Just a short post today. PLOS ONE has a paper about burn victims and gut microbiome, in which both humans as well as mice were studied, but I really disliked the mouse experiments, where mice were deliberately burned (by shaving them and dipping them in near-boiling water). As a scientist, I realize that animal experiments can be useful, but I very much dislike animal studies that involve deliberate burns, enormous tumors, and parabiosis. I hope that these types of experiments can soon be replaced by more animal-friendly versions.

In other news: a bacterium on satellite survived entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. How cool is that?

Human respiratory microbiome

Dysbiosis of upper respiratory tract microbiota in elderly pneumonia patients – Wouter A A de Steenhuijsen Piters – The ISME Journal

Human/animal model gut microbiome

I really dislike the mouse part of this paper: Burn Injury Alters the Intestinal Microbiome and Increases Gut Permeability and Bacterial Translocation – Zachary M. Earley – PLOS ONE

Animal microbiome

Diet shapes the gut microbiome of pigs during nursing and weaning – Steven A. Frese – Microbiome

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Editorial: Symbiosis: Receptive to infection – Sharon R. Long – Nature

Receptor-mediated exopolysaccharide perception controls bacterial infection – Y. Kawaharada – Nature

Water microbiome

Genomics and Ecophysiology of Heterotrophic Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria Isolated from Estuarine Surface Water – Mikkel Bentzon-Tilia – mBio

More microbiology

Eye-like ocelloids are built from different endosymbiotically acquired components –
Gregory S. Gavelis – Nature

Spore-Forming Thermophilic Bacterium within Artificial Meteorite Survives Entry into the Earth’s Atmosphere on FOTON-M4 Satellite Landing Module – Alexander Slobodkin – PLOS ONE

Microbes in the news

Justin and Erica Sonnenburg: The Gut Connection – The Insight

Together bacteria invade antibiotic landscapes – Phys.org

Now You Can Buy Shampoo and Cleanser That Promote the Growth of “Good” Bacteria – L.V. Anderson – Slate

Just How Gross Is It to Leave Your Toothbrush In The Bathroom? – Lindsay Colameo – Allure

Science, publishing, and career

Postdocs will be getting a raise – Justin Kiggins – The Spectroscope
and
Will Obama’s revamp of the overtime rules mean postdocs are paid more? – Drugmonkey

Bik’s Picks

Shark selfies: Shark Files: Baited Cameras to Count World Sharks – Lori Cuthbert – Discovery

Scientists Discover a ‘Complex Cocktail of Many Chemicals’ in Snail Venom That Could Treat Cancer, Pain and Addiction – Liz Klimas – The Blaze

These Plastic Chemicals May Be Just As Dangerous As What They Replace – Justin Worland – Time

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