MicrobeWorld Video

We may not see microplastics, but they are all around us. These microplastics play a role in shaping the microbial environment, and this talk will explain how.

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Science communication experts discuss creative ways (like variations of escape-the-room, the Up-Goer Five Challenge, or edible learning aids) to get people to interact with science.

Jennifer Gardy, Kathryn (KT) Elliott, and Dave Westenberg discuss the inspiration for their creative approaches and tips for other who want to improve their scicomm skills.

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CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat has extensive experience in global health and science advocacy. Jennifer Gardy interviews Schuchat about emerging disease threats and what advice for early-career scientists Schuchat can offer.

Schuchat talks about translating disease detective work into policies that decrease infection rates, citing the successes in decreasing group B Streptococcus infections, developing group A meningococcal vaccines, and halting the recent West African Ebola outbreak. Schuchat talks about her road from an Emerging Infectious Disease fellow to her role in preparing for emerging disease as Deputy Director, and her vision for a future of interdisciplinary collaboration for the greater benefit of global public health.

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From ASM Microbe 2017 at New Orleans, Vincent and Rich meet up with Kate Rubins to talk about becoming an astronaut, space travel, and doing science in space.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit

Guest: Kate Rubins

Thumbnail Photo by Chris Condayan

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv

At Microbe 2017 in New Orleans, the TWiM team speaks with Arturo Casadevall about his thoughts on the pathogenic potential of a microbe, rigorous science, funding by lottery, and moonshot science.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter and Michele Swanson.

Guest: Arturo Casadevall

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Links for this episode

Pathogenic potential of a microbe (mSphere)

Rigorous science (mBio)

Funding by lottery (mBio)

Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

Step inside the creative process with Agar Art 2015 winners Maria Peñil Cobo, Mixed Media Artist, and Mehmet Berkmen, PhD, Staff Scientist at New England Biolabs. During their multi-year collaboration, Maria and Memo have created astonishing works of art using living microbes. Find out how they meld science and art with this behind-the-scenes how-to video guide. Inspired? Submit your own agar art to ASM’s Agar Art 2017 contest through April 27, 2017 - http://www.asm.org/index.php/public-outreach/agar-art

Prizes include up to $200 in Amazon gift cards and the chance for your art to be featured in the Agar Art Gallery at ASM Microbe 2017 (http://www.asm.org/index.php/asm-microbe-2017), June 1-5, 2017 in New Orleans, LA. Submissions must be high-resolution photos of an organism(s) growing on agar. Submitting artists must be ASM members ( http://asmscience.org/content/membership/all) or work with an official ASM Agar Art partner organization to create the submitted piece. Questions? Contact communications@asmusa.org.

Veteran medical journalist Meredith Wadman discuses her book The Vaccine Race. It tells the timely, epic, and controversial story of the development of the first widely-used normal human cell line and, through it, important viral vaccines, including the vaccine for rubella (German measles). Far from being an instrument of history, vaccine development in the modern era is targeting new (and reemerging) infectious diseases, including Ebola, Zika, Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). Dr. April Killikelly, a scientist at NIH's Vaccine Research Center, discusses the latest tools and technologies used to design tomorrow’s vaccines.

About the Speakers

Meredith K. Wadman, B.M., B.Ch., M.Sc. Staff Writer, Science

Meredith Wadman is a neuroscience reporter at Science magazine in Washington, D.C. Before joining Science, Wadman was an editorial fellow at New America, a Washington, D.C. think tank. Prior to that, she was a reporter covering the medical research community for Nature for 17 years. She has also written on biotech and on biomedical policy issues for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Time and Fortune magazine. Wadman is a graduate of Stanford University and completed medical school at Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She also earned a master's degree at the graduate school of journalism at Columbia University.

April Killikelly, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health

Dr. Killikelly is a Postdoctoral fellow working on a vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) with Dr. Barney Graham at the Vaccine Research Center (NIAID/VRC). April is also a special volunteer with the Outreach and Education office of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. She is passionate about using outreach and education to place science in the broader context of culture and as drivers for societal change.

In late July, 2016 ASM ventured below the equator, joining public and private sector partners at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) Women in Science (WiSci) STEAM Camp in Chaclacayo, Peru. ASM Young Ambassador to Uruguay, Dr. Paola Scavone, and ASM Program Coordinator Laetitia Diatezua led four microbiology workshops in Spanish at the camp, teaching 100 girls how to build a cell-phone microscope, plate bacteria, extract DNA, and view bacteria using their handmade microscopes. This year’s camp was a joint collaboration between private sector entities, and the White House’s Let Girls Learn Initiative, US Department of State, UN Foundation’s Girl Up, and APEC’s Women in the Economy focus.

What happens to us after we die?  A decomposing corpse becomes its own mini-ecosystem, hosting insects, scavengers and multitudes of microbes.  Microbes from the environment, the corpse, as well as the insects and scavengers are blended together and work to recycle tissues back to their constituents.  Dr. Jennifer DeBruyn discusses the fascinating process of human decomposition, and how scientists are using that information to inform forensic science, livestock mortality management and fossilization. 

Four years after filming 'Threading the NEIDL', Vincent and Alan return to the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory BSL4 facility at Boston University where they speak with science writer David Quammen.

This episode is brought to you by CuriosityStream, a subscription streaming service that offers over 1,400 documentaries and non­fiction series from the world's best filmmakers. Get unlimited access starting at just $2.99 a month, and for our audience, the first two months are completely free if you sign up at curiositystream.com/microbe and use the promo code MICROBE.

This episode is also brought to you by Drobo, a family of safe, expandable, yet simple to use storage arrays. Drobos are designed to protect your important data forever. Visit www.drobo.com to learn more. Listeners can save $100 on a Drobo system at drobostore.com by using the discount code Microbe100.

Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv

Dr. Michael Diamond, 2016 Elizabeth O. King Lecturer, has worked for the past two decades investigating how viruses work, with a goal of defining basic principles of pathogenesis and host immune restriction.

His talk will focus on how his laboratory has studied three emerging mosquito-transmitted viruses (West Nile, Chikungunya, and Zika viruses) of global importance from a basic perspective, and how this information facilitates the development of diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.

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Twitter Follow all the latest news from the Society.

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Instagram Outstanding images of your favorite viruses, fungi, bacteria and parasites

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Dr. Michael Diamond, 2016 Elizabeth O. King Lecturer, has worked for the past two decades investigating how viruses work, with a goal of defining basic principles of pathogenesis and host immune restriction.

His talk will focus on how his laboratory has studied three emerging mosquito-transmitted viruses (West Nile, Chikungunya, and Zika viruses) of global importance from a basic perspective, and how this information facilitates the development of diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.

Subscribe to ASM's YouTube channel at https://goo.gl/mOVHlK

Learn more about the American Society for Microbiology at http://www.asm.org

Become a member today at http://www.asmscience.org/join

Interact with us on social at:

Facebook Show your support and get updates on the latest microbial offerings and news from the ASM.

http://www.facebook.com/asmfan

ASM International Facebook Groups Join an ASM International Facebook Group and connect with microbiologists in your region.

http://www.asm.org/index.php/programs/asm-international-facebook-groups

Twitter Follow all the latest news from the Society.

http://www.twitter.com/ASMicrobiology

Instagram Outstanding images of your favorite viruses, fungi, bacteria and parasites

http://www.instagram.com/asmicrobiology/

Written and Produced by Erika Shugart, PhD

Narration by Chaseedaw Giles

Filmed and Edited by Sam Mandl and Chris Condayan

Production Supervisor Katherine Lontok, PhD

Additional Video Footage by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Photography and Illustrations from http://iStockphoto.com http://wikimedia.org http://epa.gov http://cdc.org/phil

Royalty Free Music by "Fearless" by Reaktor Productions "Easy Does It" by Olive Musique "Green Fever" by Flash Fluharty "Where I am From" by Topher Mohr and Alex Elena "Back of the Room Hang" by Jingle Punks

Additional Photography

"Nitrogen Defeciency in Wheat" by CIMMT on Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

"Material Girl" Madonna Parody

Performed by Chaseedaw Giles

Music track courtesy of Karaoke Version and Tency Music http://www.karaoke-version.com http://www.tencymusic.com

Filmed live at ASM Biodefense 2016 with special guests: Rebekah Kading and Wyndham Lathem.

From theASM Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research meeting, Vincent Racaniello speaks with Rebekah and Wyndham about their work on Rift Valley Fever virus and other vector-borne pathogens, and the evolution and pathogenesis of Yersinia pestis, the agent of plague.

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone and Android devices in the iTunes or Android app stores.

Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twim@twiv.tv, or call them in to 908-312-0760. You can also post articles that you would like us to discuss at microbeworld.org and tag them with twim.

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Why are obesity, juvenile diabetes and asthma increasing? Is it something in the environment or in our modern lifestyle? Dr. Martin Blaser thinks that it may be due to changes in our microbiome – the ecosystem of tiny microscopic creatures that live in and on us. Learn about his hypothesis that some of the greatest medical advances in the 20th century – antibiotics, C-sections and antiseptics- may be having unintended consequences. Dr. Martin Blaser has studied the role of bacteria in human disease for over 30 years. He is the director of the Human Microbiome Program at NYU. He founded the Bellevue Literary Review and has been written about in newspapers including The New Yorker, Nature, Science, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. His more than 100 media appearances include The Today Show, The Daily Show, Fresh Air (NPR) GMA, the BBC, The O'Reilly Factor, and CNN. He lives in New York City.

Vincent visits the laboratories of Kit and Joseph Pogliano on the campus of the University of California, San Diego, where he learns about their work on the bacterial cytoskeleton, sporulation, and the effects of antibiotics on bacterial cells.

Visit microbeworld.org/mwvfor complete shownotes including links mentioned in this episode.

Vincent take This Week in Microbiology to the University of California, San Diego campus and into the the laboratories of Kit and Joseph Pogliano, where he learns about their work on the bacterial cytoskeleton, sporulation, and the effects of antibiotics on bacterial cells.

Vincent, Rich, and Kathy and their guests Clodagh and Ron recorded this episode at the 33rd annual meeting of the American Society for Virology at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Colorado.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, and Kathy Spindler

Guests: Clodagh O'Shea and Ron Fouchier

Rich - No sexual transmission of HCV (Am J Gastro) Vincent - Made with code (blog post) Kathy - Beautiful math images (and 50 Visions of Mathematics)

Jon - Advances in Life Sciences winners (YouTube) Dave - Adam Ruben

The This Week in Microbiology team, Vincent, Elio, and Michele meet with Harry Mobley, Mary O’Riordan, and Vince Young at the University of Michigan, during the designation of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology as a Milestones in Microbiology site. They discuss how the laboratory has advanced the science and teaching of microbiology, and discuss faculty work on uropathogenic E. coli, induction of stress by bacterial infection, and the gut microbiome.

Watch the pilot episode of BioFilms in which we explore some creepy microbes just in time for Halloween. Learn how algae can suffocate a pond of all its life, discover the vampire bacterium known as Vampirococcus who literally sucks the life out its victims, and watch out for those sweet Halloween treats that can leave holes in your teeth!

Vincent meets up with Romney and Duncan at the 79th annual meeting of the Southern California branch of the American Society for Microbiology, where they talk about emerging technologies for antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and next generation sequencing and advanced molecular diagnostics.

Visit microbeworld.org/twim for complete shownotes including links mentioned.

Host: Vincent RacanielloGuest: Michele Banks

Vincent meets up with Michele Banks in Washington, DC to discuss her career as a creator of science-themed art.

Links for this episode:

Michele Banks on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/artologica

Artologicahttps://www.etsy.com/people/artologica

Michele's bloghttp://artologica.blogspot.com

The Finch and the Peahttp://thefinchandpea.com

Joseph Cornellhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Cornell

Not Exactly Rocket Science (Ed Yong)http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/blog/not-exactly-rocket-science/

Tree of Life (Jonathan Eisen)http://phylogenomics.blogspot.com

Home Microbiome Studyhttp://homemicrobiome.com

Kitten Microbiome Projecthttp://www.kittenmicrobiome.org

Science Onlinehttp://scienceonline.com

The Vexed Muddlerhttps://www.etsy.com/shop/theVexedMuddler

Luke Jerramhttp://www.lukejerram.com

A Daily Dish (Klari Reis)http://www.adailydish.com

Neuroscience art (Greg Dunn)http://www.gregadunn.com

Ai Weiweihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai_Weiwei

Questions?

Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@twiv.tv

In 2011, the NIH Clinical Center had a cluster of infections of a pathogen that tops the CDC's list of urgent threats: antibiotic-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae. This bacteria, which can cause bloodstream and other infections, has recently developed resistance to the class of antibiotics known as carbapenems. The outbreak at NIH started with a single infected patient who was discharged weeks before any other cases were detected. This story of antibiotic-resistant infections is becoming more common around the world, and is especially dangerous in hospitals. Dr. Julie Segre, a senior investigator at the National Human Genome Research Institute, discuses how the outbreak was traced using state-of-the-art DNA sequencing.

ASM's Cultures magazine traveled to Colombia to speak with and film the researchers behind an innovative biotechnology project that is producing exciting results. The international Swiss – Colombian collaborative research team from the University of Lausanne – Switzerland, the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and the Universidad de la Salle – Utopia campus has been working to create and test novel strains of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to improve cassava production.

AMF forms symbiotic relationships with the majority of the world’s plant species, including cassava and other major food security crops. By colonizing internal structures within the plant and extending its root system, AMF transports nutrients such as phosphate to the plants from inaccessible areas and sources in the soil. In exchange, the plant provides carbon to AMF species that have colonized the plant.

The research team’s studies show that, with the inoculation of certain AMF strains, only half of the necessary phosphate amendments are needed in nutrient-poor tropical soil to produce an equal or greater amount of cassava yield. On a large scale, this technology could potentially provide a more sustainable approach to resource management, allow small shareholder farmers to reduce their input costs, and help create a food secure future for many. In fact, an early model for this success is already being realized by graduates of the Utopia campus, all of whom come from conflict and post-conflict zones. By utilizing their education in agronomy in conjunction with this technology, they can begin rebuilding their home communities while ensuring a food secure future for Colombia and the greater global community.

To learn more about ASM's Cultures magazine please visithttp://www.asm.org/index.php/cultures-magazine

Read the latest issue on food security on the following platforms:iTunes - iPad Onlyhttps://itunes.apple.com/us/app/asm-cultures/id878473655…

Google Playhttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details…Flipbookhttp://mzines.net/publication.aspx?pid=829&pkey=grnbfxnlvPDF Versionhttp://www.mzines.net/…/ASM_Cultures_i4_141120_optimized.pdf

Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone and Android devices in the iTunes or Android app stores.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello

Guests: Maria Julia Marinissen, Edward H. You, and David R. Howell

Vincent meets up with Maria, Edward, and David at the ASM Biodefense and Emerging Infections Research meeting to talk about alternative careers for scientists.

Links for this episode:

Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone and Android devices in the iTunes or Android app stores.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello

Guests: Maria Julia Marinissen, Edward H. You, and David R. Howell

Vincent meets up with Maria, Edward, and David at the ASM Biodefense and Emerging Infections Research meeting to talk about alternative careers for scientists.

Links for this episode:

Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone and Android devices in the iTunes or Android app stores.

Vincent meets up with Stan Maloy on the campus of San Diego State University to talk about his career in microbiology and his work as Dean of Science.

The current Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa has sickened over 14,000 people and has killed over 5,100. Health workers from around the world are attempting to halt this deadly disease. On November 19th, the American Society for Microbiology featured two of these health workers, Dr. Joseph Fair and Dr. Michael Callahan, who have extensive experience with the virus, including direct field work during the current outbreak. In this presentation they discuss the virus, the response, and potential solutions.

Vincent Racaniello and Glenn Rall meet up with Ann Skalka at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia and talk about her long and productive career in virology, from biochemistry to bacteriophage lambda to retroviruses.

Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone and Android devices in the iTunes or Android app stores.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello.

Special guests: Laurene Mascola and David Persing

Vincent meets up with Laurene and David at the Annual Meeting of the Southern California Branch of the American Society for Microbiology, where they discuss how the Los Angeles County Department of Health is preparing for an outbreak of Ebola virus infection, and Cepheid’s game-changing, modular PCR system for the diagnosis of infectious diseases.

Creating and maintaining a clean, sustainable water supply means delivering drinking water and collecting wastewater while dealing with pathogenic microorganisms and infrastructure challenges. It's not all challenges, however. Two speakers; Sudhir Murthy, PhD, PE, BCEE, Innovation Chief at DC Water, and Kellogg Schwab, PhD, Director of the Johns Hopkins University Water Institute, speak to Microbes After Hours about promising new endeavors in water management as well as issues of water safety.

Speakers:

This Week in Virology, the podcast about viruses, celebrated its 300th episode on Tuesday, August 26, 2014 with a live recording at the Washington, DC headquarters of the American Society for Microbiology. This special episode features the TWiV hosts Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Kathy Spindler recording together in person for the first time.

