Phages to reduce biofilms or monitor virus outbreaks, binning metagenomic reads, lots of microbes in the news. In Bik’s Picks, we have the 2014 Nobel Prize for Medicine and a giant ant nest.
More Microbes
Combined Use of Bacteriophage K and a Novel Bacteriophage To Reduce Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm Formation – D. R. Alves – Applied and Environmental Microbiology
“DRA88 was mixed with phage K to produce a high-titer mixture that showed strong lytic activity against a wide range of S. aureus isolates, including representatives of the major international MRSA clones and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus. “
Detection of Pathogenic Viruses in Sewage Provided Early Warnings of Hepatitis A Virus and Norovirus Outbreaks – Maria Hellmér – Applied and Environmental Microbiology
“ In this study, the presence of eight pathogenic viruses (norovirus, astrovirus, rotavirus, adenovirus, Aichi virus, parechovirus, hepatitis A virus [HAV], and hepatitis E virus) was investigated in sewage to explore whether their identification could be used as an early warning of outbreaks. “
Bioinformatics
New software aims to improve sorting the microbiome – The Cherry Creek News
“MaxBin automates the binning of assembled metagenomic scaffolds using an expectation-maximization algorithm after the assembly of metagenomic sequencing reads,” says Singer, a chemist who also holds an appointment with Berkeley Lab’s Earth Sciences Division. “
Microbes in the news
* King’s launches British Gut – King’s College London
“British Gut – the UK’s largest open-source science project to understand the microbial diversity of the human gut – has been launched today by the Department of Twin Research at King’s College London, in collaboration with American Gut.”
Pay attention to your gut bacteria – Charles Wallace – Financial Times
“A number of organisations, such as Mr Leach’s own American Gut project and the commercial venture uBiome, offer an analysis of the bacteria in your gut for about $100. “
Home sweet microbiome – By Scott LaFee – UT San Diego
“The University of Chicago recently published findings from its Home Microbiome Project, which surveyed the domiciles of seven families: 18 people, three dogs and one cat.”
Medical superbugs: Antibiotic-resistant bacteria carried by more than a third of nursing home residents, study – ABC Australia
“Scientists from Monash University swabbed more than a 100 residents from four high-care facilities across the city.”
Special bacteria, 13000 cleaners to clean Dhaka – Rezaul Hoque – BDNews
“This special kind of microorganism will be sprayed on waste dumps. The spray has been developed in Thailand. We have introduced it here in Bangladesh with the aid of a Malaysian company.””
Yogurt bacteria could replace colonoscopies for cancer detection – Billy Steele – EnGadget
“MIT professor Sangeeta Bhatia is working on engineered bacteria that detects colorectal cancer. After the nanoparticles pass through the digestive system, a urine sample shows results on a reactive paper — similar to that of a pregnancy test.”
Science and Publishing
Adjudicating “misbehavior”: how can scientists respond when they don’t get fair credit? – Janet D. Stemwedel – Scientific American
“Denying someone of fair credit for the contribution they made to a piece of research is not a good thing. But who can you turn to if someone does it to you? “
Twitter’s science stars, the sequel – John Travis – Science
“We listed. You tweeted (often in outrage). We listened (mostly). And now we’re doubling down on our recent list of Twitter’s 50 most popular researchers with a revision that names 100 of the most followed scientists on the social media platform. “
Bik’s Picks
2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain – Science Daily
“The 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to John O´Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain.”
Concrete Cast of Ant Nest Reveals Huge Underground Metropolis – Lisa Winter – IFL Science
“Through a process that took a few months, researchers made a cast of an anthill by pumping it full of concrete, allowing it to cure and dry, then excavating it out to explore the intricacies of the ant civilization. “
Tall tale: scientists unravel the genetics of human height – Will Dunham – Daily Mail
“Researchers on Sunday unveiled what they called the biggest such study to date, analyzing genome data from more than a quarter million people to identify nearly 700 genetic variants and more than 400 genome regions relating to height.”
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Microbiome Digest - Bik's Picks 