In tonight’s digest, antimicrobial tolerance in biofilms, oil spills and dolphins, and dog people vs. cat people.

Biofilms

• Review: Molecular mechanisms of antimicrobial tolerance and resistance in bacterial and fungal biofilms – Heleen Van Acker, Patrick Van Dijck, Tom Coenye – Trends in Microbiology  –  “In this review we discuss three mechanisms that play an important role in biofilm survival: (i) biofilm-specific protection against oxidative stress; (ii) biofilm-specific expression of efflux pumps; and (iii) protection provided by matrix polysaccharides.”

More microbiology

• Amber discovery indicates Lyme disease is older than human race – Science Daily

Marine mammals

• Sarasota Researcher Studies Health Of Dolphins Following Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill – Ashley Lopez – WJCT News- “A researcher in Sarasota is helping federal officials figure out whether dolphins were affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.”

Scientific publishing

• Nature’s publisher launches a new peer-reviewed, online-only journal that will accept descriptions of data sets: Publishing Data – Jef Akst – The Scientist

Dr. Bik’s Picks

• Dog People vs. Cat People: Who’s More Outgoing? More Intelligent? – Rachael Rettner – LiveScience – “Dog people” and “cat people” really do have different personalities, according to a new study.
• I like your genes: People more likely to choose a spouse with similar DNA – Science Daily
• Green Alga not sure what she is getting out of lichen relationship – The Allium

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