Have you ever wondered why mozzarella bubbling and stretching between pizza slices is so different from the earthy flavors of blue-veined gorgonzola? The diversity of cheeses we love are created by encouraging and manipulating the growth of specific microbes. The American Society for Microbiology is excited to explore and celebrate the roles microbes play in the production of a variety of cheeses - from milk-gathering to cheese aging.

This video was streamed live from ASM headquarters in Washington, D.C., on June 10, 2014, as part of its Microbes After Hours program.

Presenter's include:

Dr. Rachel Dutton, Harvard UniversityAfter receiving her PhD in Microbiology from Harvard Medical School, Rachel Dutton was awarded a Bauer fellowship at Harvard University to start an independent research group. She combined her passions of microbiology and food into a research program that has the goal of using cheese as a way to understand microbial ecosystems. Cheese is home to a fascinating assortment of microbes; from bacteria, yeasts and molds, to microscopic mites. Work in the Dutton lab involves studying the microbial diversity of cheeses from around the world, and looking at how cheese microbes interact with each other to form communities. Rachel has been a speaker at events such as the World Science Festival, and regularly gives classes to the general public on the science of cheese and other fermented foods. Research from the Dutton lab has been featured in Lucky Peach Magazine, The Mind of a Chef TV series on PBS, EdibleBoston, the Boston Globe, NPR, and the New York Times.

Mateo Kehler, Jasper Hill FarmsMateo Kehler started Jasper Hill Farm with his brother Andy in 2003 where they produce a wide range of cheeses from the milk of their herd of 45 Ayrshire cows. In 2008 they started a new venture, the Cellars at Jasper Hill, a 22,000 square foot underground cheese ripening facility, to lower the barriers to entry for new cheesemakers by maturing, marketing and selling cheeses, managing logistics and administration and providing technical support to local producers. The Cellars at Jasper Hill is committed to developing economic mechanisms to keep the working landscape in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom working, and delivering deliciousness is a core and principle component in this effort. Mateo lives on the farm in Greensboro, VT with his wife Angie and children Reed and Zola.

The American Society for Microbiology hosted a live podcast of This Week in Virology with Vincent Racaniello with co-host Alan Dove that includes guests Paul Duprex, Director of Cell and Tissue Imaging Core, Boston University, National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL), and Julie Pfeiffer, Professor, Associate Professor of Microbiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Vincent, Alan, Julie and Paul  talk about their work on the pathogenesis of poliovirus and measles virus.

Links for this episode

Threading the NEIDL (YouTube)

Transmission of measles virus from macaques (J Gen Virol)

Tropism of green measles virus in macaques (J Virol)

Intestinal microbiota promote enteric virus replication (Science)

Bacterial LPS enhances poliovirus stability (Cell Host Micr)

Video of this episode - view below or at YouTube

Weekly Science Picks

Vincent - ASM Live 2014  Alan - I will not follow the herd  Paul - Invisible Threat  Julie - The importance of stupidity in biological research

Listener Pick of the Week

Neil - WEHI movies and VIZBI

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@twiv.tv

Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone and Android devices in the iTunes or Android app stores.

Watch highlights from the Cultures Magazine Launch Event held on January 23, 2014 at American Society for Microbiology headquarters in Washington, D.C.  

Cultures is a free, online, open-source publication available for viewing at www.asm.org/cultures.

Watch a live video episode of This Week in Virology (TWiV), a podcast about viruses. Started in September 2008 by Vincent Racaniello, a Higgins Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Columbia University, the goal of the show is to have an accessible discussion about viruses that anyone can understand and enjoy. In Washington, D.C., Racaniello, co-host Condit, and guests Kawaoka and Hruby discuss antivirals against smallpox and influenza viruses H5N1 and H7N9. 

Moderators:

Vincent Racaniello; Columbia Univ. Coll. of Physicians & Surgeons, NY

Richard C. Condit; Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Panelists:

Yoshihiro Kawaoka; Dept. of Pathobiological Sc., Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, Madison, WI

Dennis Hruby; SIGA Technologies, Inc., Corvallis, OR

Links for this episode

• ASM Biodefense Meeting - http://www.asmbiodefense.org/

• Influenza H5N1 transmission (Virus Res) - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23954580

• Aerosol transmission of H5N1 virus in ferrets (Nature) - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22722205

• Characterization of H7N9 virus from humans (Nature) - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23842494

• ST-246 efficacy in primates (AAC) - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24100494

• Antiviral options for biodefense (Curr Op Virol)

• ST-246 safety in humans (Antimicrob Agents Chemother)

• Gain-of-function experiments (Science) - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23929965

• Letters read on TWiV 270 - http://www.twiv.tv/twiv-270-letters/

Weekly Science Picks

Vincent - Quanta Magazine - https://www.simonsfoundation.org/quanta/

Rich - Colour is in the eye of the beholder - http://www.boreme.com/posting.php?id=30670#.UufLtBAo7VR

Listener Pick of the Week

Kehau - Beautiful but deadly viruses - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/13/deadly-viruses-beautiful-photos_n_4545309.html

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@twiv.tv

Rob Knight studies the diversity of microbial communities. For every person, microbes outnumber human cells by a factor of ten. Rob has found that this large population of microbes differs based on which part of your body they inhabit (head, hands, gut, etc.).

These same microbes vary widely in type from person to person. Unlike the human genome which is 99.9% alike from person to person, people are 80 to 90% different in their microbial make up.

Rob shares what the microbiome project as been able to learn about these variances among the microbes on and in us and how probiotic therapies might be developed to help treat specific issues related to a person's microbiome.

Ecosystem level therapies such as stool transplants that recolonize a person's gut microbiome have shown promising results. The question then is, do we know enough about therapies that alter someone's microbial flora to avoid the same kind of problems that non-native species have wreaked on other natural environments?

Rob also discusses a project he's been working on in Bangladesh which brings powerful computing analysis to scientists who don't have the resources to utilize advanced computing in their research.

Filmed in Vancouver, Canada at the 2012 AAAS meeting.

Sheldon Campbell sings about microbiology. Dr. Campbell teaches microbiology at Yale School of Medicine and he uses music to enhance his lectures. He has one song for every block of lectures he gives on a major topic.

Songs he's written include a song about fungi, tick borne disease, tuberculosis and one that reviews all of microbiology in eight minutes.

Dr. Campbell hasn't done any testing to see if his songs are more effective at getting his message across but he does get the occasional student who says they remembered something on a test because of his music. The students seem to enjoy it, if not at first, "by the end of the course they're singing along."

Dr. Campbell uses his love of music to enhance his teaching because he believes that if you bring something of yourself into your teaching you'll be a much more engaging and effective teacher.

Vincent Racaniello speaks with Professor Harald zur Hausen, recipient of the 2013 Society for General Microbiology Prize Medal for "work that has had a far-reaching impact beyond microbiology."

Professor zur Hausen talks about the beginnings of his work on the human papilloma virus (HPV) starting in 1972 with a group he setup to look at the "isolation and characterization of the viruses in genital warts."

This group would lead to the discovery of HPV 16 and 18 (the leading cause of cervical cancer) amongst many other types.

The discovery of these two particular strains of HPV led to insights into the cancer causing properties of HPV which would result in the production of the HPV vaccine.

Vincent and Professor zur Hausen also discuss other virus related cancers including the possibility that colon cancer is a product of a virus and the application of the HPV vaccine to males as well as females.

Filmed on location in Manchester, England at the 2013 Society for General Microbiology conference.

The master ingredient in beer is yeast -- a microbe -- and every step in the brewing process helps the yeast do its job better. Watch this live streamed video from the American Society of Microbiology to learn more about how microbes are selected, grown, and manipulated in modern breweries to develop a wide variety of flavors and textures!

Speakers include ...

Dr. Charles Bamforth, University of California, Davis

Rebecca Newman, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Resources

The Microbiology of Beer Poster (.pdf)

FAQ: If the Yeast Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy: The Microbiology of Beer, February 2013 (.pdf)

Vincent and Michael recorded this episode at the 53rd ICAAC in Denver, where they spoke with James Gern and James Johnson about rhinoviruses and extra-intestinal pathogenic E. coli.

Links for this Episode:

Virus/allergen interactions in asthma (Curr Allerg Asth Rep)

Features of rhinovirus C (Microbes Infect)

Multidrug resistant ExPec in animals and food (Vet Micro)

STS131 an emerging pathogen among veterans (Clin Inf Dis)

Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twim@twiv.tv, or call them in to 908-312-0760. You can also post articles that you would like us to discuss atmicrobeworld.org and tag them with twim.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Robert Garcea

Vincent and Robert recorded this episode at the 53rd ICAAC in Denver, where they talked about polyomaviruses.

