#anaerobes

[biology-geology-beaches-india]

The Scientific Research Notes of S. Sunkavally, Printed Part, Page. 241.

Dates unclear, but certainly between 2006-2012.

[crookedlycolorfulgoatee-blog]

Human Bite: How dangerous is it?

Human Bite: How dangerous is it?

Animals are not the only ones that can inflict a bite wound, humans also bite each other. In most hospital Casualty rooms human bite wound cases rank third after dog and cat bites.

  Human bite is capable of transmitting dangerous viruses like Hepatitis B, Hepatiti C and herpes simplex viruses. Bacteria that can be transmitted includes Syphilis, Tuberculosis, Actinomycosis and Tetanus.

Some…

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[aimedhne]

Anaerobic susceptibility data - Australia and New Zealand and microLab comments

Anaerobic susceptibility data – Australia and New Zealand and microLab comments

This posting summarises all the work that can be found – I would welcome advice about any additional studies.  Image from http://microbe-canvas.com/.

Australia

J Antimicrob Chemother. 1992 Dec;30(6):811-20. Antimicrobial susceptibility of anaerobic bacteria in Australia. Chen SC, Gottlieb T, Palmer JM, Morris G, Gilbert GL.The last survey published in Australia (1992). Few surprises. Cefoxitin…

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[harperspostulates]

Life without oxygen - getting started with anaerobic microorganisms

Life without oxygen – getting started with anaerobic microorganisms

For most of us, culturing bacteria is usually quick and easy. With pre-poured plates, ready-made media, purpose built flasks and shakers that stay within a fraction of a degree of the temperature you set them to, culturing cells on agar or in liquid is almost second nature to microbiologists. There is a group of microorganisms, however, that are a little more involved when being grown in the lab…

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[nina-arens-blog]

Research: Institute for Systems Biology

In October 2013, I decided to take a break from teaching and go back to research at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, WA. I joined the Baliga Group—a laboratory dedicated to studying systems in both medicine and environmental science—and started my newest journey within academic research: anaerobes.

The Institute for Systems Biology is nonprofit research institute that takes a unique “systems approach” to studying changes in medicine, disease, and the environment. Unlike other research settings, in which scientists and software engineers typically exist in isolation and work on maybe one to two goals, science at ISB is holistic—driven by a desire to understand the whole picture. Groups of engineers, physicists, doctors, computer scientists, and biochemists collaborate to piece together complex pictures of biological systems which they can use to model, analyze, and predict changes in things like human health or ecology.

ISB was where I got my first taste of contemporary research as an undergraduate in 2008. I studied peroxisomes and histone-packaging in yeast, and rapidly acquired skills tailored for ‘big science’—genome-wide datasets, transcriptomes, and the like. It was here where I saw that science operated in multidisciplinary settings, the dire situation facing today’s doctoral candidates1,2,3, and the reasons why scientists so often did not participate in outreach programs. It was at ISB where I decided not to pursue a scientific career, and left for Sweden to study museums.

I believe that the best science teachers are those who remain connected to research. So when an opportunity rose in the Baliga Lab to take on new questions in science and education, I jumped. I had done four years of good teaching, curriculum writing, and even a bit of curatorial work. Returning to the lab as an accomplished teacher seemed like a good opportunity to not only reflect on my experiences, but to pass them on to the scientific community.

My current role at ISB is far different than the one I had before. I work with Desulfovibrio vulgaris, a sulfur-reducing bacteria, which can only survive in anaerobic conditions. Bacteria like these—which thrive in oxygen-less environments like deep in the ocean, landfills, and even animal guts—are of high interest to the U.S. government, who believe that understanding anaerobes better could lead to major insights into ecology, green energy, and human health. It also comes with high risk, as these bacteria naturally secrete chemcials like hydrogen sulfide, methane, and other gases harmful to humans.

In multidisciplinary laboratories like ISBs, everyone has a role. My primary responsibility as a Research Associate is to run experiments for senior research scientists. I perform experiments, gather data, and report my findings to my supervisors. They take my results, incorporate them back into their theories and mathematical models, and come back at me with new questions to test. This goes back and forth until we have generated enough data and/or evidence to justify a publication, a useful tool, or a major discovery.

Doing research like this requires a high level of organization, project management, and communication. I often describe it like being a “sous chef of science”. While my bosses—the chefs—decide on the menu, I am the one adding the ingredients. I am the one tasting the sauce. I am the one compulsively checking the oven—and at the end of the day, I am the person smiling down at the table to watch every one come and eat. That’s ultimately what life is like as a Research Associate: I don’t typically design the experiments, but every figure, every chart, every little piece of data that goes into a published paper are mine.

Out of all the labs at ISB, the Baliga Lab has the strongest commitment to educational outreach. For the past ten years, their education team has helped hundreds of teachers across the country bring ‘systems biology’ to their classrooms—designing and disseminating kits, spearheading professional development for teachers, and hosting high school interns for summer research projects. This summer, I will take on two interns of my own—introducing them to my research as a personal project to start developing a better way to shape student learning when transitioning from classroom to laboratory settings. 

1U.S Pushes For More Scientists, But the Jobs Aren’t There—Washington Post 2The Ph.D Bust: America’s Awful Market for Young Scientists—in 7 Charts – The Atlantic 3Does the U.S. Produce Too Many Scientists? – Scientific American

[studiousness]

obligate anaerobes: carry out only fermentation/anaerobic respiration; cannot survive in the presence of oxygen

facultative anaerobes: have enough ATP to survive using either fermentation or respiration