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 

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