#mycobacterium

[microbes-in-hats]

Mycobacterium smegmatis

Image taken via scanning electron microscopy.

Photo credit: Steve Gschmeissner

[valcaira]

Mycobacterium scares the living shit out of me as an immunocompromised person. I've already gotten lymphangitis from an IV so no I won't be sorry for being extra bitchy about needle sterilization. Especially with the frequency I have to get blood drawn. Mycobacterium infection would either kill me or leave me severely disfigured or teetering on the edge of life and death for a long fucking time. Doesn't help that I cannot take a good chunk of antibiotics.

Fuck mycobacterium. If I could erase an organism family from reality forever it would be mycobacterium.

[whats-in-a-sentence]

It turns out that the common soil bacterium M. vaccae acts like an antidepressant, boosting the levels of happy hormones, serotonin and norepinephrine, in humans and mammals. It also reduces stress.

"Soil: The incredible story of what keeps the earth, and us, healthy" - Matthew Evans

[bpod-bpod]

Frozen Out

Developed just over a hundred years ago, the BCG vaccine is the only vaccine widely-used against tuberculosis, or TB, a disease caused by infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb, pictured). While highly effective in protecting infants from the most serious forms of disease, BCG is less successful in preventing transmission and lung disease in adults. TB remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide, with most cases in South-East Asia and Africa. New vaccines are being tested, including promising solutions combining antigens, molecules provoking an immune response specifically against Mtb, with adjuvants, that further stimulate the immune system. In recent phase I clinical trials, a freeze-dried vaccine, that would not need to be kept refrigerated, was found to be safe, causing no serious side-effects, and to trigger antibody production. While still in early stages of testing, a more robust vaccine would be hugely beneficial to vaccination campaigns in remote areas.

Written by Emmanuelle Briolat

Image from the NIH, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Bethesda MD, USA

Research from Zachary K. Sagawa et al, Access to Advanced Health Institute (formerly Infectious Disease Research Institute), Seattle, WA, USA

Image in the Public Domain

Research published in Nature Communications, March 2023

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[katiajewelbox]

biotech.bae Researchers have discovered an enzyme that uses hydrogen in the atmosphere to create an electrical current. The enzyme, Huc, was extracted from the bacterium Mycobacterium smegmatis and is able to consume hydrogen at levels as low as 0.00005% of the air we breathe. The researchers used cutting-edge methods such as cryo-EM microscopy, electrochemistry, and molecular modelling to determine the enzyme's atomic structure and electrical pathways, as well as identify specific regions of the protein that allow hydrogen gas to enter the active site. This discovery could pave the way for small air-powered devices as an alternative to solar-powered devices, but scaling up the production of the enzyme is still a key objective for future work. DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-05781-7

(Source: @biotech.bae Instagram page)

[y0rkminster]

Swim in Peace Aeneas, my little rainbow fish

He fought a valiant battle with mycobacteriosis. Although I had planned to use experimental treatments for him, he ultimately developed severe complications and I made the difficult decision to let him die with dignity.

Aeneas survived severe neglect and off the charts ammonia at the pet store. By the time I got him, he already had myco. I just didn’t know it yet. He put up a hell of a fight. He was also the sweetest, most peaceful betta. Super friendly too. He will be missed.

[the-art-of-medicine]

Mycobacteria

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB):

Often resistant to multiple drugs

TB symptoms: fever, night sweats, weight loss, cough (nonproductive or productive), hemoptysis (coughing up blood)

Mycobacterium avium-intracelluare:

Causes disseminated, non-TB disease in AIDS

Often resistant to multiple drugs

Prophylaxis with azithromycin when CD4+ count < 50 cells/mm3

Mycobacterium scrofulaceum:

Cervical lymphadenitis in children

Mycobacterium marinum:

Hand infection in aquarium handlers

[missnoodliness]

Coriander listening while I study for my pathogenic microorganisms exam on fungi and mycobacteria.