Kartchner Cave Microbes

            Caves are an extreme environment for any organism to live; there is little sunlight and nutrients plus the temperatures are usually extreme. There is a cave called Kartchner Caverns in southeastern Arizona. The surface environment in Arizona is dry and hot and usually not the most desirable place to make your home if you are a tiny microbe. Recently scientists have discovered microorganisms underground in Kartchner Caverns where the environment is even harsher than on the surface. It is dry and hot underground and there are little nutrients available in the cave. This stunned scientists because they wondered how microbes that rely on organic carbon as an energy source can survive where there is little to munch on. There is no sunlight for them to be photosynthetic microbes but researchers found that the microorganisms relied on water runoff that drips into the cave. This cave is unlike other known caves because there is ten times less carbon entering the Kartchner Caverns.

            This environment seems harsh and unwelcoming for microorganisms but there are many species that call this place home. According to one of the scientists the microorganisms in this cave, “use the energy in nitrogen-containing compounds like ammonia and nitrite to convert carbon dioxide from the air into biomass." This is stunning because they have learned to adapt their energy intake ways in order to fit into the environment. Scientists were able to culture a few of the microorganisms and were amazed with the results because one of the microbes that they grew had only been found three times in history. It is very rare and we know little about it and are curious to know if there are tons more microorganisms that are unknown to us.

            Scientists also discovered that these microorganisms were found in contaminated soils and scientists are now asking the question of whether these microbes could help with environmental remediation. This article had a lot of information about new microbes and what potential they had. It is truly amazing to see if this discovery leads to new antibiotics or environmental benefits. It could also lead to new findings all around the globe and even on other planets.

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131202162200.htm

Altered Gut Microbiome

Our gut microbiota is altered whenever there is a change in our diet, lifestyle, or health. There is a new study published by researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, that states that the microbes in the gut are different in people that are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. It is known that the human body contains more microbial cells than human cells. The majority of microbes reside in our gut and some are very beneficial to our health while others are pathogenic and cause harm. There needs to be a balance in our bodies between good and bad microbes because if the bad microbes start to outnumber the good then we start to get sick.

            This new study consisting of 145 women that have type 2 diabetes proved that their gut microbiome is altered. Scientists are able to tell because they analyzed their metagenomes, the collection of genes from microbes and our own genes. In healthy women there seems to be higher number of a certain gut bacteria that produces a fatty acid called butyrate. Butyrate is known to contribute to certain health benefits. With these results scientists can now analyze a gut microbiome and tell if it is altered and if the host has type 2 diabetes. They use the metagenome to analyze the microbes in the gut.

            If possible this study could eventually lead to pre-diagnoses of the type 2 diabetes which is amazing! With further research we might even be able to alter the gut flora and add more beneficial bacteria that produce butyrate. Hopefully we will be able to prevent these awful diseases and keep our microbiomes healthy and happy.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130603092328.htm

Traveling Bacteria

We all know that bacteria can travel because we notice how one person comes to class with a cold and all of a sudden half the class is out sick. We also know that some bacteria can literally move using their flagella or cilia depending on their shapes. New research is saying that bacteria can travel the globe relatively quickly and not only through air. Bacteria and most other microbes rely on their environments and surroundings to move them about.

Researchers from labs in UK and Switzerland used a computer model to see how far and how fast bacteria could travel globally. They entered data about the bacteria including their diameter sizes. They were amazed to see that even the smallest bacteria traveled farther and faster than the larger protist-sized bacteria. They noticed that bacteria traveled easier in their own hemisphere for example bacteria that were released in South America reached Australia more readily than they did toEurope. They also noticed that bacteria hitched a ride in air currents, water currents, in and on people, and through insects or animals.

So why do we care? The biggest question that researchers are trying to answer is: “If bacteria are so good at travelling, why are they not all the same in every part of the world?” There are many hypotheses that answer this question the most common one states that bacteria can travel easily but do not settle as easily. For example bacteria can travel from country to country but might be killed or outcompeted when they arrive.

It interests me that bacteria can travel far and fast but do not always survive when they are introduced to a new environment. This adds to the diversity of bacteria, and the reason that antibiotics are not as effective as they used to be. Understanding bacteria and their behavior has benefits for improving human health.

