Microbe Magazine

Zoos and aquariums typically monitor animals under their care for infectious diseases, and often share information about outbreaks with the International Species Inventory System (ISIS) in Eagan, Minn. With the aim of developing a global warning system for zoonotic infectious disease outbreaks, I... More...

Although largely overlooked as a cause of cancer, viruses that induce cell fusion may contribute more to this disease than is commonly thought, according to Yuri Lazebnik and his colleagues at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. Their recent findings suggest that viral fusio... More...

It is unsettling to view slides explicitly labeled “unclassified” during a matter-of-fact talk on food safety issues, even in the context of a biodefense meeting—in this case, during the 4th ASM Biodefense & Emerging Diseases Research Meeting, held in Washington, D.C., last March. Although mo... More...

Metagenomics presents the greatest opportunity since the invention of the microscope to revolutionize our understanding of the microbial world, according to a report from the National Research Council of the National Academies (NA) in Washington, D.C. The report, “The New Science of Metagenomics:... More...

Recent efforts to probe pathogens that are potential biowarfare agents and their toxins are providing highly specific insights, and participants at the 4th ASM Biodefense & Emerging Diseases Research Meeting, held in Washington, D.C., last March, offered several fascinating recent examples. Y... More...

In several separate developments, researchers linked human behaviors with the behavior of microorganisms in unexpected ways, including:

• Christopher Lowry of Bristol University in Bristol, United Kingdom, and his collaborators are testing whether ch...

Although high-level resistance to streptomycin arises from mutations in a ribosomal protein, the source of low-level resistance to this antibiotic remained obscure for several decades. Now that mystery is solved, although it raises several others, according to Kenji Nishimura, Susumu Okamoto, and... More...

Statistics reinforce a recent spate of news reports indicating that food-borne infections are steady or on the rise, according to a report released in April by officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Ga. For instance, the incidence of infections caused by ... More...

“Approval is but one magic moment,” says Chris Schroeder of Duke University School of Law in Durham, N.C., referring to the life cycle of drugs and other products that come before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for review before being licensed. During the past few years, however, safety c... More...

Officials of the Food and Drug Administration in April approved an immune globulin, called HepaGam B, for preventing hepatitis B virus from reinfecting patients who receive liver transplants. In a clinical trial, HepaGam B, which is manufactured by Cangene Corp. of Winnipeg, Canada, reduced the v... More...