Microbiology and Immunology

Haven't heard about this vaccine before, when I'm searching the web for information about this protein I can't find much. Is this something sensational or just another small biotech-company heading towards the slippery slope of epic failness? Do you guys know anything about this specific technology? Where can I read more about it since I find it very interesting? What do you guys think about their success rate? Isn't this a really big thing if it happens to kill the metastatic cancer cells? If I've understood everything correct, a cancer patient will use conventional treatments for their parent tumor, and use this vaccine for the metastatic part of the cancer cells. The…

The Ku complex is essential for repair of double strand breaks in DNA following exposure to X-Rays. This complex differs in structure between eukaryotes and prokaryotes in which it forms a heterodimer and homodimer respectively. It is also smaller in prokaryotes. These structural differences could be exploited to design a selective inhibitor of the Ku complex in bacteria where subsequent exposure to X-Rays may cause irreparable damage to their DNA thus killing them. Could this be a feasible form of treatment or a worthwhile topic of research? Reference; Bacterial Nonhomologous End Joining Requires Teamwork, Lindsay A. Matthews and Lyle A. Simmons, J Bacteriol.…

What's the latest scientific data suggesting?

I suspect these are amoeba's. In sperm. Am I right? Can somebody confirm this please. Not great pictures but the best I could make.

I frequently see the signs in restrooms, "Employees must wash their hands with hot water and soap before returning to work.", which for me begs the question: Given that germs are not likely to be killed by the relatively tepid temperature that a human's hands can withstand, why use hot water versus cold water? Is there any scientific reason the hot water and soap will be more effective in removing germs than cold water and soap?

Hi So, from all the research I've done, it appears that generally, when you encounter a pathogen, the relevant B-cell becomes activated (with help from helper T-cell), replicates itself into effector cells which pump out antibody for a few weeks to clear the infection, and memory cells which stick around for years in case the body encounters the pathogen again, in which case they activate again and more effector cells and antibody is released. All the information available seems to say that antibody, once loose in the blood, lasts about 3-6 weeks and only the memory B-cells stick around for a long time. However, I was trying to understand then how it is useful t…

We have to figure out an unknown.. Here's the case Type 2 Diabetic male presents with fever, pain, necrotizing swelling over his left leg. His symptoms began about a week ago with swelling, redness of the left leg followed by a bronze discoloration of the skin and the appearance of hemorrhage bullae. Pertinent Clinical Data: Temp: 102.5 F Physical exam - Extensive cutaneous Gangrene observed over his left leg with many ruptured bullae; black necrotic eschar with surrounding erythema. Biopsy- areas of necrosis of the dermis and subcutaneous fat, infiltration with PMNs; vasculitis and thrombosis in vessels in the superficial fascia. Specimen: Swap of Lesion e…

I'd like to know in general, for what purpose the germs infect and kill human cells? Actually what are they after? Which nutrient they want from us? Why they should kill our cells, when our survival is crucial to their survival?

Hello people, as the title says, I want to know if it's possible to develop inmunity agains posions (Like spider and snake venom's) and toxins (Like botulinum) through inyecting little no lethal dose and increasing it over time. I have readed about the mithridatism, but I want to know if this practice really works and if it were so. It will work with all poisons type, like cyanire? And, the inmuty can reach to 100% (For example: If a inland taipan bites me, I survive without consuming any antidote)?

Any ideas what this may be? I've ruled almost every allergy item out any help greatly assisted there is definitely a trigger as had nothing before bed, tropical lucozade at 5am (which I have drunk for years but how stopping!!) and this was how I woke up?? I am allergic to grass pollen

Hi, my daughter wet herself in the hallway of our apartment building (shoes and all). She walked all along the hallway carpet in her urine-drenched shoes. Is that a serious hygiene issue? Just wondering if i need to ask the building manager to clean the carpet. I feel a bit guilty that she might've spread germs...thanks

Hello, I have a weird stomach bug that I'd like to understand better. Every since about 5 or 6 years ago, I contracted a stomach bug (bacteria of some kind I think) that only comes alive when I'm around people with colds. I don't actually catch the cold. Instead I get sick in the stomach--with vomiting and diahrea. It didn't used to be this way: whenever there was a cold going around, I would just catch the cold. But now it seems to transform into some kind of stomach flu in my body. I once went a whole week with the bug eating me up inside (or so it felt) and so I went to the doctor to get myself checked out. He thought it might be e-coli (but that was unoffi…

Vaccinations can be as low as 40% effectiveness and as high as 95%. In thinking of ways to raise the efficiency of vaccines with < 50% prevention, wouldn't it be more advantageous to use part of a whole cell lysate (taking out the bad stuff) than using a handful of proteins that produce immunogenicity? At least this way, you're catching all the small interactions with cell components/ proteins that you would miss with just using a surface protein or flagellin. Sure, you may raise the immune reaction a bit, and produce an elevated fever, but this would be common place in time. If you get a colonoscopy (very short procedure) you're out of commission …