 

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/lab-rat/2011/08/30/air-microbe-how-bacteria-fly-around-the-world/

Sleeping Bacteria?

 

We are aware that antibiotics are not working to fight against pathogens. Scientists knew that bacteria would reproduce and strengthen their genome, in order to resist strains of antibiotics. Researchers from Hebrew University are claiming that there are “persistent bacteria” which are not resistant to antibiotics they simply stay in a sleeping mode or inactive state while they are exposed to antibiotics. This is scary because after the antibiotics leave the human host the pathogenic bacteria essentially wake up and continue causing harm.

According to Professor Gadi Glaser there is a connection between pathogenic bacteria and the toxin HipA, at first scientists were unaware that this toxin was actually causing the bacteria to “go to sleep.” Now they are trying to find new ways to rid of pathogenic bacteria without making them go to sleep. The researchers have created a model of how the toxin HipA disrupts the chemical “messaging” between bacteria cells. They need this messaging system to build nutrients for proteins. When the toxin interrupts the signaling the bacteria take it as a hunger period and enter into an inactive state in order to preserve their energy. Once the antibacterial treatment is over the bacteria essentially wake up and continue causing harm to their host.

Scientists are trying to understand how the toxin HipA interrupts the chemical signaling in bacteria cells in order to avoid causing the bacteria to enter into an inactive state. When we get sick we rely on medicine and antibiotics to cure us not to put the pathogenic bacteria to sleep. It will be really interesting to see how scientists will overcome this challenge. Bacteria are super tiny organisms that seem to be outsmarting even the greatest scientists.  

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131229112055.htm

 

We are aware that bacteria can adapt and survive in many different external environments. Understanding how bacteria adapt to their external environments is a new challenge in the field of molecular microbiology. Scientists want to understand how they rapidly adapt and how they are still able to reproduce even when they are not comfortable in their environments. Understanding how bacteria react to external environment change can lead to understanding how they effectively resist antibiotics.

Researchers from Uppsala University have presented a model on how bacteria rapidly adapt to changes in their environment through “smart regulation of their gene expression”.  Bacteria have to change their protein levels in order to adapt to their external environments. In order for bacteria to live and reproduce they need to get the correct amount of nutrients from their environments; but what happens when the environment changes and the amounts of certain nutrients change? Scientists know that bacteria must adjust their enzyme levels if they want to benefit from the nutrients around them in their environments. They also understand that if the environment changes rapidly than the bacteria need to adjust themselves in order to conform to the environment.

Researchers are also looking at the physiology of bacteria because understanding their composition and make up will help scientists understand how they are able to adjust to their environments. They have come to the conclusion that the reason that bacteria can still reproduce and survive when their environment undergoes rapid change is due to their proteome, or composition of their proteins.

This study will help researchers to understand bacteria and their behavior better. Bacteria and other microbes are all around us and we need to appreciate them in order to fully understand them. It is important for us to understand them because we need to learn how to live symbiotically with good bacteria and we need to understand how to defend ourselves against pathogenic bacteria. 

          http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131202161952.htm

Gut Feeling.

              Research conducted by UCLA scientist has revealed that diet affects the microbes in human guts which in turn affects how humans feel emotionally. There was little evidence at first to prove the hypothesis, “You are what you eat.” This new study consisted of 36 women, a third of them were on a diet with lots of yogurt and probiotics. Another third of them ate a substance that looked like yogurt but did not have probiotics. The other third did not consume any probiotics at all. The women received MRIs before and after the four week trial. The MRI was used to scan their brain function; when they were relaxed and when they were put under emotional stress. The scientists wanted to see if diet affected brain function.

                The data showed that the women who ate the yogurt that contained probiotics had a decrease in function in the insula (which processes the internal bodily sensations) and in the somatosensory cortex. These women also had a decrease in the engagement in the certain parts of the brain: emotion, cognition, and sensory areas. The other women who were in the other two dietary categories showed an increase or were stable in all the same areas.

                It was surprising to the scientists that there was such a range in the data. They expected to see change in the emotional part of the brain but not in the sensory or cognition. This new discovery will lead to more research aimed at finding new strategies to prevent digestive, neurological, and mental illnesses.

