Contributed by Carol Huang The recent news about former president Jimmy Carter’s cancer has stopped spreading and is “responding well to treatment,” has drawn great attention to immunotherapy. Carter, 91, announced in August that four spots of cancer, melanoma had spread to his brain. Then in early December he was told that recent tests have […]
Contributed by Bart C. Weimer, Ph.D. Food microbiologists have wrestled with the concept of non-culturable bacteria (NCB). It is well accepted in environmental microbiology the NCB are common. The expanded importance of the gut microbiome has raised this issue to the forefront. The implications of NCB for food safety are extensive. If bacteria become NC […]
Contributed by Azarene Foutouhi Following a devastating earthquake in 2010 Haiti felt the beginnings of a Cholera outbreak. As in the case of many natural disasters, there was a resultant influx of aid in the form of supplies and volunteers from foreign countries, yet nearly five years later the outbreak seems to be getting worse. Only recently […]
Contributed by Ning Chin The U.S. National Institutes of Health has devoted a considerable amount of research funds on the Human Microbiome Project. Since 2008, a lot of research was done to identify the species of bacteria existing on the human body. Human microbiome is defined as the community of bacteria that coexist with humans […]
Contributed by Roberto Torres Helicobacter pylori is a gram negative bacterium which colonizes the human gastric mucosa. In the 1980’s, through biopsies and histological observations, Doctors Robin Warren and Barry Marshall proposed that peptic ulcers were caused by a gastric epithelial infection by a similar Campylobacter bacterium, and now we classify it as Helicobacter. This proposal […]
Contributed by Nguyet Kong The beneficial bacteria in the citrus tree is actually the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), a pest that is the carrier spreading huanglongbing (HLB) The Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), which spreads the pathogen believed to cause citrus greening disease, may be playing a role in Florida’s devastating outbreak. It is also found in […]
Contributed by Poyin Chen For my upcoming wedding, we will have a tree planting ceremony. As part of the ceremony, we will be planting our little love tree in soil from both of our families’ homes…a little from the Bay Area, and a little from Michigan. Similar to how each person’s microbiome is unique, soil […]
Contributed by Robin Jones Happy Thanksgiving! As I woke this morning my mind was filled with excitement for the upcoming events of the day. The oven is already hot and in use, the house is beginning to smell of delicious treats, soon friends will be arriving, and the day will continue with a festive mood. I […]
Contributed by Bart C. Weimer, PhD Recently food regulatory agencies have moved to using genomics for regulation. Coupled to that move the FDA announced finalization of the Foreign Supplier Verification Program using the authority extended to them via FSMA. These two major changes impact the food industry in complex ways that bring about the use of genomics for food safety. […]
Researchers from McGill and Laval universities will receive close to $10 million over the next four years for work that is designed to both identify and find natural solutions for the reducing the growth of the salmonella strains that cause human disease. This is one of two Quebec-based research projects that will receive funding from […]