The Staph Lounge

Three swing dancers talk about infectious diseases. Currently reading: "One Flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest"

[currentsinbiology]

Evolution at work!

Tasmanian devils are rapidly evolving resistance to a contagious cancer 

The ferocious Tasmanian devil is being done in by cancer: In just 20 years, the endangered animal has lost 80% of its population to a contagious version called devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). The animal’s highly social yet fierce temperament—not unlike its cartoon counterpart—has helped the disease spread. But many populations that were predicted to have gone extinct by now are still kicking (and biting). To find out why, scientists looked at hundreds of devil genomes from three different sites in Tasmania and compared them with genomes from animals living decades ago, when DFTD hadn’t yet run rampant. They found that the modern survivors had changes in seven genes, five of which are related to cancer or immune function in other mammals, including humans. Based on their functions in other species, the scientists think those genes might be protecting them from cancer by helping the devil immune system recognize DFTD, they write online today in Nature Communications.

[irreplaceable-spark]

The FDA Just Greenlit Releasing Mutant Zika-killing Mosquitoes in Florida

The future is now.

Our sci-fi future just got a whole lot closer to becoming a reality, after the Food and Drug Administration gave the okay to a field trial that would release genetically modified Zika-killing mosquitoes in the Florida Keys.

On Friday, the FDA released a final environmental assessment of the trial, finding that it “will not have significant impacts on the environment.” The project, led by Oxitec, a biotech company that focuses on insect control, calls for the release of thousands of genetically engineered male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The lab insects are bred so that over time they could kill off much of the local mosquito population by passing on a gene fatal to any offspring they have with wild females…

Oxitec’s mosquitoes are engineered to include two copies of the baby-mosquito killing genes, overriding natural selection to make it almost certain that their offspring receive the killer gene from dad. Oxitec claims that trials in Brazil, Panama and the Cayman Islands have reduced mosquito populations by 90%, calling the success “an unprecedented level” of human control over nature. (The World Health Organization, which has also studied using such tactics against disease, has stated that while the technology “has demonstrated the ability to reduce the [mosquito] populations in small-scale field trials” there is still “an absence of data on epidemiological impact.”)

If this was the future of mosquitoes, I would be totally okay with it. Just a relic from the past.

[topofreddit]

Not Just Bees, All Insects are in Decline and Heading for Extinction

Original post | Reddit thread

[hobs-birb]

Researchers are feverishly working to understand the global die off of the world’s bee species, and have linked colony collapse disorder to the use of neonicotinoid pesticides along with other common agrichemicals. As it turns out, the impact of modern industrial agriculture and widespread chemical contamination of our environment is not just affecting bees, but also contributing to the loss of all insects, and some scientists believe we are moving in the direction of mass extinction.

Several studies by entomologists in recent years support this notion and raise the flag for greater concern. German researchers with the Krefeld Entomological Association have since 1989 been conducting an annual experiment measuring the volume of summer insects in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Trapping migratory and mating insects in the wild has proven there is indeed a significant reduction in populations of many species of invertebrates.

“The average biomass of insects caught between May and October has steadily decreased from 1.6 kilograms (3.5 pounds) per trap in 1989 to just 300 grams (10.6 ounces) in 2014.”

Continue in link.

Read more at http://www.wakingtimes.com/2016/07/23/not-just-bees-insects-decline-heading-extinction/#ozQSq2dUtX1kWQ5s.99

[eartharchives]

A bare-bones look at bizarre fish

Modern fish make up a huge part of Earth’s ecosystems, and cover a lot of niches. Predators, omnivores and herbivores are all found in this diverse group. Millions of years of adaptation has sculpted their bodies into the various forms and shapes we see today.

Looking beneath the surface of a fish’s skin can reveal a lot about the ecology of fish – the most diverse group of vertebrates on Earth. Use our image sliders to see under their scales.

Written by @cyan-biologist, with original X-ray images from Fish Inside Out, by @smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, reconstructed by @franzanth.

[cyan-biologist]

Guys I’m happy to announce our month long work (mostly Franz’s work though): Skeletal morphology of the modern fish!

I’m really proud of this one guys, give it a read (I really REALLY love the slider function)!

-Werner

[currentsinbiology]

Why knee injuries often don’t heal 

If you fall on the ski slopes or slip on a patch of ice, you’ll probably be better off if you break your leg than if you rip the cartilage in your knee. Unlike bones, your cartilage is never going regrow or heal, according to a new study based in part on fallout from past nuclear explosions.