                Microbes never cease to amaze me, they do so much in our bodies and we still know very little about them. This research could lead to amazing treatments; imagine someone being cured of Alzheimer’s by simply changing their diet and gut flora. 

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130528180900.htm

Antibiotics have seemed to save our lives against deadly diseases, but are they now ruining our chances to fight off resistant microbes? This article written by Arjun Srinivasan talks about the effects of over usage of antibiotics. Scientists have known that antibiotics would someday stop working because bacteria and other microbes share their DNA and are able to resist antibiotics. Medical researchers want to save lives and reduce the cost of medicinal treatments. It will take many years to develop a new drug or antibiotic that will be one step ahead of the resistant microbes.

For now scientists from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have come to the conclusion that medical personal need to limit their “handing out” of antibiotics. In the past antibiotics were prescribed to almost anyone with any symptoms of an illness. It is now proven that over prescribing antibiotics has contributed to the resistant strains of bacteria and other microorganisms.

                There is need for improvement according to the CDC, “One in three prescriptions written for the drug vancomycin included a potential error, such as prescribing without proper evaluation.” There is not much room for errors because antibiotics have led to a huge increase of antibiotic resistant microbes. The new improvements are called antibiotic stewardship; it will help save lives and preserve antibiotics. These stewardship programs will ensure that patients are accurately diagnosed, are given the correct antibiotic, given the right dosage, and for the correct duration time. This will help to limit the microbes from becoming stronger faster. It should also help with medical costs and waste.

                Microbes work fast and are smart, they have become resistant to every antibiotic drug that is on the market. Even when new drugs arise, it will not take them long to figure out how to avoid destruction. The CDC and the new stewardship programs will help to control the spread of resistant microbes. It will also help people with illnesses recover. 

 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-we-stop-the-end-of-effective-antibiotics/

Trypanosoma brucei gambiense belong to the protozoa they cause the African sleeping sickness. They are usually found in tsetse flies. They infect the human blood and cause headaches, disturbance with the sleep cycle, swelling of the brain. It can eventually lead to death if it is not treated properly.

Scientists have recently been able to track tsetse flies that are carrying the genome trypanosome and watch the protozoa cells mate. Scientists dyed the cells with two different fluorescent colors green and red. They used the dyes to see what the cells were doing, they wrapped their flagella together to bring the cells closer together. In the past it was thought that the cells simply divide in order to reproduce. Now scientists are arguing that they also swap genes while they are reproducing. Swapping genes allows them to make their DNA stronger and create new strains of the disease. Some of these strains can resist certain antibiotics and are harder to treat.

This new research will help scientists understand the Trypanosoma brucei gambiense cells better and will help them to create stronger antibiotics. This research can also help in other areas of medicine because there might be more pathogens that use sex to swap genes. Scientists will be able to treat diseases easier and faster when they know how strong a pathogen will be.

I think this research can be very useful because it is hard to track pathogens. This will allow us to better understand their reproducing methods. We will be able to defeat them easier and keep ourselves healthier. Microbial biology is a relatively new science and it has taken us a few years to discover that we live symbiotically with many microbes. It will take us a few years to fully appreciate this science and what the tiny microorganisms can do for us.   

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140103204500.htm

 

 

New research might make it possible for us to track gene-spliced microbes in the environment. Some scientists are studying microbes and their behaviors; this new research might help them to see how the microbes spread. Gene-spliced microbes are microorganisms that have been altered with other microbes’ genes. For example scientists at Boyce Thompson Institute took the enzyme called luciferase from organisms in the sea and transplanted it into Rhizobium. Rhizobium is bacteria that live in the roots of soybeans. After the scientists grew the soybeans they uprooted them to find little nodules that were emitting a blue-green light. This light is usually spotted in the dark.

                This article presents two controversial issues, the first being the production of gene-spliced microbes and the second is making them glow in the dark. I think that some gene-spliced microorganisms might be beneficial to the environment but it is hard to tell what the consequences of altering their genes will cause in the future. The main reason for altering genes in microbes is to convert harmful microorganisms to ones that will benefit the environment. The reason behind making them glow in the dark is so that way the scientists will be able to track them. I can agree that tracking microbes is a great way to study them and their behaviors.

