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Blog Archive
Russian Culture, the LGBT community, and the Olympics
By Zoë Byrne
In light of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, President Putin's anti-LGBT laws are definitely not the first of its kind of oppression against the LGBT community in Russia. A significant portion of the governments of Russian cities and provinces had already enacted their own versions of suppressive legislation back in 2012. The motive behind the passage of such laws seems to be an inherent disdain for and belief that any discussions of LGBT issues in front of minors will automatically be propaganda that promotes a type of lifestyle of which many Russians are vehemently opposed. This belief that the LGBT community has complete control over whom they love and are attracted to ignites a long-standing debate among many about whether sexual orientation is something people are either born with or choose. On the other side are those who believe that it should be an individual's right to a personal opinion on how to live his or her life the way that feels most comfortable, rather than a government imposing laws restricting the rights of their citizens to live completely free. However, Russia remains a country desiring to control its citizens' lives and opinions – reminiscent of its communist past – and reminds Americans how fortunate we are to have the rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech, that we have regardless of whether or not we agree with each other.
The lack of freedom for the LGBT community in Russia has caused many such individuals to hide their true identities due to their fears and threats of losing jobs, homes and even possibly their lives in the event of violence. Besides the anti-propaganda law, some other restrictive Russian laws against the LGBT community include: an adoption ban for Russian children by same-sex couples as well as heterosexual couples who reside in countries where same-sex marriage is legal, a ban against making any statements that support homosexuality, and a law that gives the Russian police permission to arrest any foreign visitor or temporary citizen they might suspect is homosexual or supportive of homosexuality and keep them for up to two weeks.
Targeting the LGBT community, especially during the 2014 Sochi Olympics, is part of what many see as President Putin's remolding of the Russian government along authoritarian lines and, critics fear, an effort to distract Russia from focusing on economic issues and other policy failings. For people wishing to publicly demonstrate their support and advocacy for the LGBT community in Sochi, violations range anywhere from making televised statements to wearing pro-LGBT paraphernalia; punishments for committing these violations include arrest, two-week incarceration, and fines as high as $3,100.
Though Russia claims the laws will not be enforced during the Olympics, the truth remains very hazy, because Putin's laws and policies, as well as Russia's as a whole, treat homosexuality as the same as pedophilia, encouraging the fear that any demonstrations of support will influence Russian children to possibly defy the conservative social culture by accepting same-sex couples. In an attempt to allow people to protest, if they choose to do so, yet still muffle LGBT supporters, Russia has made it extremely difficult to obtain this right by only allowing such protests to happen in a village that is seven miles from Sochi called Khost. An additional and challenging hurdle to attaining this right will be whether Russia's Ministry of Interior and Federal Security Service decides to grant the permits needed, as proclaimed by Russian law, to those wishing to protest. The uncertainty of whether the anti-LGBT laws will truly not be enforced or imposed, as Russia keeps claiming, makes it extremely challenging for those who support the LGBT community to watch the games peacefully and enjoyably with the knowledge that the host country does not respect all of its citizens.
RELATED: "From Russia Without Love: The 2014 Winter Olympics and Human Rights in Russia," a February 4, 2014, program at The Commonwealth Club of California.
This Day in Commonwealth Club History, February 19
Thirty-two years ago: Businessman William Agee gave a talk called "Business Looks at Reaganomics" on February 19, 1982.
This Day in Commonwealth Club History, February 13, 2014
Sixty-one years ago: Governor Earl Warren discussed "State Government and Finance" in his address to The Commonwealth Club of California? on February 13, 1953.
This Day in Commonwealth Club History, February 11, 2014
Forty-four years ago: NASA administrator James Fletcher gave "An Assessment of the Space Program" in his February 11, 1972, speech to The Commonwealth Club of California?. Fletcher, a physicist, was responsible for beginning the space shuttle program during his first tenure at NASA.
This Day in Commonwealth Club History, February 10, 2014
Legendary CBS newsman Walter Cronkite addressed the Club on February 10, 1983, on the occasion of its 80th anniversary celebration
This Day in Commonwealth Club History, February 7, 2014
Fifty-six years ago today: India's ambassador to the United States, Gaganvihari L. Mehta, discussed "The First Decade of Independent India" in his speech to The Commonwealth Club of California on February 7, 1958.
The Commonwealth Club Debuts on the California Channel
WATCH US ON THE CALIFORNIA CHANNEL: Tonight at 9 p.m. (PT), catch the first program in our weekly series on the California Channel.
Tonight: our latest Week to Week political roundtable. In upcoming weeks: Economic forecasts, Randi Zuckerberg, Robert Reich, and more! You can find The California Channel on your cable system by checking these listings: http://www.calchannel.com/local-listing/
Commonwealth Club programs will also air at various times throughout the week on that channel.
This Day in Commonwealth Club History, February 6, 2014
Filene's Basement founder & philanthropist Edward A. Filene discussed "Business and the Wage Problem" in his Depression-ear speech to The Commonwealth Club of California on February 6, 1935.
This Day in Commonwealth Club History, February 5, 2014
This Day in Commonwealth Club History, February 3, 2014
"Nationalization in Mexico" was discussed by Herbert I. Priestley in his February 3, 1939, speech to The Commonwealth Club of California.


