Microbe Magazine

The Atlantis Space Shuttle that was launched last September carried a trio of carefully packaged human pathogens, namely Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans. They were there as part of an experiment to evaluate any effects of micro-gravity on ... More...

Rates of coverage for childhood immunizations during 2005 across six distinct series of vaccines are at or near record highs, and that coverage was nearly equivalent across the white, black, Hispanic, and Asian population groups, according to Anne Schuchat and her collaborators at the Centers for... More...

Even if development of genuinely safe and effective new antibiotics proves frustrating much of the time, mere frustration is not stopping researchers from dreaming up and pursuing innovative strategies. Here are a few recent examples:

Although no one claimed a breakthrough antimicrobial, several new compounds appear to be promising antibacterial agents while the lone featured antiviral compound in this segment marks the first specific agent for treating hepatitis C viral (HCV) infections, according to the medley of presentatio... More...

Carsonella ruddii, a symbiont of psyllid insects, carries the smallest bacterial genome yet characterized—a circular chromosome of 159,662 base pairs encoding 182 genes, according to Nancy Moran of the University of Arizona in Tucson, and her collaborators there and at sever... More...

A minor set of natural killer T (NKT) cells of the mammalian immune system surprisingly responds to glycolipids instead of the more usual target class of antigenic molecules, namely peptides. In one specific case, this capacity for responding to glycolipids extends to those produced by the pathog... More...

Efforts to probe the genetic history of the influenza virus continue as investigators prepare for an anticipated pandemic. Recent noteworthy developments include:

Although Streptococcus mutans shares the mouth with perhaps 700 other microbial species, selectively targeted antimicrobial peptides (STAMPs) might provide a “smart bomb” approach to sparing commensals while curbing tooth decay, according to Randal Eckert, Wenyuan Shi of the University of ... More...

An effort to control a persistent meningitis outbreak in New Zealand that began last decade could soon lead to a broadly effective vaccine to protect against Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (MenB) infections, according to Rino Rappouli of Chiron Vaccines, which is now part of Switzerlan... More...

Officials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Ga., in October issued new guidelines, Management of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms in Healthcare Settings, outlining strategies to prevent the spread of drug-resistant infections. The guidelines emphasize the imp... More...

The 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which honors ASM member Roger Kornberg of Stanford University, and in Medicine or Physiology, which is shared by Andrew Fire, also of Stanford, and Craig Mello of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, recognize fundame... More...

Last June, officials of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a postmarketing safety assessment of the ketolide antibiotic Ketek, or telithromycin, after earlier recommending a warning for its label pointing to rare but potentially serious health risks involving liver damage or failure fo... More...

The roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans is attracted to particular quorum-sensing autoinducers made by gram-negative bacteria. More impressively, the worm apparently learns to avoid such autoinducers after being exposed to autoinducer-producing pathogens, according to Kendra P. Rumbaugh of th... More...