Links for this episode:

A cornucopia of human polyomaviruses (Nat Rev Micro)Polyoma assembly factories in nucleus (PLoS Path)Overprinting gene in Merkel cell polyomavirus (PNAS)Human JCV as population marker (PLoS One)Letters read on TWiV 250Weekly Science Picks

Robert - The Panic Virus by Seth MnookinVincent - Aliens chestburster behind the scenes

Listener Pick of the Week

Adam - Virology Fact of the DayChristophe - dr Karl

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@twiv.tv

Dr. Jeffrey Almond began his career as an academic virologist studying influenza. Eventually Jeffrey started his own lab and began studying picornaviruses working on an oral polio vaccine strain.

Following twenty years in academics including major contributions in the eradication of polio worldwide, Jeffrey transitioned into a career in industry working on vaccine development at Sanofi Pasteur.

In March of 2013, Jeffrey was at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring conference to give the Colworth Prize Lecture awarded biennially for an outstanding contribution in an area of applied microbiology. Jeffrey's talk was titled: Vaccines R&D: challenges for the 21st century.

On this episode, Vincent Racaniello talks with Dr. Almond about the future of vaccines, his transition from academia to industry and his prize lecture.

David Bhella, Ph.D., MRC Centre for Virus Research, accepts the Peter Wildy Prize for Microbiology Education, awarded annually by the Society for General Microbiology for an outstanding contribution to microbiology education.

Dr. David Bhella studies the structural components of viruses. David applies "the techniques of electron-cryomicroscopy and image analysis to the study of viruses.

In addition to his research, David participates, together with the Glasgow Science Centre, in public outreach to help teach students the processes behind his science.

Due to this work, David received the 2013 Peter Wildy prize for Microbiology Education. David's acceptance speech detailed his work with students as well as the stunning images he has produced through his work in electron-cryomicroscopy in particular a project he did, together with artist Murray Robertson, called Molecular Machines which features 3D images from virus research, animated and set to music.

On this episode, Vincent Racaniello talks with David about the Wildy Prize, his work with electron-cryomicroscopy, public outreach via the DNA workshop and his passion for combining science and art.

How can something too small to be seen with the naked eye be powerful enough to bring down something like the U.S. Government? It turns out that microbes, mostly invisible, have the extraordinary capacity to affect our lives – through outbreaks of disease and the spread of fear. Twice in history, microbes have even brought the U.S. Government to a halt!

Join us at the D.C. headquarters of the American Society for Microbiology to learn more about the Yellow Fever outbreak of 1792 that caused the fledgling Congress to flee and the Anthrax scare of 2001 that also shut down government buildings and agencies. 

Guest speakers include ...

Dr. Marshall Bloom, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease

Dr. Douglas Beecher, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Jonathan Eisen is an evolutionary biologist, currently working at University of California, Davis and is the academic editor-in-chief of the open-access journal PLoS Biology.

On this episode, Jonathan talks about "evolvability," the probability that organisms can invent new functions. To do this, he has been using genome data in conjunction with experimental information to try and understand the mechanisms by which new functions have originated.

Another area of interest for Eisen is the "built environment." We live and work in buildings or structures which are non-natural environments, new to microbes. These "new" environments represent a controlled system in which to study the rules by which microbial communities form.

Jonathan is interested in these environments as basic science vehicle and he shares the importance of studying the built environment for science and human health.

Finally Jonathan explains his interest in "open science," the ways in which science is shared. At it's core, Eisen wants to leverage cheaper technologies to accelerate the progress of science in a positive way.

This episode was recorded at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia on February 18, 2012.

Vincent, Elio and Michael recorded this episode of This Week in Microbiology before an audience at the 2013 General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Denver, Colorado, where they spoke with Andrew Camilli, Ferric Fang, Suzanne Fleiszig, and Michelle Swanson about their research on a phage system for evading innate immunity, retractions of research papers, bacterial infections of the eye, and cytoplasmic defenses against intracellular bacteria.

2012 saw a surge of West Nile Virus infections, particularly in the central United States. What exactly is West Nile Virus and why do outbreaks occur?

Join us at ASM headquarters to learn more about the biology of this fascinating virus - how it moves between hosts, how the disease is diagnosed and treated, and how outbreaks can potentially be prevented.

West Nile virus was first detected in North America until 1999 when an outbreak occurred in New York City. In the next five years, West Nile virus swept across the continent, reaching the Pacific shore in 2004. Like other Flaviviruses, West Nile is an "arthropod-borne virus" or "arbovirus". Its transmission and the completion of its life cycle critically depends on the feeding activities of mosquitos, who transmit the virus as they feed on the blood of infected animals Despite the incidence of infection among humans, however, Homo sapiens are actually dead-end hosts for the West Nile virus. Indeed, birds are the primary amplifying hosts and their migratory patterns are thought to have promoted the rapid spread of the virus to new habitats. 

Guest speakers include:

Dr. Lyle Petersen 

Lyle R. Petersen, M.D., M.P.H., has served as the director of the Division of Vector-Borne Diseases since 2004. Dr. Petersen began his training at the University of California, San Diego where he received an undergraduate degree in biology. He then studied medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. After medical school, Dr. Petersen completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at Stanford University, CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) applied epidemiology training program, CDC's Preventive Medicine Residency Program, and a masters of public health program at Emory University. He served in several positions at CDC before joining the Division of Vector-borne Diseases, first as Deputy Director for Science and then Director. He is the author of more than 175 scientific publications and has received a number of scientific awards. His current research focuses on the epidemiology of arboviral and bacterial vector-borne zoonoses.

Dr. Roberta DeBiasi 

Roberta Lynn DeBiasi, MD, FIDSA, is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at George Washington University School of Medicine, Acting Chief and Attending Physician in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Children's National Medical Center, and investigator at Children's Research Institute in the Center for Translational Science in Washington, D.C. A fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and a member of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS), she is also a past recipient of IDSA's Young Investigator Award.

Dr. DeBiasi's research expertise includes basic science as well as clinical/translational research in several areas. She is currently the Principal Investigator for several clinical research projects and trials, focusing on improved treatments for viral encephalitis, influenza, neonatal herpes simplex virus, congenital cytomegalovirus, and adenovirus in normal and immunocompromised children. An active investigator in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) Collaborative Antiviral Study Group, through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), she also performs research on community acquired pneumonia and hospital acquired infections with multiple drug resistant organisms. Her basic research focused on mechanisms of viral pathogenesis and the development of new treatments for viral myocarditis. She is the author of original research, review articles, and book chapters focusing on severe viral infections, including viral myocarditis, encephalitis, meningitis, West Nile Virus, and adenovirus in patients with compromised immune systems.

Dr. DeBiasi also treats immunocompetent and immunocompromised children hospitalized with severe infections at Children's National Medical Center in Washington.

Richard Cogdell is the Director of the Institute for Molecular Cell and Systems Biology at the University of Glasglow, Scotland.

Richard was led to a career in studying bacterial photosynthesis by a desire to learn and understand basic photosynthesis, he "wanted to know how natured worked."

In 1995, Richard's research group, in collaboration with others, used protein crystallography to determine the three dimensional structure of a light-harvesting complex from the purple bacterium, Rhodospsedomas acidophilia.

This breakthrough led to two key elements in the understanding of bacterial photosynthesis. One, once you have established the structure you can understand its function. Two, this view of a light-harvesting complex attracted an interdisciplinary group of scientists from the fields such as chemistry, physics, mathematics and biology.

Richard's current challenge is to take the process of photosynthesis (using solar energy to make a fuel) and apply it to the world's energy needs in a sustainable manner.

To do this, Richard says "you must break photosynthesis down to it's four most basics steps", absorb solar energy, concentrate it, break it apart and make a fuel. These are the steps that must be duplicated if they are going to be successful at creating sustainable, renewable energy.

The first two steps, says Cogdell, are like a solar battery (easy to recreate). The hard part is finding ways to use renewable energy to drive the chemistry. That's the process Richard spends most of his time working on and he uses the concept of an artificial leaf to help explain this complex process to the public.

According to Cogdell, if the current rate of investment continues, it will be approximately five to six years before we see a small pilot system that demonstrates the feasibility of the process.

Richard emphasizes that if mankind wants to survive, we must find a way to convert solar energy into fuel because when fossil fuels run out so do we.

