Microbiology and Immunology

In my Systematic Bacteriology lab, my partner and I have managed to isolate a very interesting (and frustrating) bacterium from a local pond/fountain and we are absolutely baffled as to what exactly it is. Because while it does seem to grow on R2A and TSA agar, it is proving incredibly difficult to grow in anything else; including the common identification tests for Gram-negative rods. What we do know is that its colonies are a reddish colour on R2A and TSA and they are very, VERY sticky; whenever we try to get a loopful of them we end up having to try a half-dozen times because we end up peeling off all the growth in a small area whenever we try. I can only assume that i…

For instance: Methyl Red [ - ] Urea hydrolysis [ + ]

We all know that weird feeling when looking at gross or disgusting images particularly images that involve infectious disease or trauma to a human body. Gross images of sever gonorrhoea or acne for example. The question I would like to ask is what research or understandings are known to surround the study of such grotesque imagery upon the immune system. Is this weird feeling a hormonal or immune response??? OR is it the opposite whereby the immune system is temporarily/partially shut down. It is a similar feeling for example when we see males been kicked in the groin, whereby it is if our own bodies are preparing for such painful impact. Much appreciated…

Does anyone know what the quality Omano's microscope are? Are they a no name microscope dealer, or are they comparable or at least as known as Nikon, Olympus, or Carl Zeiss? I found some other microscope companies can someone tell if they are good? 1. Konus 2. Meade

Hi All, I'm a microbiology student and I'll be needing to do some basic analyzing in a lab, such as identifying cultures, doing gram stains, etc. I was looking for a decent microscope to work with. I can't afford any of the super professional-grade ones, so I was just browsing for some good deals online. I came across this one, and I was wondering what you all thought: http://www.amazon.co.../dp/B004V1RG9M/ Its resolution is about 0.35 microns. Appreciate any input, thanks! (Apologies if this should have gone in the amateur science forum)

Theoretically: Is every infection-Disease curable and/or resistable? Or, at least, stoppable (left passive)? Is every Malfunction-Disease unrecoverable? Or, at least, is it recoverable in primitive stages or sustainable?

A friend of mine suffering from depression is currently on Citalopram treatment. He is a bit uneasy about the drug and is particularly worried that it might make him suicidal. I have looked the drug on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citalopram) according to which my friend should be safe as the drug only induces suicidal tendencies in patients under 24 (while my friend is over 50). Does anyone have anything about Citalopram to add to the Wikipedia article? My friend would be happy to know more about the drug.

Hi, could anyone tell me if it is possible to ascertain if a staphylococcus hominis infection is nosocomial or community acquired by its resistance/ sensitivity to anti-microbals thank you!

In another (non-scientific) forum in which I participate, there was a thread about nano-bacteria which secrete calcium deposits, which have been linked to the development of breast cancer. When I searched the term, the majority of hits on google seemed to be ".com", however, I did find this one from the Mayo Clinic. http://mayoresearch.mayo.edu/mayo/research/vascular_physiology_lab/nanobacteria.cfm Apparently there is speculation about whether they are living critters, and if they are, whether they cause the formation of plaque in the arteries, as well as kidney stones, and the calcifications that are found in some breast cancers. I also read about a treatme…

Hi, Is there anyone who works in Microbiology and can check slides? I have itching on my body and took scrapings to see if I can find an answer, but don't see anything suspicious on the slides. I have pics of the slides and can email. Maybe there are independent labs I can send the slides to be read. I been to numerous docs over the years and still no help. Please respond to my post if you can.

umm like the title says i need help on finding sterile techniques when using Staph Aureus does anyone know them or any? please help me majorly need this information

Hi. I was wondering what is the difference between detoxic LPS and toxic LPS (LPS=lipopolysacharide)?

Why is klebsiella pneumoniae grown in milk?

Hi: Will continuous exposure to small amounts of lipopolysaccharide render the immune system unresponsive to it? If the immune system gets used to LPS, then it will no longer mount an inflammatory response towards it. Thanks, Green Xenon

Hey. i have a small question. Has there been any cases in which the "good" bacteria in our system turned against us and caused septicemia?(i think thats the word) Like the bacteria in the colon, it helps to further process wastes eliminating toxins, but also as a bi-product it produces methane. could this bacteria "malfunction" and stop processing toxins? also, how would this effect the PH balance of our body? Biology isnt my best subject, i hope someone can explain this in detail.