                This project will take many years to develop because there are a lot of questions that need to be answered. The scientists will also need to get approval by the Environmental Protection Agency and the government. It will be interesting to see where this research will end up in the future.

http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.unm.edu/nytimes/docview/426302891/C0832B215B0F428DPQ/5?accountid=14613

www.dailymail.co.uk 

 

We are always trying to keep our hygiene up to standard this includes showering, fresh breath, and overall cleanliness. We are always trying to rid of bacteria and microbes that live on our skin, because we want to be healthy and clean.  A new study shows that balancing good bacteria with bad bacteria in the mouth can reduce bad breath. Bad breath is very common, usually due to the dryness of the mouth. Microbes hiding on our tongues and under the gum line emit gases that cause rotten breath. We try different methods such as brushing after every meal, using mouthwash, and scraping our tongues and gums.  A new study explains that we should be balancing the good bacteria with the bad bacteria.

There are different microbes on the teeth, gum, and tongues; this study will help us to understand which environments foster which bacteria. We need to be able to determine where the good bacteria live and where the bad resides. This will help us to determine how to balance the gas omitting bacteria with some beneficial bacteria.

This research will aid adults and children with brushing strategies and the mouth will stay healthy longer. Our mouths are the first step in our digestive system, they are important and we need to protect our teeth. As much as we like to protect our teeth we also want to keep our breath smelling fresh.

Most adults care about their hygiene especially their breath, because it is easy to detect when someone has bad breath. Brushing and mints can only calm the problem for a little while. This research will help to eliminate bad breath all together.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/beat-bad-breath-keep-mouth-bacteria-happy/?page=1

Wastewater converted into energy

            Microbes are known to do many things, such as start diseases and support our immune systems. A new study done by Willy Verstraete explains that some microbes are able to turn waste compounds into energy. In our day and age we are seeing how energy is costly and depleting. It would be great if we could implement tiny microbes to turn our waste into efficient usable energy. This process is going to take many years to develop and it will take a lot of research before it is applied. These tiny powerful microbes “break down the organic material in waste streams and produce electrons in the process,” (Biello). It would be great if we could turn our insignificant waste into much needed energy.

            Everything in our daily lives costs us to use energy. We plug our phones, computers, televisions, refrigerator, and etc. into the wall so it can receive energy. We have to buy gas just so we can drive across town. We throw away our trash and waste as we continue our daily lives. It would be great if we could increase our energy sources to match our waste outputs. If tiny microbes could do that job it would be a great opportunity for human life to flourish while waste is being converted into reliable energy. It will take years of research for this project to develop and it will probably have to undergo approval from the government. As for now it sounds like a great way to clean up our Earth, especially our water, while producing usable.

                  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/microbes-convert-wastewat/

http://www.utilities-me.com/article-529-wastewater-byproduct-holds-profit-potential/#.UvuWQfCYaM8

Analyzing Microbes in Hospitals

            Microbes are tiny, most of the time, unicellular organisms, they live everywhere.  They are on every surface imaginable even on and in the human body. Microbial ecology is a recent science; researchers are trying to figure out everything they can about the dynamic sing celled organisms. The article titled “Cleansing the Clinic” is written about the Hospital Microbiome Project. The team included in this article is headed by Jack Gilbert. Their goal is to take data samples of a newly built hospital, nurses, staff, patients, and commonly touched areas, in order to gain more knowledge about microbes, and their paths. The scientists hope to learn more about how to keep dangerous microbes out of hospitals and how to keep the rooms cleaner. This article appeals to audiences using credibility and reason.

            This article was written by Beth Marie Cole, she has taken the time to interview and conduct research about microbes and the hospital microbiome project. Jack Gilbert is a highly credible researcher from the University of Chicago. He has dedicated his whole life to microbial ecology and would like to improve the health of hospitals to ultimately improve the human health. Jack and his team have developed a hypothesis that states, “That bugs from long-term patients will become acclimated to their rooms, whereas rooms with shorter-term patients will be more susceptible to shifting populations,” (Cole). They have decided to take samples daily of all participating patients, staff, and commonly touched areas of the hospital. They would like to determine the pathways of microbes and how they affect the environment of the hospitals. They do know that microbes are brought in by all patients and staff, and each person can carry microbes out of the hospital as well. Their ultimate goal is to, “inform the design of methods to promote healthy microbial communities that elbow out pathogens—a kind of probiotic supplement for your hospital room,” (Cole). This study could help humans protect themselves against microbes.