Constructed in 2009 in the highly populated South End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) facility contains labs that operate at biosafety levels 2, 3 and 4. Due to its location the NEIDL has faced a raft of legal and regulatory hurdles that have prevented BSL-3 and BSL-4 labs from becoming functional.

“Threading the NEIDL,” is a 1-hour documentary narrated by Vincent Racaniello, PhD, Higgins Professor of Microbiology & Immunology at Columbia University, which explores how the NEDIL is secured from unauthorized entry, what's like to wear a BSL-4 level safety suit, how the facility is constructed to make it safe, and how workers carry out experiments with highly dangerous viruses such as Ebola virus and Lassa virus without jeopardizing their health or that of the surrounding community.

This is a never before seen look at how one of America's state of the art biodefense research facilities operates and the security measures put in place to keep it safe, even in the heart of a major urban center.

This documentary was filmed in conjunction with the popular science podcast This Week in Virology, which is also hosted by Vincent Racaniello.

No bacterium lives alone – it is constantly encountering members of its own species as well as other kinds of bacteria and diverse organisms like viruses, fungi, plants and animals. To navigate a complex world, microbes use chemical signals to sense and communicate with one another.

Filmed live on January 28th, 2013, at ASM's headquarters, catch a glimpse into the fascinating language of bacteria with discussions by Bonnie Bassler, Princeton University, and Steven Lindow, University of California, Berkley.

Dr. Bonnie Bassler, Princeton University

Bonnie Bassler Ph.D. is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and the Squibb Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University. The research in her laboratory focuses on the molecular mechanisms that bacteria use for intercellular communication. This process is called quorum sensing. Bassler’s research is paving the way to the development of novel therapies for combating bacteria by disrupting quorum-sensing-mediated communication. Dr. Bassler was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 2002. She was elected to the American Academy of Microbiology in 2002 and made a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2004. Dr. Bassler was the President of the American Society for Microbiology in 2010-2011; she is currently the Chair of the American Academy of Microbiology Board of Governors. She is also a member of the National Science Board and was nominated to that position by President Barak Obama. The Board oversees the NSF and prioritizes the nation’s research and educational priorities in science, math and engineering.

Dr. Steven Lindow, University of California, Berkeley

Steven Lindow Ph.D. is a Professor at the University of California, Berkley where his research focuses on various aspects of the interaction of bacteria with the surface and interior of plants. Dr. Lindow’ s lab uses a variety of molecular and microscopy-based methods to study the ecology of bacterial epiphytes that live on the surface of plants as well as certain bacteria that are vascular pathogens of plants. They also study bacteria that live in and on plants that are fostered by consumption of the alkaloids produced by endophytic fungi. The longer-term goal of their research is to improve plants’ productivity by achieving control of plant diseases through altering the microbial communities in and on plants. Dr. Lindow is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and was elected to fellowship in both the American Academy of Microbiology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1999.

In MicrobeWorld Video episode 66 Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Curtis Suttle, Professor of Earth & Ocean Sciences, Microbiology & Immunology, and Botany, and Associate Dean of Science University of British Columbia. 

Dr. Suttle is one of the World's leading marine virologists, and is among a small group of researchers that is credited with launching the field of marine virology. Dr. Maloy talks with Dr. Suttle about the incredible diversity of the ocean's microscopic inhabitants that have long been overlooked. 

The oceans are mostly microbial, 98% by weight, which means most of what is going on in the oceans is unseen and until recently largely unknown. Dr. Suttle explains the large role that ocean viruses play in keeping our planet alive. In fact, Dr. Suttle points out that viruses do more to create life than take it away. If you were to take the viruses out of the ocean much of the planet's life-cycle would stop, there would be no more photosynthesis. Viral replication drives the major bio-geochemical cycles on Earth. 

Dr. Suttle also discusses transposons, "the world's first immune system," phage and using genomic sequencing to do ecology outside of the lab environment.

This episode was recorded at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia on February 17, 2012.

In episode 64 of MicrobeWorld Video, Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Anne Tanner Ph.D., BDS, MDCH (Hon.), Associate Professor at Harvard School of Dental Medicine about her research into dental caries and the oral microbiome. This episode was filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Vancouver, Canada on February 18th, 2012.

Anne's work with Streptococcus mutans, the leading know cause of Early Childhood Caries (ECC), has led to the discovery of a new bacterium, Scardovia Wiggsiae. This discovery was the result of using modern molecular techniques combined with traditional anaerobic culture methods perfected in the practice of periodontology. Anne is now working with this new bacterium to see if it's a caries pathogen.

Anne discusses the role probiotics have played in the treatment and prevention of dental caries. She is optimistic that these good bacteria can be effective in the battle against harmful oral bacterium.

Finally, Anne talks about being one of only a few people who has more than one microbe (Prevotella Tannerae and Tannerella forsythia) named after her.

In episode 63 of MicrobeWorld Video, Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Forest Rohwer Ph.D., Professor of Biology, San Diego State University, about his research on the microbes of the ocean, coral reefs and the human lung. This episode was filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Vancouver, Canada on February 18th, 2012.

Viruses make up a large portion of the world's oceans, with over ten million per milliliter of seawater. Rohwer's interest in better understanding these viruses led him to becoming an expert in marine virology and a founder of the field of viral metagenomics. 

Forest discovered that these viruses are very good at controlling the number and type of bacteria in the ocean and through the process of gene transfer possess the potential to change marine bacteria into human pathogens. 

Among Forest's other interests are coral reefs. He has studied the link between humans inhabiting the land around coral reefs and the decaying health of the corresponding coral. 

Forest also studies cystic fibrosis, a disease of the human lung, which mimics what he sees going on with the health of coral reefs. Rohwer explains how his work across many different scientific disciplines has helped his research interests broaden while leading to new discoveries unlikely to have been made without the knowledge and tools of other scientific fields. 

In episode 61 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Vancouver, Canada on February 17th, 2012, Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Richard Lenski Ph.D., Hannah Professor of Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University, about his research into the evolution of bacteria and the new frontier of digital evolution.

Lenski's Long Term Evolution Experiment with E. coli has seen over 50,000 new generations since its inception in 1998. This has led to insights such as how viruses can evolve from types that don't infect humans to ones that do.

Lenski's work with E. coli has also led him into the digital world. Using computers, Lenski can achieve precise, rapid results by manipulating digital organisms. Software that evolves much like bacteria in the real world.

Lenski is optimistic about the future of evolution research. Applying the generalities that have resulted from his studies to any number of other microbial species. He also sees large potential in applying what he's learned to the study of antibiotic resistance and bioengery. 

The American Society for Microbiology at the USA Science and Engineering Festival 2012 in Washington, D.C. Learn what kids have to say about the science and microbiology and the various educational resources ASM offers to students, teachers and parents alike.

Filmed on April 27-28, 2012 at the USA Science and Engineering Festival inWashington, D.C.

Special thanks:

ASM Volunteers

David J. Westernberg, Ph.D., Missouri University of Science and Technology

Neil Baker, Ph.D., Ohio State University

Ron Atlas, Ph., D., University of Louisville, Kentucky

Stanley Maloy, Ph.D., San Diego State University

Vincent Lee, Ph.D., University of Maryland

Stephanie Yarwood, Ph.D., University of Maryland

Ann Smith, Ph.D., University of Maryland

Wade Winkler, Ph.D., University of Maryland

Daniel Stein, Ph.D., University of Maryland

Ken Frauwirth, Ph.D., University of Maryland

Jeff Blazar, University of Maryland

ASM Staff

Garth Hogan

Alaina Scalercio

Barbara Hyde

Basar Akkuzu

Jim Sliwa

Barb Slinker

John Bell

Students and Attendees

Cheryl and Evan Demas

Jacquelyn Campbell

Kennedy Deam

Nima Ranaghi

Rebecca Wilman

Sarah Marsh

Stephanie Brower

Debbie Atlas

Cameras

Ray Ortega, American Society for Microbiology

Chris Condayan, American Society for Microbiology

Edited and Produced by:

Chris Condayan, American Society for Microbiology

All views, comments and opinions expressed in this video do not necessarily represent those of the American Society for Microbiology.

In episode 59 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Vancouver, BC Canada on February 17, 2012, Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Anne Jones, D. Phil., Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis, Arizona State University, about why her research into harvesting excess light energy has promising potential as an energy alternative. 

Anne explains why photosynthesis is an inefficient process and how she's attempting to improve its efficiency by using cyanobacteria to absorb and transfer light energy into a usable fuel product.

