Microbiology and Immunology

Hi everyone, I would like to do some research on the immunoglobulin A. Could anyone suggest some possible labs/experiments to find out how IgA is produced in the human body? For example, I would like to find out what cytokines trigger the plasma cells to produce IgA, what substances or conditions might stimulate this production, etc. Thanks in advance!!

Hi: Let's say that some of what originally fit the category of "my favorite bacteria" -- described here http://www.scienceforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=40732 -- mutate into pathogens that feed on any and all forms of keratin. What would happen to me if I was infected with that bacteria? Since keratin seems to make up the already-dead parts of our skin, hair, and nails -- I doubt an infection would cause me any fatality or permanent disability. I'm guessing my skin and hair would become unusually soft and smooth due to the loss of keratin. There would be an awful body odor from the bacterial degradation of keratin. My skin would be coated in pus, as my imm…

Hi: My favorite bacteria are completely non-pathogenic, non-toxic, and non-allergenic. In terms of respiration, they are facultative-anaerobes [can use oxygen but don't need it], obligate anaerobes [can only survive in total or near-total absence of oxygen], or aerotolerant-anaerobes [can survive in oxygen but don't use it for respiration]. No obligate aerobes [need oxygen to survive and can withstand high levels of oxygen] or microaerophiles [need oxygen to survive but in small amounts and will die if exposed to the high oxygen levels tolerable by obligate aerobes and aerotolerant anaerobes]. No gram-negatives either. They can be gram-positive or gram-neutra…

Hi: I'm in Southern California of USA. I live in Diamond Bar. It's pretty warm here. I bought a 64 fluid-oz, 1.89 liter [1/2 gallon]carton of nonfat lactose-free milk and poured the milk into a plastic container with an air-tight lid. The container is now sealed-shut and in the closet of one of my bedrooms and it is room temperature in the closet. How long will it take for the bacteria in the milk to completely metabolize the milk and replace the milk with more bacteria and bacterial waste products? IOW, when can I expect the milk to disappear? Thanks, Green Xenon

there was an era in which micro was a coveted subject.what has happened to the research wing of micro.any ideas as to what is the future if micro in the next 5 years to come?what are the immediate developments in micro?

Essential detoxing of the body to remove the toxin build up must figure prominently in our weekly detox program. We see so many allergies in our modern day society it echoes the past. Deep cleansing in days gone by was seen as good as going to church as we still do for moral and spiritual guidance.The sweat lodge and saunas were considered a spiritual place and an essential part of the deep cleansing of the body and mind . The native american indians held the sweat lodge as a sacred part of there living . And we look at the romans for example an advancing civilisation that grew into an empire , good sanitation , clean water and essential detoxing. The ritual bathing…

I have been studying microbiology on my own for the past year got a microscope and a few books. However i have very little knowledge when it comes to implementing anything. For instances how do i get a virus or find one, how do i encourage the growth of microbes. I had some pond water i wanted to try to increase the population of microbes to better examine then because they were few and hard to follow with my scope. Anyone know of a cheap place to buy lab gear?

I'm just wondering.... I know everything has *a* chance of being true so I included the word 'reasonable' up there for the sticklers. Thanks!

The new possible pandemic flu is so deadly because it makes the immune system overreact, causing what is known as a cytokine storm. There are some known cheap ways to weaken the immune system, namely sugar and alcohol. Would a sufficient intake of these weaken the response of the immune system enough to increase ones chances of survival? From what i've read it does seem like that. For instance 100g of sugar can weaken the immune system by 40% for up to 5 hours, according to: http://www.immunecentral.com/templates/info_template.cfm/1696/70/1 Also from the above link: Seems just like the cure we are looking for, no? Now I'm just a software engineer,…

Hi, I've found a science fair project and already have someone to help me (for the material and all) at the University and I just wanted to ask you guys what you think of the experiment: Trying Bacteriophages on antibiotic resistant bacteria to see if phages could be used as an alternative to antibiotics. I'd have two parts in my experiment: "trigger" the antibiotic resistance of that bacteria (don't know which one yet), then I'll try the phages on them (on the resistant ones). I'll also have an explanation part where I just talk about what happens and all... So what do you think?

I have trouble with acid reflux ( which is not about , to much stomach acid , as it is about to little ) so I have , for the last , 2-3 months been taking plant enzymes they seem to work , along with probiotics my question is ; do they break down , plack , or any build up along arterial walls as well ?

I am working with murine cel lines and compare their responsivenes to alpha radiation. Will be happy to share knowledge and ideas.