Vaccinations can be as low as 40% effectiveness and as high as 95%. In thinking of ways to raise the efficiency of vaccines with < 50% prevention, wouldn't it be more advantageous to use part of a whole cell lysate (taking out the bad stuff) than using a handful of proteins that produce immunogenicity? At least this way, you're catching all the small interactions with cell components/ proteins that you would miss with just using a surface protein or flagellin. Sure, you may raise the immune reaction a bit, and produce an elevated fever, but this would be common place in time. If you get a colonoscopy (very short procedure) you're out of commission …

I am not sure if this is the correct section, as this topic isn't about medical science. Nevertheless, it's about bacteria and this is the microbiology subsection. Please move if otherwise. In wastewater treatment plants, nitrifying bacteria are used to convert ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate, the first step of Nitrogen removal process. There are other physical/chemical treatment systems that are used for the same purpose as well. As far as I know, desalination relies on physical/chemical systems to remove salt and minerals from saline water, and desalination methods have thus far been energy intensive (thus expensive), without providing an effective soluti…

I have asked this question to several doctors, the answer I receive is always something like this: It's odd or I have never seen it before. Here it is: Over 4 years ago I was bitten by a yellow and black insect (could have been red and black I do not remember well) on the arm. It was very painful for a few hours and than it was itching for several days. Since then, at the site of the bite, an itching new bump comes up every now and then (last time 2 weeks ago) and lasts a couple of hours. After four years it is becoming really annoying expecially since two years ago after the birth of my third child I started to developing several symptoms that point to an autoim…

Hey everyone! So, I'm currently in a microbiology course. Today we did a cheek swab, and there was something very strange surrounding my cheek cells. There was something, possibly a bacteria, in a straight line shaped like shards of ice. It was during a gram stain, but it also didn't stain purple or pink but rather an orangey brown color. I was able to take a picture if anyone has an idea, but I'd love to know what it could possibly be! Anything that looks that "angry" deserves a little looking into! Thank you!

Can the disorder suddenly appear in a person who has had no symptoms before (excluding the irony)?

To the whole Staph family here,,, Salute you with a broth, cheers. Im lost in the world of Micro, i dont know what to focus on. My undergrad thesis is lurking and my ideas havent made it to inoculation. I also dont know where to apply for internships...(prefer USA internship) My current Uni, here in Europe, offers students incredibly thin laboratory exposure, I cant have fun like I used to have (at ex - Uni), I havent visited the Lab in more than a year. I havent touched a microscope in this whole time. Do you know what thats doing to me? To go from 18 hour / week lab to zero is bloody awful. Im afraid, if im interviewed for an internship and Im asked about my curr…

Hello all! First, let me introduce myself quickly as I am new with your community. I am someone who's always been interested in the world around us. Always asking the question.. "Why?" Naturally, I love almost every kind of science and the scientific process. My field of expertise is information science, originally started as computer science (IT). Besides that, I have expertise with analog and digital electronics. Microbilogy I'm much less versed in, although I'm highly interested and like to learn along the way perusing scientific articles. My asking "why" did not only pertain to sciences. But also to politics. Why is the world the way it is? Why is there so muc…

Hey, So for a essay I am writing I am discussing allotransplantation and its limitations and how xenotransplantation could potentially solve them. One limitation with allotransplantation is risk of infection due to exposure of donor/organ to the environment before the organ is transplanted. Another, of course, is side effects of immunosuppressants. I was wondering if anyone knows any sources where I can find data on which is more responsible for disease/infection after the transplant. I.e. how much does immunosupressants contribute and how much does epidemical reasons contribute? This would support that there are severe limits to allotransplantation however the screening…

So I know T cells do not recognize a full antigen, but require a peptide presented on MHC. I know some intracellular bacteria shed proteins that a somatic cell may process and present on MHC I for a CD8 T cell to recognize. My question is: how - or whether - extracellular gut bacteria can initiate a T cell response? That is, they naturally only have the full antigen on their capsule/wall, they do not present a peptide-MHC complex... So how can these T cells recognize these gut bacteria? (and possibly destruct them...) Any input would be highly valued! P.s. I know there are alternative mechanisms involving antibodies, macrophages, NKs, etc... to combat ba…

If you don't brush your teeth for 24 hours and then you get saliva on something, for example, a pillow, what kind of harmful germs are you likely to spread? Is the danger of spreading germs through saliva higher than if you hadn't brushed your teeth in say 12-18 hours? Thanks

How does a father go to the hospital for stomach pain, then leave without both his hands and feet? According to this Washington Post article, strep throat is how. The virus reportedly traveled from the patient's throat to his stomach where it multiplied, spread to other organs, and caused multiple organ failures. The patient's physician, Dr. Elizabeth Steensma, says "'It's estimated that there are over 1 million cases per year, and this is only the second case that has ever been reported of strep traveling from a male patient's throat to his stomach'”.​ I wonder why women are more susceptible than men? It was a fascinating story and compelling caveat for men to be mo…

Hello, I am looking for some deep-freezing advice/practical experience from a fungal expert: We are storing reference strains in our lab from bacteria and yeasts without problems, storing them at -80°C for long time storage (w/ glycerol). Now we also need to have a Aspergillus brasiliensis on stock for our reference checks. We know that molds are often treated differently in regards to freeze storage - is there anyone who can advise us about how to treat this strain so that we can deep-freeze and reactivate it succesfully for 1-2yrs of storage? Thank you in advance, Erik