Watch Vincent Racaniello and guests Connor Bamford, Ron Fouchier, Wendy Barclay and Richard Elliott, in a live-streaming episode filmed on Mar. 26, 2012, of This Week in Virology from the Society for General Microbiology 2012 Spring Conference in Dublin, Ireland. In this show, Racaniello discuses the H5N1 research publication controversy and emerging bunyaviruses.

In episode 57 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Vancouver, BC Canada on February 18, 2012, Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Ron Atlas Ph.D., Chair of ASM's Biodefense Committee and Professor of Biology, University of Louisville.

Stan and Ron discuss the recent recommendation by the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) to withhold some of the key data regarding transmissibility from recent research on the H5N1 virus. 

Ron explains how the NSABB was created and the role they play together with the American Society for Microbiology in attempting to establish a set of guidelines used to safeguard the scientific knowledge base from being misused.

Ron discusses the need for this research to emerge from it's current moratorium and continue in order to remain a step ahead of the virus in an attempt to be alerted to possible future pandemics. 

Watch the video from the ASMBiodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., of the discussion on the controversial NSABB’s publication recommendations for the NIH-funded research on the transmissibility of H5N1.

Moderated by the Chair of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), Paul Keim, Ph.D., presentations include:

NSABB RecommendationsMichael T. Osterholm, Ph.D., MPH University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, MNDirector, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP)

Government Response to the RecommendationsAnthony S. Fauci, M.D.Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Science’s Response to the SituationBruce Alberts, Ph.D. Editor-in-Chief of Science

Perspective from an InvestigatorRon A.M. Fouchier, Ph.D.Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands

This video was taped on Wednesday, February 29, 2012

In episode 55 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Washington, D.C., on February 18, 2011, Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Francis H. Arnold, Ph.D., Dick and Barbara Dickinson Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry, at the California Institute of Technology.

Maloy talks with Arnold about laboratory evolution to generate novel and useful enzymes and organisms for applications in medicine and in alternative energy. Her multidisciplinary approach reveals insight into the way natural evolution might have occurred.

Episode 54 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy on September 17, 2011, features a live recorded video episode of This Week in Microbiology (TWiM), a podcast about life on Earth.

Host Vincent and co-host Michael, along with guests Arturo, Stuart, and David converse about antimicrobial resistance and why most fungi do not cause disease.

Episode 53 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy on September 17, 2011, features a live recorded video episode of This Week in Virology (TWiV), a podcast about viruses.

Special guests include: 

Started in September 2008 by Vincent Racaniello and Dick Despommier, two science Professors at Columbia University Medical Center, the goal of the show is to have an accessible discussion about viruses that anyone can understand and enjoy. At ICAAC in Chicago, Racaniello, co-host Rich Condit and guests will be highlighting and commenting on some of the most exciting virology at the conference.

In episode 52 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Washington, D.C., on February 18, 2011, Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Diane Harper, M.D., M.P.H., Professor in the departments of Community and Family Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Informatics and Personalized Health at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Harper played a critical role in the clinical studies associated with the HPV vaccines and has voiced concerns over their long term ability to prevent cancer. She and Maloy discuss these concerns, gender differences in protection, and the challenges of creating a pan HPV vaccine.

In episode 51 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Washington, D.C., on February 18, 2011, Dr. Stan Maloy talks with David Relman, M.D., Thomas M. and Joan C. Merigan Professor, Department of Medicine - Division of Infectious Diseases, and Department of Microbiology & Immunology in the Stanford University School of Medicine.Maloy and Relman discuss microbial flora in the mouth and gut and why they are important for human health. They explore the impact of antibiotics and probiotics on the community of microbes in the gut and their health implications both negative and positive. Lastly they look at the future of probiotics in personalized medicine and the potential for individualized treatment based on the uniqueness of a person's gut flora.

Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone and Android devices in the iTunes or Android app stores.

In episode 50 of MicrobeWorld Video, Vincent, Michael, and Stanley recorded episode #8 of the podcast This Week in Microbiology live at the 2011 ASM General Meeting in New Orleans, with guests Andreas Baümler, Nicole Dubilier, and Paul Rainey. They spoke about how pathogens benefit from disease, symbioses between chemosynthetic bacteria and marine invertebrates, and repetitive sequences in bacteria.

Vincent and guests Rachel Katzenellenbogen, Roger Hendrix, and Harmit Malik recorded TWiV #135 live at the 2011 ASM General Meeting in New Orleans, where they discussed transformation and oncogenesis by human papillomaviruses, the amazing collection of bacteriophages on the planet, and the evolution of genetic conflict between virus and host.

In episode 48 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Washington, D.C., on February 18, 2011, Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Stephen S. Morse, Ph.D., Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Founding Director and Senior Research Scientist, Center for Public Health Preparedness, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University.

Infectious diseases remain major causes of illnesses and fatalities worldwide. Although many are known, new infections are increasingly entering the human population often spreading from geographically isolated areas due in part to ecological changes, a globally driven market for goods and services, and air travel. These emerging threats to human health include, but are not limited to, HIV/AIDS, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), Nipah, and pandemic influenza.

In this interview Dr. Morse emphasizes that it is essential to have early warning and surveillance systems in place if we wish to prevent existing infectious diseases from increasing their range and to avoid the next pandemic. As many emerging infections, or their close relatives, already exist in other species, the "One Health" approach is invaluable in helping to identify and track these pathogens in nature, and to target surveillance efforts.

Also discussed in this interview is the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) "Emerging Pandemic Threats" (EPT) program (.pdf of program overview), which includes PREDICT, a project to build global capacity for surveillance and prediction of novel infections that have pandemic potential. EPT/PREDICT uses the "One Health" approach to target and integrate surveillance in wildlife, livestock, and humans, and develop a framework for risk assessment. These approaches are enabled by improved understanding of factors driving infectious disease emergence, and new technological capabilities for modeling and informatics, diagnostics and pathogen identification, and communications (e.g., disease reporting using cellphones).

Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone and Android devices in the iTunes or Android app stores.

In episode 47 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Washington, D.C., on February 20, 2011, Dr. Stan Maloy talks with the Editor of ProMED-mail, Lawrence Madoff, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, University of Massachusetts Medical School Boston. ProMED-mail is the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases, an online network of more than 55,000 members who monitor the four corners of the world for emerging infectious diseases of humans, animals and plants. ProMED was launched in 1994 with 40 people on a listserv and is perhaps one of the earliest examples of social networking. Today the site has established itself as the place to go for breaking news on outbreaks, health alerts and recalls.

Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using  iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast  application for iPhone and Android devices in the iTunes or Android app  stores.

In episode 46 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Washington, D.C., Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Tracey McNamara, professor of pathology at Western University of Health Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine, about her role as the head pathologist at the Bronx Zoo during the 1999 West Nile virus outbreak in New York City. As several local residents were hospitalized with encephalitis of unknown origin, many crows and exotic zoo birds were dying off. It was determined that the patients had St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) which is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes that got the virus from infected birds. However, birds with SLE do not get sick and a possible connection between the dying crows and human cases was dismissed by many experts.

McNamara suspected there was more to this story because of the large number of birds that were also contracting encephalitis and struggled to make her voice and preliminary research heard that suggested a new disease may be emerging in North America. It wasn't until she connected with researchers at the US Army Medical Research Institute in Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Ft. Detrick, Maryland, who quickly confirmed that the virus that was killing the crows and her birds at the Bronx Zoo was West Nile virus, a disease endemic to Africa and parts of Europe that also infects people.

McNamara's experience has made her a champion of One Health – "a call to action for collaboration and cooperation among health science professions, academic institutions, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and industries towards improved assessment, treatment, and prevention of and mutually prevalent, but non-transmitted, human and animal diseases and medical conditions."

Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone and Android devices in the iTunes or Android app stores.

In episode 45 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Washington, D.C., Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Jeremy Nicholson, Head of the Department of Surgery & Cancer at Imperial College London, about his work with metabolomics and the human gut.

Maloy and Nicholson discuss the science of metabolomics, the systematic study of the unique chemical fingerprints that specific cellular processes leave behind, and how gut microbial metabolites are part of the diagnostic pattern of results when looking at a host of diseases. Nicholson, who is  known for his work in pharmaco-metabonomics, also discusses the potential for personalized medicine.

In episode 44 of MicrobeWorld Video filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Washington, D.C., Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Beatrice Hahn, Professor of Medicine and Microbiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, about her work on the origins of HIV and Malaria, and how these diseases may have spread to humans.Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone and Android devices in the iTunes or Android app stores.

On October 23 2010, MicrobeWorld attended the first annual USA Science and Engineering Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. In part 2 of this two-part video, Stanley Maloy, Dean of the College of Science at San Diego State University, continues his tour of the microbiology related exhibits at the festival.

