Microbiology Research News and Articles - by David Ojcius

  The genomes of bacteria and fungi used in food production bear the signs of domestication also seen in crops and livestock  

  The body's internal clock affects the immune system in ways scientists in the burgeoning field of circadian immunology are beginning to unwind. Why it matters:  Leveraging the circadian clock's effects on the immune system could help to improve the effectiveness of some treatments for a range of diseases and conditions, a new book and scientific review suggest. How it works:  The body's central clock, or suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), is a collection of about 20,000 neurons in the brain that receives signals from the eye when it detects light or other environmental cues from the body.

 David Ojcius on TikTok #sanfrancisco #california

His primary scientific interests are in Cell biology, Apoptosis, Immunology, Chlamydia trachomatis and Microbiology. His work carried out in the field of Cell biology brings together such families of science as Porphyromonas gingivalis and Secretion. Programmed cell death is the focus of his Apoptosis research.

More than 100,000 people die each year from typhoid fever Antibiotic-resistant typhoid strains mostly from South Asia have spread across borders almost 200 times in the past 3 decades, accord to new study.

  As COVID19 death rate globally has fallen, it may be tempting to conclude that coronavirus is becoming milder. But this not a given. A good example of the opposite is a pathogen that has been ravaging rabbits in Australia for 72 years: the myxoma virus

As the Eurasian H5N1 bird flu spread in the US this spring, prompting mass culls of domestic birds, scientists also detected the virus in red fox kits, bobcats, skunks; & otters, a lynx & a badger in Europe.  

  “The idea of working in my current field came from my original interest in microorganisms and how they affect the immune system of the host. Previously, I had worked on different pathogens in the body, not those found in the mouth. Most researchers are attracted to fields that are new where there is a lot still to be discovered and the oral microbiome is an area where there is still a lot we don’t know and so much to be learned.”  

  “The industry I’m in is actually two in one: teaching and research. I love teaching and interacting with students. In many ways I learn as I teach them. I love their enthusiasm and their optimism. The thing about research is you are a student for life. You constantly have to learn new skills. It requires you to be a lifelong learner, which is something I enjoy.”  

Researchers have developed a rapid T-cell test (the dqTACT assay) that measures the activation of T cells in response to #COVID19 . The test will allow for mass monitoring of the population’s immunity & effectiveness of vaccines new & old.

  Smell disruption from COVID is becoming less-common, but millions of people still have problems with their sense of #smell . The #coronavirus seems to cause damage to the olfactory neurons in the nose, scrambling their nuclei.  

  A study found that people with food allergies are less likely to become infected with the SARSCoV2 coronavirus. The study also found that obesity & high body mass index (BMI) are associated with increased risk of infection, while having asthma does not increase risk.

  The prevalence of prediabetes is rapidly increasing in general population and in people living with HIV (PLWH). Gut microbiota play an important role in human health, and dysbiosis is associated with metabolic disorders and HIV infection. Here, we aimed to evaluate the association between gut microbiota and prediabetes in PLWH. A cross-sectional study enrolled 40 PLWH who were receiving antiretroviral therapy and had an undetectable plasma viral load. Twenty participants had prediabetes, and 20 were normoglycemic. Fecal samples were collected from all participants. The gut microbiome profiles were analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing. Alpha-diversity was significantly lower in PLWH with prediabetes than in those with normoglycemia ( p <0.05). A significant difference in beta-diversity was observed between PLWH with prediabetes and PLWH with normoglycemia ( p <0.05). Relative abundances of two genera in  Firmicutes  ( Streptococcus  and  Anaerostignum ) wer...