Hi, When observe an endospore under a microscope and find it to be large and swollen, almost like a big round pocket, but after a few weeks, you repeat the same process of staining and mounting on a glass and re-observing it under a microscope, but then you find that the old large round spore cell is gone only to discover a hundred different round spore cells under a microscope. Would this endospore microbacterium be considered positive for motility?

Hi everyone, why do we call the "fragment antigen binding region" this way ? Isn't only the Variable domains (HV and LV) of an Immunoglobulin(Ig) responsible for binding to the antigen ?????? If so, why does the region "antigen binding" contain both the variable and one constant domain ?? Thanks in advance.

I was going through some Rhemuatoid forums and blogs as usual when I found a free Rheumatoid webcast worth some accreditation hours, so I thought I'd share with everyone here! It's at http://www.cmenetworks.com/cme/10845/1/Continuing-Medical-Education-Rheumatology-CME-2009-Latest-Developments-in-Biologics-for-Rheumatoid-Arthritis-From-Science-to-Practice-Scientific-Congress-Update-December-19-2008---December-18-2009/Page1.html and it's called "Latest Developments in Biologics for Rheumatoid Arthritis" I suggest checking it out because it has some pretty worthwhile info on there!

Hello everyone, I have a very important question for a medical lab technician concerning a Gram Stain test that was done on a penile discharge swab recently. It is my understanding that gram stain is designed specifically to determine the presence of bacteria, and to determine if it is positive or negative. My question is, would this gram stain test determine if there were any sperm present as well? The reason I ask is because I am quite sure that I was leaking a seminal fluid, even though the lab report shows gram positive cocci in clusters and chains, and under "organisms isolated", Enterococcus faecalis is listed. Is this possible? Thanks in advance for any help wit…

(source: http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2009/02/23/team_finds_secret_that_could_stem_flu_viruses/) I read this in BadAstronomy (here's the post http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/03/29/is-a-one-time-flu-shot-on-the-horizon/) which links to a Boston Globe report. I'm not very well versed in immunology, but it was my understanding that the major problem of vaccination (and specifically the flu vaccine) is that the virus adapts and therefore a new vaccine is needed each season. In fact, I always understood that the flu is one of those viruses that adapts *so quickly*, that it's hard to really produce a good vaccine; it's as "good as we c…

I'm trying to see if lubes with glycerol contribute to yeast infections and I need to design a media that will mimic the conditions inside the vagina. *It needs to be carbohydrate-poor enough that I can create a (-) control without being too unlike vaginal fluid. *The lubes have to dissolve into it (water-based will work fine, but I don't know what to do about silicone or oil-based lubes) *It should have a chemical composition as similar as possible to vaginal fluid. I have enough information to create rudimentary synthetic vaginal fluid for the media, but I expect it to be "goopy". I've only ever done cell cultures in agar or liquid media and I don't k…

For an exam I have to memorise things about Toll-like receptors. I should know (at the very least) their names, where they are in the cell, and what they detect (e.g. flagellin, ds-RNA or what-have-you). Anyone know any good mnemonics for this? Or does anyone know of a particularly good summary diagram on the Internet? Not sure if this belongs in the Homework or Immunology section - feel free to move.

As I know Corynebacterium genitalium has been renamed and is in an other class. but I can not find where it belongs now. Does anybody know the current name of this basteria? Or at least ideas...

Title says it all Is there a difference or are the terms interchangeable?

Are there anybody working with Ureaplasma

Hi all, I'm new to the forum, but I have been mulling this over for a few weeks and I'd love a fresh take! Here's my problem: - In an article RE the development of a dengue virus vaccine (link below), the authors state the following in the results: "Long-lasting virus-neutralizing antibodies depend on a strong CD4+ helper T-cell response induced by the vaccine. However, the IFN-g ELISPOT assay failed to detect T-cell responses in peripheral blood mononuclear cells... stimulated with purified dengue-1." - I understand the value of looking at IFN-g when assessing CMI, but why oh why did they bring "long-lasting virus neutralizing antibodies" into the mix? …

I mean the pharmaceutical companies spend billions of money every year trying to find a cure for diseases, illnesses ,virus,parasites,HIV and cancer so on. How long will this take or where there be a cure?Have they not tried every drug combinations or how many drug combinations are there ?Like is it thousands , millions or billions? Why no cure for lung cancer ,breast caner ,liver caner ,HIV or other cancers so on? How are drugs made ?Do they use math to come up with drugs? Or try different combinations or use organism to kill diseases or illnesses ? I really have no idea how the pharmaceutical companies work or go about looking for a cure or how conplex t…

ok. Here's an example. We have a bacteria, escherichia coli for example, resistant to pennicilin and beside it, Enterococcus faecium for example, that is not resistant to pennicilin. Now, can the e.coli give that resistant gene, to e.faecium ??