Featured in this episode are members of the departments of biology and microbiology at the University of Georgia and Idaho State University. Maloy also introduces us to some of the work being done at The J. Craig Venter Institute in San Diego, Ca.  

Watch as Maloy introduces us to the power of microbes through demonstrations of waste tunred into energy, termites living off a diet of wood, and the radiation resistant power of microbes. Maloy also takes us on a tour of the The DiscoverGenomics! Mobile Laboratory which travels around the Washington D.C. area visiting schools that otherwise wouldn't get the chance to see science in action. 

On October 23 2010, MicrobeWorld attended the first annual USA Science and Engineering Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. In part 2 of this two-part video, Stanley Maloy, Dean of the College of Science at San Diego State University, continues his tour of the microbiology related exhibits at the festival.

Featured in this episode are members of the departments of biology and microbiology at the University of Georgia and Idaho State University. Maloy also introduces us to some of the work being done at The J. Craig Venter Institute in San Diego, Ca.  

Watch as Maloy introduces us to the power of microbes through demonstrations of waste tunred into energy, termites living off a diet of wood, and the radiation resistant power of microbes. Maloy also takes us on a tour of the The DiscoverGenomics! Mobile Laboratory which travels around the Washington D.C. area visiting schools that otherwise wouldn't get the chance to see science in action. 

On October 23 2010, MicrobeWorld attended the first annual USA Science and Engineering Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. In part 1 of this two-part video, Stanley Maloy, Dean of the College of Science at San Diego State University, takes us on a tour of the microbiology related exhibits at the festival.

Featured in this episode are the American Society for Microbiology booth "Where the Microbes Are (Everywhere!)" and the members of the Microbial Sciences Initiative at Harvard University.

Watch as Maloy introduces us to the power of microbes through demonstrations of biospheres created in a bottle, the bioluminescent bobtail squid, and the many different roles microbes play in the creation of food products.

On October 23 2010, MicrobeWorld attended the first annual USA Science and Engineering Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. In part 1 of this two-part video, Stanley Maloy, Dean of the College of Science at San Diego State University, takes us on a tour of the microbiology related exhibits at the festival.Featured in this episode are the American Society for Microbiology booth "Where the Microbes Are (Everywhere!)" and the members of the Microbial Sciences Initiative at Harvard University.Watch as Maloy introduces us to the power of microbes through demonstrations of biospheres created in a bottle, the bioluminescent bobtail squid, and the many different roles microbes play in the creation of food products.

Blogs, podcasts, and other new media outlets have changed the way people get their news. Immediate access to information presents new opportunities as well as challenges for science communication. Watch Carl Zimmer, science writer for the New York Times and host of MicrobeWorld's Meet the Scientist podcast, at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C., discuss how scientists and journalists are using new media outlets while avoiding their pitfalls.

Carl Zimmer is an award-winning author and science journalist. He is the author of seven books, the most recent of which is The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution. In addition to writing books, Zimmer contributes articles to the New York Times, as well as to magazines including National Geographic, Time, Scientific American, Science, and Popular Science. He also writes an award-winning blog, The Loom. From 1994 to 1998 Zimmer was a senior editor at Discover, where he remains a contributing editor and writes a monthly column about the brain.

Blogs, podcasts, and other new media outlets have changed the way people get their news. Immediate access to information presents new opportunities as well as challenges for science communication. Watch Carl Zimmer, science writer for the New York Times and host of MicrobeWorld's Meet the Scientist podcast, at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C., discuss how scientists and journalists are using new media outlets while avoiding their pitfalls.

Carl Zimmer is an award-winning author and science journalist. He is the author of seven books, the most recent of which is The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution. In addition to writing books, Zimmer contributes articles to the New York Times, as well as to magazines including National Geographic, Time, Scientific American, Science, and Popular Science. He also writes an award-winning blog, The Loom. From 1994 to 1998 Zimmer was a senior editor at Discover, where he remains a contributing editor and writes a monthly column about the brain.

MicrobeWorld Video and This Week in Virology team up to bring you a tour of the 50th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in Boston. In this episode the host of TWiV, Vincent Racaniello, speaks with exhibitors and visitors, including Professors Derek Smith, Michael Schmidt, Frederick Hayden, and Myra McClure.

Host links Vincent Racaniello

Links for this episode:

On May 25th, 2010 science writer Carl Zimmer gave a keynote address at the American Society for Microbiology's General Meeting in San Diego, California. The presentation entitled “Newspapers, Blogs, and Other Vectors: Infecting Minds with Science in the Age of New Media” was given at the President’s Forum, “Telling the Story of Science.” Zimmer is a lecturer at Yale University, where he teaches writing about science and the environment. In addition to writing books, Zimmer contributes articles to the New York Times, as well as magazines including National Geographic, Time, Scientific American,Science, and Popular Science. He also writes an award-winning blog, The Loom. From 1994 to 1998 Zimmer was a senior editor at Discover, where he remains a contributing editor and writes a monthly column about the brain. Zimmer also hosts "Meet the Scientist," a podcast from the American Society for Microbiology.

Pandemic H1N1 virus may be or may soon become endemic in large modern swine confinement facilities.  Despite this, there is a paucity of influenza surveillance that is currently being conducted among swine populations.  Watch Dr. Jeff Fox, Features Editor for Microbe Magazine interview Dr. Gregory Gray, University of Florida, Gainesville, about the importance of conducting influenza surveillance among pigs and workers in these facilities in hopes that we might quickly detect the emergence of novel influenza viruses.

This video was recorded live on May 25, 2010, at the American Society for Microbiology's 110th General Meeting in San Diego, Ca.

Watch Dr. Jeff Fox, Features Editor for Microbe Magazine talk with Arturo Casadevall, MD, Ph.D., the editor-in-chief of mBio, the new online, open-access journal from the American Society for Microbiology, about an opinion/hypothesis article he co-authored suggesting that rising global temperatures will result in new fungal infections for mammals living in temperate climates.

This video was recorded live on May 24, 2010, at the American Society for Microbiology's 110th General Meeting in San Diego, Ca.

On March 18, 2010, Roberto Kolter, Harvard Medical School and ASM President, gave a presentation to a group of graduate and postdoctoral students on why scientists need to be able to communicate effectively. This talk opened up the 2010 ASM Scientific Writing and Publishing Institute that was held at ASM Headquarters in Washington, DC on March 18 - 21, 2010. The Institute provides four days of hands-on intensive training in scientific writing and publishing under the mentorship of ASM Journal editors and reviewers. Groups of four to six participants are paired with one experienced mentor from their field to provide individual critique and resources. Every year the American Society for Microbiology offers several graduate and postdoctoral level programs that provide professional skills development in grantsmanship, scientific presentations, scientific publishing, teaching and mentoring, scientific ethics, career planning, and networking. For more information visit ASM's Graduate and Postdoctoral Opportunities website at asmgap.org.

From the flu to HIV, RNA viruses challenge our immune systems like no other infectious agent on the planet. RNA viruses provide unique insights into the patterns and processes of evolutionary change in real time. The study of viral evolution is especially topical given the growing awareness that emerging and re-emerging diseases (most of which are caused by RNA viruses) represent a major threat to public health. How do RNA viruses adapt and change, and how do our bodies respond? Why are diseases like HIV so difficult to predict and contain?

In episode 35 of MicrobeWorld Video, Eddie Holmes, professor in Biology at Pennsylvania State University leads a discussion before a live audience at Busboys & Poets in Washington, D.C. on the genetics and evolution of RNA viruses and how we can combat them.

The Dish was created by the Marian Koshland Science Museum and is made possible by a Science Education Partnership (SEPA) grant from the National Center for Research Resources, a component of the National Institutes of Health. This program was held in collaboration with the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Mobile health or mHealth is part of a movement towards citizen-centered health services delivered through cellular technologies. Mobile phones in particular are becoming a first line of defense against emerging infectious diseases by keeping healthcare practitioners and the public informed about outbreaks. For individuals mHealth technologies can provide real-time monitoring of vital signs and even deliver treatment services in the form of risk assessments, medication regimens and doctor appointment reminders. In addition, this new technology also has the potential to supply researchers and public health officials with up-to-date community and clinical health data.

In episode 34 of MicrobeWorld Video, we talk with William Warshauer about the work he's doing with Voxiva, a company that specializes in interactive mobile health information services. By leveraging the web, email, text messaging, interactive voice response systems and smart phone apps, he hopes to stay one step ahead of infectious disease outbreaks wherever they may occur.

