviews of the languages of the world. Working diachronically through various language families in turn, he demonstrates how to identify each language, translates a text sample to show how it works, and discusses its genetic affiliation and cultural context. Watch this video ...
Ever wondered what the Vikings sounded like? Old Norse is the grandpa of the modern Scandinavian languages of Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish, and is actually quite similar to Icelandic. Polyglot Alexander Arguelles presents a series of videos to provide introductory overviews of the languages of the world. Working diachronically through various language families in turn, he demonstrates how to identify each language, translates a text sample to show how it works, and discusses its genetic aff...
Polyglot Alexander Arguelles presents a series of videos to provide introductory overviews of the languages of the world. Working diachronically through various language families in turn, he demonstrates how to identify each language, translates a text sample to show how it works, and discusses its genetic affiliation and cultural context. While Icelandic belongs in the same language family as English, it has a couple letters than look completely foreign to an English speaker. Watch this vide...
Polyglot Alexander Arguelles presents a series of videos to provide introductory overviews of the languages of the world. Working diachronically through various language families in turn, he demonstrates how to identify each language, translates a text sample to show how it works, and discusses its genetic affiliation and cultural context. While Frisian is spoken in parts of the Netherlands and Germany, and is in the same language family as both, it has it's own distinct characteristics. Watc...
Pregnancy can take a typically fit body and throw it for a loop. Your body will change so dramatically during those nine months that you may be left with stretch marks, extra fat and sagging skin. So, after you've had that beautiful baby, why not check out this tutorial? In it, you will get tips from expert physical trainer, Kathy Kaehler. Kathy has three children and knows everything there is to know about toning a post-pregnancy body. Kathy is also an author and celebrity personal trainer, ...
The growing list of dangerous antibiotic resistant organisms has just acquired three new members. Researchers have discovered three new species of Klebsiella bacteria, all of which can cause life-threatening infections and have genes that make them resistant to commonly used antibiotics.
The bacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae is a bad actor known for being antibiotic-resistant and causing a variety of serious infections in hospitals, including pneumonia, surgical site wounds, and meningitis. K. pneumoniae is something you do not want to encounter if you have a compromised immune system.
While some researchers look for drugs to treat HIV, other scientists delve deep into the virus itself for answers on how it causes infections.
Rising on the world stage, dengue fever is transmitted by mosquitoes — and apparently air travel too.
Avian flu is making the news again with new human cases in China reported in January. What does "avian flu" mean to you—and how dangerous is it?
What do Leo Tolstoy (writer), Beethoven (composer), Paul Gaugin (artist), and Adolf Hitler (politician) have in common? They are all considered to have suffered from the sexually transmitted disease syphilis.
Whether your palate runs to domestic or imported, a piece of cheese can be a real treat for the senses. Its smell, taste, and texture are all parts of its appeal. A big part of what makes that savory wonderfulness comes from the microbes in and on the cheese. Thanks to a team of researchers dedicated to studying those microbes, we have a better understanding of their importance to cheese and us.
Microbial cells can improve the functionality of clothes in creative and useful ways, including cooling us down during a workout or making clothing glow for better visibility.
The presence of certain bacteria can indicate whether the vaginal tract is healthy or not. It could also impact the likelihood of acquiring certain sexually transmitted diseases, like HIV, a new study suggests.
Natural remedies used through the ages abound, especially in Asian medicine. The willow-leaved justicia plant, found throughout Southeast Asia, has traditionally been used to treat arthritis, but scientists have just discovered it contains an anti-HIVcompound more potent than AZT. AZT was the first drug approved to treat HIV, and is still used in HIV combination therapy today.
Bioluminescence — the ability of an organism to produce and emit light — is nature's light show. Plants, insects, fish, and bacteria do it, and scientists understand how. Until now, though, we didn't know how fungi glow.
Our quest to find novel compounds in nature that we can use against human diseases —a process called bioprospecting — has led a research team to a small frog found in India. From the skin slime of the colorful Hydrophylax bahuvistara, researchers reported finding a peptide — a small piece of protein — that can destroy many strains of human flu and can even protect mice against the flu.
The pathogen referred to as a "nightmare bacteria" is quietly adapting and spreading faster than anticipated.
Although their effectiveness is waning, antibiotics remain a front-line defense against many infections. However, new science reveals using the wrong antibiotic for an infection could makes things much worse.
A gold-medal winning entry into the iGEM synthetic biology competition could change the way we look at Esherichia coli, the bacteria better known as E. coli.
One thousand feet under the ground, extremophile microbes that have not seen the light of day for four million years are giving up some fascinating facts to scientists who go the distance.
Osteoarthritis can affect every gender and at any age but it commonly occurs in women than in men. In America there are approximately 27 million Americans aged over 25 who live with osteoarthritis.
Type 1 diabetes is an attack on the body by the immune system — the body produces antibodies that attack insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas. Doctors often diagnose this type of diabetes in childhood and early adulthood. The trigger that causes the body to attack itself has been elusive; but many research studies have suggested viruses could be the root. The latest links that viruses that live in our intestines may yield clues as to which children might develop type 1 diabetes.
Exposed to hormones, pharmaceuticals, and other chemicals, the beautiful wild fish in Canada's Grand River have taken on some pretty odd characteristics—they're turning into females. A long-term study suggests using bacteria to manage polluted water could turn the tide for feminized fish.
As unappealing as it sounds, transplants with fecal material from healthy donors help treat tough Clostridium difficile gastrointestinal infections. Researchers credit the treatment's success to its ability to restore a healthy bacterial balance to the bowels, and new research has shown that the transplanted bacteria doesn't just do its job and leave. The good fecal bacteria and its benefits can persist for years.
Despite mounting scientific evidence that viruses can cause changes in learning and memory, the reasons have remained elusive.
