Online course: Microbiomes and their Impact on Viral Infections

Looks like a potentially interesting course… certainly topical!  Information below, website here.   The study of the microbiome is one of the most promising scientific and medical revolutions in recent times. It is now clear that changes in the microbiome composition (referred to as dysbiosis) are major drivers to several human diseases and public health …

Total Concentrations of Virus and Bacteria in Indoor and Outdoor Air

Appropriate song to play while reading this post: Mat Kearney – Breathe In, Breathe Out This paper came out last month, and I thought it would be nice to briefly mention it here, even though many other papers have looked at the concentrations of airborne bacteria and viruses as well. In this study, done by Aaron Prussin …

“Battle Against the Flu” on radio 10 January

Thursday January 10 at 10:06 am on the east coast, the Diane Rehm Show will focus on the flu. You can read the advance description at http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2013-01-10/battle-against-flu. To find your local station, if you don’t already know it, go to www.npr.org. Most local stations make their broadcasts available on their web sites. “This year’s flu …

Viruses aid in the construction of more efficient solar cells.

Like the cement-producing bacteria, this falls under the category of “using microbes to construct the built environment.”  Projects like these have no bearing on the natural microbial ecology of structures, but still go to show that the relationship between humans, microbes,and the built environment is complex and can take many forms. In this work, researchers …