“The surgeons who do joint replacements should not be afraid,” says study co-author and rheumatologist Michael Kjær of the University of Copenhagen. “They are going to be in business for some time.”

As plenty of athletes and weekend warriors can attest, damaged knee cartilage is reluctant to mend. But because measuring cartilage turnover is difficult, researchers have never been sure whether adults replace any of the material.

[eartharchives]

Shark Gives Rare 'Virgin Birth' to Three Pups

A leopard shark in an aquarium in Australia surprises its keepers with the rare phenomenon.

“I think it happens when they get pushed into an evolutionary corner, like in an aquarium with no males around,” says George Burgess, a shark expert with the Florida Museum of Natural History.

[just-shower-thoughts]

Unvaccinated children are less likely to be autistic because they are more likely to be dead

[rayszigeti-deactivated20220227]

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) had been a popular man-made chemical compound in industrial and commercial products up until it became internationally accepted as toxic back in 1979. Decades later high concentrations of PCBs are being found in the carnivores of the ocean. 

I made pretty relevant graphic of this a year ago. For those who need a refresher on biomagnification.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/11/science/11obwhal.html?_r=0

[the-future-now-deactivated20170]

This London surgeon just became the first to livestream an operation in virtual reality

London surgeon Shafi Ahmed took a giant leap for surgeonkind on Thursday, becoming the first to livestream a virtual reality operation. Beginning at 1 p.m. local time, Ahmed performed a two-hour procedure to excise cancerous tissue from a patient’s bowel at the Royal London Hospital. Here’s why Ahmed thinks virtual reality will be important for medical training in the future.

Follow @the-future-now

[staph-lounge]

How maggots made it back into mainstream medicine

Carrie Arnold reports on an ancient treatment being revived to help heal painful infected injuries.

Maggot therapy, yo.

Best quote:

“The maggots go in there as God’s miniature little surgeons.” 

[staph-lounge]

Just a bit of perspective for everyone.

(source)

[staph-lounge]

Kiss of Death

What does a neglected disease tell us about who we choose to take care of and why?

Just one of those articles that make you wonder why the world is so messed up. :)

Teaser:

Few of the people who are infected are ever able to see a doctor, and so people die of Chagas without the rest of the world bearing witness to their chronic suffering—unlike the widely-photographed babies born with microcephaly after exposure to the Zika virus. In a way, then, we actually prefer infectious diseases to act like Chagas—to stay contained and to afflict, mainly, the poor, the “other.”

[breathinginbiology]

Bacteriophages (light green) are shown inserting their DNA into a bacterial cell (yellow). Research is being done to potentially use these phages as treatment for bacterial infections because they are natural viral predators that target bacteria but leave mammalian and plant cells unscathed. 

[staph-lounge]

A Window Into the Workings of Zika

A graduate student’s offhand remark has led to widespread research that has provided findings about how the virus causes brain damage.

Looks like the Zika virus targets neural progenitor cells, “which form early in fetal development and generate neurons in the brain...Damaged progenitor cells created fewer neurons, leading to less brain volume.”

Case closed, mystery solved, super elegant explanation?

[staph-lounge]

Parasites Are Us - Issue 35: Boundaries - Nautilus

Jerry Coyne is an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago. His research on population and evolutionary genetics has been…

“How parasites challenge the notion of self.” :)

[staph-lounge]

The Entire World is Getting a New Polio Vaccine This Month

A global swap of millions of doses of polio vaccine could be a big step in finally ending the disease.

[staph-lounge]

Health Officials Split Over Advice on Pregnancy in Zika Areas

Some experts say avoiding conception is the only sure way to prevent deformed babies; others say the government should not tell women what to do with their bodies.

It’s been confirmed for a while by all the major research and policy institutions that Zika is responsible for the recent epidemic of microencephaly in infants, but there’s no consensus about what people should do about it.

Some interesting points to keep in mind:

on one hand, microencephaly only occurs in a small percentage of pregnant women who get infected

and we’re not talking about advice for travelers to Zika regions -- we’re talking about public health policy and advice that will impact the birth rates of entire soverign states

on the other hand, the last time Zika appeared, it blew over in a year and disappeared; for most people, a year is not a horribly long time to wait before getting pregnant

there is no sure way to prevent mosquito bites, and we’ve seen with other mosquito-borne viruses that they can be maintained in a population even with 80-90% reduction in mosquitoes; therefore it’s unlikely that infection can be prevented on an individual or governmental level