Monthly Archives: October 2018

Various industries rely on accurate detection and identification of bacterial species. For example, food-processing plants often have to test their products for bacterial contamination to ensure it is safe for human consumption. In hospitals, a quick and accurate method to identify bacteria can help doctors prescribe the right antibiotics. Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that causes major problems in both the food and medical industries. The bacteria can contaminate food and cause severe diarrhoea. In hospitals, this bacteria causes deadly bloodstream infections in patients. Other relatives of Staphylococcus aureus can also cause infections but are much less severe than S. aureus. It is therefore important that microbiologist can swiftly and accurately identify S. aureus species. Many of the current techniques that are used to differentiate Staphylococcus species is time consuming and laborious. The existing biochemical tests take a few days to complete. This is especially a problem in hospital settings…

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You sit down at a restaurant and peruse the menu for the best wine to pair with your dinner. Do you choose a red wine like Cabernet Sauvignon, or something crisper and lighter like Riesling? Do you choose the cheapest one within the category, or first look to see the vineyards listed? The differences between wine flavors go beyond the grapes and the fermentation process. Turns out even before all of that, climate, geology, elevation, soil, and microbes all play a huge role in determining the flavor and aroma of each bottle of wine.   The French word ‘terroir’ refers to the interaction of climate, soil, water, geology, and elevation that creates the complex environments where grapes are grown. In a recent review article, scientists focused on California’s Napa and Sonoma counties to explore how terroir varies at different scales, from regional to local. In California, the diversity in landscapes…

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How can our blood deliver vital oxygen and nutrients to our brains, while also not bringing with it any possible infection that may be in the blood? A unique physiological feature called the blood-brain barrier offers protection. It is a very tightly-knit barrier between the brain’s blood vessels and the rest of the brain tissue. Much like a filter, the blood-brain barrier stops pathogens or toxins from reaching the brain. It does this through having structures known as “endothelial tight junctions”. Endothelial cells are the cells that line the interior surface of our veins, arteries, and capillaries (the connection point between our veins and arteries where oxygen, nutrients, and waste are exchanged). In the capillaries of the brain, the endothelial cells are grouped together much more tightly than in the rest of the body. As a result of the tight-knit nature of the blood-brain barrier, only very small molecules are…

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How can our blood deliver vital oxygen and nutrients to our brains, while also not bringing with it any possible infection that may be in the blood? A unique physiological feature called the blood-brain barrier offers protection. It is a very tightly-knit barrier between the brain’s blood vessels and the rest of the brain tissue. Much like a filter, the blood-brain barrier stops pathogens or toxins from reaching the brain. It does this through having structures known as “endothelial tight junctions”. Endothelial cells are the cells that line the interior surface of our veins, arteries, and capillaries (the connection point between our veins and arteries where oxygen, nutrients, and waste are exchanged). In the capillaries of the brain, the endothelial cells are grouped together much more tightly than in the rest of the body. As a result of the tight-knit nature of the blood-brain barrier, only very small molecules are…

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If a woman has human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and becomes pregnant, it is very important that we prevent the transmission of this disease from mother to child. There are many ways to prevent this transmission (e.g. the mother starts taking HIV medication right away, cesarean section delivery, limited breastfeeding, and the baby gets HIV medication as soon as they are born). In recent years, this prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV resulted in reduced numbers of infant HIV infections. However, this means that there are many babies who are exposed to the mother’s HIV virus as a fetus, but the babies are not infected with HIV themselves . These infants are known as HIV-exposed uninfected infants, and they are at higher risk of serious health complications than infants that are HIV-unexposed, including more hospitalizations, health care visits, infections, and death. It is still not entirely clear why this…

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What species of fish are you really eating when you buy a fillet at the grocery store or fried fish at your local restaurant? In the first picture below, it’s easy to tell that it’s a catfish, but how about in the second picture of fish and chips? Statistics on how often fish are labeled as a different species vary widely based on the type of retailer (market versus restaurant, chain versus single location) and the location of the study, but mislabeling is common practice . Whether or not mislabeling is intentional is hard to tell, because fish species can look very similar. Fishermen and processing plants don’t have a way to analyze individual fish’s DNA to identify it, so they have to trust experience. Photo on left: Christmas Eve Dinner by Gary Stevens. Creative Commons 2.0. Photo on right: Photo by Midnight Believer, Public Domain. Image Source: Catfish & Fries,…

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Since September is National Mushroom Month, it’s fitting to think about the incredible things fungi can do. You may be familiar with mushrooms in grocery stores or some of those visible in the forest. When it comes to fungal diversity, these examples are only the tip of the iceberg. While some may be delicious with dinner, others can clean up harmful pollution. Some fungi can degrade toxic byproducts released by industrial or agricultural processes such as petroleum, explosives, agricultural chemicals, metals, and metalloids. Since some fungi are great at collecting metals, they may also be useful for recycling them. Fungi live in many different environments such as soils, sediments, rocks, trees, or plant leaves – many of which come in direct contact with metals or pollutants. Some form harmful (pathogenic) associations with plants, while others have symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationships. Scientists are only beginning to understand the immense capabilities of…

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Certain behaviors are often socially accepted and even encouraged when they’re considered productive, regardless of potential health risks. This can include behaviors like exercising, dieting, and working. Frequent exercise is generally seen as a sign of a healthy lifestyle, but what happens if exercise habits become extreme to the point of addiction? It’s difficult to draw the line between a healthy commitment to fitness versus an excessive and potentially harmful behavior. A research team in the department of psychology at the University of Southern Denmark wanted to know whether the amount of support from family and friends changes in the case of extreme exercise, or if they continue encouragement as usual. They also wanted to know if scientists should change the way they measure addiction when the addictive behavior is considered positive. To better understand this, the researchers conducted a study involving over 500 fitness center members. The members filled…

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