HI Folks, this is a last ditch attempt out of sheer desperation to find an intelligent answer Is there a bacteria that does not show on an ordinary culture and general blood tests? I have been suffering repeated symptoms for 2 yrs (uti, kidneys, joints and skin, pain and fatigue) which clear up with antibiotics but nothing shows on a culture. 6 weeks ago I had an abdominal hysterectomy and the symptoms have sped up enormously. I have been treated with repeated rounds of augmentin, to which it responds slowly, but as soon as stopping, it comes right back. urine strips show white blood cells and protein. The doctor told me the pain was uterine and took it ou…

Hi all! I am an undergraduate student at a college in Albany. I am currently running a research experiment studying biofilm formations. However I have run into a roadblock which I hope you can all help me with.. I have cultured Streptococcus Epidermis and Staphylococcus Aureus from environmental samples i took. I used Manitol salt agar plates to culture them. However, the problem i am running into now is that my S. Aureus sample also contains some species of Cornyebacterium. I cannot manage to separate these two microbes. The great tragedy of all of this is that i will eventually have to culture these two microbes together later on in the experiment, but for righ…

Today I was doing experiment and accidentally swallowed a few LB drops with bacteria. The bacteria is Yersinia Pseudotuberculosis - the "young" brother of Y. Pestis (causative agent of the plague). Actually Y.pseudotuberculosis is not so dangerous as pestis but anyway the feeling is not so comfortable. Has anyone experience of "drinking" Yersiniae ... I mean the one who is still alive )))) And the million dollar question - will I die or not?

Can anyone see slides I posted? Can you help me with idetification please?

Hi there I am looking for some guidance on where to begin with looking into starting up a lab in accordance with BS EN ISO 7218:2007. Whilst I currently have access to a university lab working to these guidelines, I have had a job offer which would mean me starting up a lab to to analyse microbiological environment samples from the preparation of agars through to the presumptive plate counts after incubation (obviously in addition to general house-keeping etc.). These are all aspects that I am more than comfortable with but have minimal understanding in the business, H&S aspects etc. I have a copy of the Standard but am wondering how feasible and costly t…

Hi everybody! I am new and jumping right in... So, the Beta- Interferon is said to activate Natural Killer cells (among other things), which are CD8 T-cells... And at the progressive stage of Multiple Sclerosis, CD8 cells get activated later in the pathogenesis and kill the very Oligodendrocytes which try with all their might to remyelinate the axons... Why then do MS patients get prescribed the very Interferon that will activate the destruction process even further? What am I missing? TIA!

Hello everyone! I'm a college student and need some help. I'm currently taking a 200 level microbiology class. My professor had the class culture some unknown bacteria from an acquittance that apparently had flu-like symptoms. This is at a fairly new school and the lab equipment is nothing special. We just use usual precautions (gloves, goggles etc) that you would find in a school lab. I had an internship as a lab assistant when I was in high school and I clearly remember be told that we should treat all unknown pathogens at potentially dangerous. When I asked my professor about this she told me nothing we were doing required anything but a Biosafety level 1 lab, which is…

Hello everyone. I'm new to scienceforums.net and I have some questions about the anatomy of bacteria. I've arrived at these questions because I'm a 3D computer graphics artist working for a company that makes educational software in the fields of medical anatomy, biology, and other areas of science. There are a lot of tidbits I'm wondering about, but I'm going to start with just a few questions so as not to overwhelm the good folks here. Chromsomes: Do all bacteria have closed-circle, single-helix chromosomes? I've seen a few sources saying this but haven't found a lot about it, and have seen some diagrams showing a sort of spiral strand-shaped chromosome whose ends d…

*Tuberculosis (TB) is an infection, primarily in the lungs (a pneumonia), caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is spread usually from person to person by breathing infected air during close contact. *TB can remain in an inactive (dormant) state for years without causing symptoms or spreading to other people.When the immune system of a patient with dormant TB is weakened, the TB can become active (reactivate) and cause infection in the lungs or other parts of the body. *The risk factors for acquiring TB include close-contact situations, alcohol and IV drug abuse, and certain diseases (for example, diabetes, cancer, and HIV) and occupations (fo…

Guys, What are some general questions that proteomics can answer that genomics cannot? Please if you can give some examples to that. Thank you for reading, Pankil Patel.