Arsenic profiling in rats, Bacillus in space, and antibiotic resistance in populations. And Dr. Bik’s Picks featuring butterflies, mummies and unfeelability cloaks.

Microbes in space

Bacillus anthracis-Like Bacteria and Other B. cereus Group Members in a Microbial Community Within the International Space Station: A Challenge for Rapid and Easy Molecular Detection of Virulent B. anthracis – Sandra P. van Tongeren – PLOS ONE

“In this study we show the presence of B. anthracis-like bacteria and other members of the B. cereus group in a microbial community within the human environment of the International Space Station and their preliminary identification by using conventional culturing as well as molecular techniques including 16S rDNA sequencing, PCR and real-time PCR. “

Metagenomics

Elucidation of Operon Structures across Closely Related Bacterial Genomes – Chuan Zhou – PLOS ONE

“Here we developed a graph-based model to elucidate the diversity of operon structures across a set of closely related bacterial genomes.”

Antibiotic resistance

Optimization of lag time underlies antibiotic tolerance in evolved bacterial populations – Ofer Fridman – Nature

“Here we followed the evolution of bacterial populations under intermittent exposure to the high concentrations of antibiotics used in the clinic and characterized the evolved strains in terms of both resistance and tolerance. “

Arsenic metabolism

The metabolomic profiling of serum in rats exposed to arsenic using UPLC/Q-TOF MS – Cheng Wang – Toxicology Letters

“The aim of this study is to determine the impact of chronic arsenic exposure on the metabolism of organism, and find the metabolites changes by using metabolomic techniques. “

Investigation of arsenic species stability by HPLC-ICP-MS in plants stored under different conditions for 12 months – Clarice D.B. Amaral – Microchemical Journal

“For the As species here studied it can be concluded that lyophilization and cryogenic grinding strategies were the most suitable sample pretreatments for As speciation in plant tissue.”

Science and careers

Love in the lab: Close collaborators – Kerri Smith – Nature

“Romance often sparks between colleagues, and scientists are no different. Nature profiles four super-couples who have combined love and the lab.”

Dr. Bik’s Picks

Metagenomic Analysis Reveals Presence of Treponema denticola in a Tissue Biopsy of the Iceman – Frank Maixner – PLOS ONE

“Initially, the metagenomic data of the Iceman’s genomic survey was screened for bacterial ribosomal RNA (rRNA) specific reads. Through ranking the reads by abundance a relatively high number of rRNA reads most similar to T. denticola was detected. “

A magnetic compass aids monarch butterfly migration – Patrick A Guerra – Nature Communications

“Here we use flight simulator studies to show that migrants indeed possess an inclination magnetic compass to help direct their flight equatorward in the fall. “

An elasto-mechanical unfeelability cloak made of pentamode metamaterials –
T. Bückmann – Nature Communications

“Here, inspired by invisible core-shell nanoparticles in optics, we design an approximate elasto-mechanical core-shell ‘unfeelability’ cloak based on pentamode metamaterials. “

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