#worldofmicrobes

The most common sites of urinary tract infection (UTI) are the urinary bladder (cystitis) and the urethra. From these sites the infection may ascend into the ureters (ureteritis) and subsequently involve the kidney (pyelonephritis). Females are more prone to infection of the urinary tract than are males and also present the greater problem in the …

The examination of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is an essential step in the diagnosis of bacterial and fungal meningitis and CSF must always be considered as a priority specimen that requires prompt attention by the laboratory staff. Normal CSF is sterile and clear, and usually contains three leukocytes or fewer per mm3 and no erythrocytes. The …

Most people have heard about antibiotic-resistant germs. But how about antibiotic-resistant dust? A new Northwestern University study has found that an antimicrobial chemical called triclosan is abundant in dust — and linked to changes in its genetic makeup. The result is dust with organisms that could cause an antibiotic-resistant infection. “There is this conventional wisdom …

Hiroshima University (HU) researchers successfully developed a biocontainment strategy for genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Their new method prevents genetically modified cyanobacteria from surviving outside of their test environment, enabling ways to more safely research the effects of GMOs. Their results were published in ACS Synthetic Biology. The applications of bioengineered microbes have appeared in a …

Measles cases around the world surged 31% from 2016 to 2017, according to a new report jointly published by the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Measles outbreaks occurred in all regions, WHO said, because of gaps in vaccine coverage. There were an estimated 110,000 deaths due to measles in …

World’s first cannabis chromosome map reveals the plant’s evolutionary past and points to its future as potential medicine. THC and CBD, bioactive substances produced by cannabis and sought by medical patients and recreational users, sprung to life thanks to ancient colonization of the plant’s genome by viruses, U of T researchers have found. The finding …

Scientists studying European common frogs in the UK compared groups (“populations”) exposed to ranavirus and those free from the disease. While the youngest breeding frogs in disease-free populations are four years old, frogs in virus-exposed groups breed as young as two. The reasons for this are not yet clear, but the team — led by …