We also speak with Amy Sonricker from Healthmap.org about their unique web interface and iPhone application that allows for real-time viewing and reporting of disease-related events around the globe.

This episode of MicrobeWorld Video was filmed in October 2009 at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C., at one of their frequent events for the public.

For more information about the Koshland Museum, upcoming events and online resources visit them online at www.koshland-science.org.

Whether you are making lunch for work, school or a summer picnic, knowing what food to pack and how to prepare it can be the difference between enjoying your day or going home sick. From recent peanut butter and pistachio nut recalls to E. coli outbreaks associated with hamburger patties, people are increasingly concerned about the safety of the food they eat. Many illnesses can be prevented with proper food preparation and a clean kitchen. On this episode of MicrobeWorld Video, Chef Jim Ringler from the National Academy of Sciences explains some of the best practices for food safety both in and out of the home.Dr. Keith Lampel, a microbiologist from the Food and Drug Administration, also joins the discussion and offers up some statistics regarding foodborne illness and provides the viewer with some tips for maintaining a clean kitchen.In additional you'll hear from Natalia Mikha from the Partnership for Food Safety Education as she explains the organization's website FightBac.org and their basic guidelines for keeping the food you eat safe.You can find out more information about food safety by visiting www.asm.org, www.fightbac.org, and www.cdc.gov.This episode of MicrobeWorld Video was filmed at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C., during one of their popular public science events. For more information about the Koshland Museum, upcoming events and online resources visit them online at www.koshland-science.org.

Animal, human and environmental health are inexorably intertwined. Diseases are making the jump from animals to humans and vice-versa at an increasing pace. The emergence of animal borne diseases such as Avian flu, Ebola, and most recently H1N1 (swine flu), demonstrate the need for an integrated strategy across several scientific, medical and environmental fields for improved public health. In this episode of MicrobeWorld Video, Dr. Mark Lutschaunig, director of the Governmental Relations Division of the American Veterinary Medical Association discusses the need for a holistic approach to human and animal health. He emphasizes that our ability to better predict when and where disease outbreaks are likely to occur depends on a strong relationship between veterinarians, doctors, and health agencies.In addition, Dr. Ron Atlas, chair of the One Health Commission, gives an overview of the organization's mission to foster closer professional interactions, collaborations, and educational opportunities across the health sciences professions, together with their related disciplines, to improve the health of people, animals, and our environment. To learn more about the links between animal health and human health, visit the One Health Commission website at www.onehealthcommission.org. You can also find out more information by visiting www.asm.org, www.avma.org, www.ama-assn.org and www.cdc.gov.This episode of MicrobeWorld Video was filmed at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C., during one of their popular public science events. For more information about the Koshland Museum, upcoming events and online resources visit them online at www.koshland-science.org.

Bacteria communicate with chemical languages that allow them to synchronize their behavior and thereby act as multi-cellular organisms. This process, called quorum sensing, enables bacteria to do things they canât do as a single cell, like successfully infect and cause disease in humans. Bonnie Bassler, Ph.D., the Squibb Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University and President-elect for the American Society for Microbiology, has been researching strategies that can interfere with quorum sensing and will hopefully yield novel antibiotics to prevent disease. In this episode of MicrobeWorld Video we present the full presentation Dr. Bassler gave at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C. on June 18, 2009. Not only does Dr. Bassler explain the mechanisms of bacterial communication, but she also puts forth her theories on how we can disrupt this communication for human benefit.

MicrobeWorld Video presents episode 33 of This Week in Virology. Hosts Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Dick Despommier and guest Raul Andino recorded TWiV live at the ASM General Meeting in Philadelphia, where they discussed increased arterial blood pressure caused by cytomegalovirus infection, restriction of influenza replication at low temperature by the avian viral glycoproteins, first isolation of West Nile virus in Pennsylvania, and current status of influenza.

Links for this episode:

Cytomegalovirus infection causes an increase of arterial blood pressure Avian influenza virus glycoproteins restrict virus replication at low temperature First West Nile virus isolation of the year in PA CDC press release of 18 May 2009 Glaxoâs influenza vaccine with adjuvant NY Times article on Guillain-Barrà and a more scientific view

Weekly Science Picks

Dick - National Museum of the History of Science and Medicine, Leiden Alan - Beginning Mac OS X Programming Vincent - Vaccinated by Paul Offit Raul - HubbleSite

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Please send your virology questions and comments to twiv [at] twiv [dot] tv. To listen, click the play button next to the title of this entry. You can subscribe for free to TWIV via iTunes, through the RSS feed with a podcast aggregator or feed reader, or by email.

Thanks to Chris Condayan and ASM for making TWiV live possible. Recorded by Chris Condayan and Ray Ortega.

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 TWiV #33 (Audio Only) (51 MB .mp3, 74 minutes)

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Fine cheeses are like fine wines. Producing and aging them properly is both an art and a science. From cave-aging to the use of raw milk, watch Dr. Catherine Donnelley, Co-director of the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheeses, describe the microbial world of cheese.

risk to cheese consumers. In this episode of MicrobeWorld Video, Dr. Donnelly explains how these risks are mitigated through strict processing guidelines, why these safeguards make cheese one of the safest commodities today, and how beneficial organisms contribute to the cheese making process. In addition, Erica Sanford from Cowgirl Creamery with the help of Carolyn Wentz from Everona Dairy walk us

For more information about cheese making and cheese safety please visit the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheeses. If you would like to try some of the cheeses featured in this episode order them online from www.cowgirlcreamery.com and www.everonadairy.com. Bon AppÃtit!

The American Society for Microbiology Conference for Undergraduate Educators (ASMCUE) is an interactive four-day conference on scientific updates and effective teaching strategies. Now in its 16th year, the conference attracts over 300 microbiology and biology educators.

Educators come from colleges, universities and international institutions to learn and share the latest information in the biological sciences and education research.

The conference program includes plenary, concurrent, poster, and exhibit sessions. Participants engage in formal and informal small group discussions between colleagues all focused on the same goal: to improve teaching and learning in the biological sciences.

In this episode, we talk with Erica Suchman, Associate Professor, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, and Local Organizing Chair for the 2009 meeting. Erica talks about her attendance at the meeting for the past 12 years and the benefits of participating. Also featured are several participants at the ASMCUE 2008 held at Endicott College in Beverly, MA and ASM's Education Director, Amy Chang, a co-founder of the Conference.

For more information about the conference or to view past proceedings, visit www.asmcue.org.

Parents are often presented with conflicting messages about germs and cleanliness. On the one hand, the news headlines warn us about dangerous "superbugs." On the other hand, there is growing concern that over-cleaning and excessive hygiene may weaken children's immune systems. Fortunately, there is real, vetted science available to help us understand how to best protect, without overprotecting, our kids.

In episode 26 of MicrobeWorld Video, we talk with Dr. Harley Rotbart, author of Germ Proof Your Kids: The Complete Guide to Protecting (without Overprotecting) Your Family from Infections. Dr. Rotbart, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at The University of Colorado and The Children's Hospital of Denver, has practiced, researched, and taught germ defense for the past 25 years. His new book serves as a resource for parents and health care providers to help put science back into the discussion of protecting kids from microscopic dangers. In addition to evaluating the traditional approaches to infection prevention (vaccines, antibiotics, etc.), Dr. Rotbart also analyzes the science behind Mom's advice about the effects of hygiene, nutrition, sleep, stress, exercise, and even wearing boots in the rain. It turns out Mom was right most of the time.

This video was filmed live at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C. and in various locations around the DC metro area.

In this episode of MicrobeWorld Video we visit the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., for the opening of "An Iconography of Contagion," an art exhibition featuring more than 20 public health posters from the 1920s to the 1990s. Covering infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS, gonorrhea, and syphilis, the posters come from North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.This video features interviews with J.D. Talasek, Director of  Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences, and Michael Sappol, Ph.D., Curator-Historian for the National Library of Medicine, along with several of the opening's attendees, on their impressions and thoughts of how public health promotion and education have changed over the decades.The presentation of the posters along with comments provided by Talasek and Sappol provide insight into the interplay between the public's understanding of disease and society's values. The exhibit reflects the fears and concerns of the time and also the medical knowledge that was available. Considered an art form, many of the posters are beautiful and entertaining, but during their heyday, they sought to educate people on matters of life and death.The exhibition is free and open to the public weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until December 19, 2008. The National Academy of Sciences is located at 2101 Constitution Ave., NW, in Washington, D.C. Visitors enter at 2100 C St., N.W. The gallery is located upstairs. For those who can't make it to the Nation's Capitol, but would like more information, please feel free to download the exhibit's brochure.