            Most people in hospitals care about their health and the health of others around them. People check into hospitals to get better and sometimes are concerned with catching a worse disease. Nurses and staff are also concerned with patients’ health and their own. If the hospital microbiome project could reveal helpful data to keep hospitals cleaner and patients health, people would have a sense of relief. New cleaning methods could arise from the data and could help to sanitize the area and keep patients healthy.

            Jack Gilbert and his team have a developed a hypothesis that could potentially be successful in providing new theories about microbes and human health. Cole wrote a successful article about how Gilbert’s hard work will benefit human life. This article appeals to readers using reason and credibility. This study will provide some answers and might raise some questions, but ultimately will improve health all around the world.

 

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/33730/title/Cleansing-the-Clinic/

 

 

                                                          Are we murdering our Allies?

The human body is a home for millions of microbes, some can be damaging to our health but others are there for our protection. It is hard to determine which is which. Scientists are still trying to answer that question. It is thought that the harmful microbes that make us sick should be destroyed. We have gained the technology to rid of harmful microbes with vaccines and antibiotics. It is now uncovered that by destroying the evil microbes, some helpful ones are dying in the process. The microbes that aid in our survival are being affected by the antibiotics and are disappearing throughout the world.

Can it be that the healthier we try to live, the unhealthier it becomes for some microbes to live? Scientists are trying to answer that question by doing many studies on microbes and the affects of antibiotics and vaccines. It is thought to be a good thing to kill off viruses and harmful germs but scientists are seeing a decline in the good microbes. Some “traditional microbes are an important line of defense against external and possibly dangerous invaders” (Harmon). Humans need a line of defense if we want to stay healthy.

Microbial ecology is a new study and the more we understand the better we can go about living our lives. It is hard to tell whether or not all bad microbes should be destroyed or if it will cause the good microbes harm. We need to find a balance between good and evil especially when it comes to our health.

 

     http://media5.picsearch.com/is? 4rAl3umY3Y_ATl7pdte6KyyQ7TDXoOqYKlwAEW8qZtg&height=221

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/human-microbiome-change/

Microbes and Us

            Microbes have been around for a very long time, and are mostly considered as harmful disease causing germs. It is now recently understood by scientists that some microbes are dangerous but others are beneficial to the human body. It is known that the human body is made up of cells but there are “10 times as many bacterial cells as human cells,” (Jozefowicz). That is where the Human Microbiome Project comes into play; this study is to trying to learn more about all the microbes living on and in the human body.

            The researchers are knowledgeable about microbes and the human body, but are trying to figure out if all humans carry the same microbes. The project will focus on microbes on skin and intestines. The author does no state what humans they are testing because location, climate, and culture could play a factor in which microbes grow on and in the human body. I would have liked to be introduced to what factors play a role in affecting which microbes grow on humans.

          The author states that the Human Microbiome Project tested five different elbows, and found 113 groups of bacteria. They found harmful microbes and beneficial bacteria in the crook of the elbow. The author does not tell his audience if all five elbows carried all 113 microbes. The project does show that microbes found in the inside of the elbow and microbes found on the forearm are significantly different. The researchers believe that “’even two areas that are very close together physically can have very different ecosystems,’” (Jozefowicz). The author did not answer the question of whether or not the environment that the human(s) are living in affects which microbe(s) will inhabit the human body.

            Overall, the research of microbes is an ongoing project and will take time to answer all the questions. It is understood that microbes are all around the human world including in and on our bodies. Some are harmful and others are friendly and help us continue our daily lives. Microbial ecology is a complex science with many researches on the job, trying to understand the dynamics of the tiny inhabitants.

 

Image: www.economist.com 

article: http://ehis.ebscohost.com.libproxy.unm.edu/ehost/detail?vid=13&sid=09ce2291-6f37-4cfb-afb1-75dd2cd7d5fd%40sessionmgr4005&hid=4111&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=35338495

The FLC 609 is a combined microbiology and English course. I was interested in taking a FLC course because it combines two subjects that are not commonly interacted. Microbiology is a mostly new subject to me and it sounds interesting.

http://www.evergreenexhibitions.com/exhibits/microbes/photopress_scaled.asp