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Should Vaccination Be a Personal Choice? »
"Jan. 29, 2015 -- As a measles outbreak linked to Disneyland continues to spread, a backlash against parents who refuse or delay vaccination for their children has risen to a fever pitch.
More and more pediatricians say they are "fir"...
Hypersensitivity to any component of the vaccine, including gelatin.40
Do not give M-M-R II to pregnant females; the possible effects of the vaccine on fetal development are unknown at this time. If vaccination of postpubertal females is undertaken, pregnancy should be avoided for three months following vaccination (see INDICATIONS AND USAGE, Non-Pregnant Adolescent and Adult Females and PRECAUTIONS, Pregnancy).
Anaphylactic or anaphylactoid reactions to neomycin (each dose of reconstituted vaccine contains approximately 25 mcg of neomycin).
Febrile respiratory illness or other active febrile infection. However, the ACIP has recommended that all vaccines can be administered to persons with minor illnesses such as diarrhea, mild upper respiratory infection with or without low-grade fever, or other low-grade febrile illness.41
Patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy. This contraindication does not apply to patients who are receiving corticosteroids as replacement therapy, e.g., for Addison's disease.
Individuals with blood dyscrasias, leukemia, lymphomas of any type, or other malignant neoplasms affecting the bone marrow or lymphatic systems.
Primary and acquired immunodeficiency states, including patients who are immunosuppressed in association with AIDS or other clinical manifestations of infection with human immunodeficiency viruses;41-43 cellular immune deficiencies; and hypogammaglobulinemic and dysgammaglobulinemic states. Measles inclusion body encephalitis60 (MIBE), pneumonitis61 and death as a direct consequence of disseminated measles vaccine virus infection have been reported in immunocompromised individuals inadvertently vaccinated with measles-containing vaccine.
Individuals with a family history of congenital or hereditary immunodeficiency, until the immune competence of the potential vaccine recipient is demonstrated.
40. Kelso, J.M.; Jones, R.T.; Yunginger, J.W.: Anaphylaxis to measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine mediated by IgE to gelatin, J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 91: 867-872, 1993.
41. General Recommendations on Immunization, Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, MMWR 43(RR-1): 1-38, January 28, 1994.11
42. Center for Disease Control: Immunization of Children Infected with Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type III/Lymphadenopathy-Associated Virus, Annals of Internal Medicine, 106: 75-78, 1987.
43. Krasinski, K.; Borkowsky, W.; Krugman, S.: Antibody following measles immunization in children infected with human T-cell lymphotropic virus-type III/lymphadenopathy associated virus (HTLV-III/LAV) [Abstract]. In: Program and abstracts of the International Conference on Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Paris, France, June 23-25, 1986.
60. Bitnum, A.; et al: Measles Inclusion Body Encephalitis Caused by the Vaccine Strain of Measles Virus. Clin. Infect. Dis. 29: 855-861, 1999.
61. Angel, J.B.; et al: Vaccine Associated Measles Pneumonitis in an Adult with AIDS. Annals of Internal Medicine, 129: 104-106, 1998.This monograph has been modified to include the generic and brand name in many instances.
Last reviewed on RxList: 9/11/2014
M-M-R II FDA Prescribing Information
Additional M-M-R II Information
Report Problems to the Food and Drug Administration
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit the FDA MedWatch website or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Women's Health
Find out what women really need.

subset: commoncrawl


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forum: Campaigns and Community
Pages: 1 | Home » Campaigns and Community » Kids cookery school
#1 Fri 28 Jan 11 5:21pm
- Member Occupation Housewife
- From Shenfield, Essex
- Member since Fri 28 Jan 11
Kids cookery school
Hi. We have loads of kids at school who love cooking. Does anyone know any small companies that can come in during school holidays and maybe do a workshop for the kids, cooking with them simple things to encourage them to do so at home? Our school is in Shenfield, Essex.
#2 Fri 28 Jan 11 11:24pm
- Forum super champ
- From Melbourne Australia
- Member since Sun 12 Apr 09
Re: Kids cookery school
Great idea Juniespoon,
I hope you find a wonderful company or person who will do it!
#3 Mon 30 Jan 12 9:27pm
- Member
- Member since Mon 30 Jan 12
Re: Kids cookery school
Hi. I run a company called Bake It Make It!, based in Mountnessing, Brentwood. We run pre-school cooking classes for children and holiday workshops for children aged 5 and above. We run workshops for various children from Brentwood and Chelmsford schools. Our aim is to pass our passion for cooking to young budding chefs. If you would like further information, please see our website: www.bakeitmakeit.co.uk. If I can help you, even just with advice, please ask
Last edited by Thoby (Mon 30 Jan 12 10:00pm)
#4 Tue 03 Jul 12 11:02am
- Member
- Member since Tue 03 Jul 12
Re: Kids cookery school
nice Thoby, for conducting such programs.
Juniespoon, maybe this page can help you know about another school/team which offers cooking classes for kids. frenchranges.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=349&p=1086
Aby (youtube.com/watch?v=tBLUOikQCsY)
Pages: 1 | Home » Campaigns and Community » Kids cookery school


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Quick Thinking Saves Woman
"It was hurting bad, so that's the reason I called EMS," says Teresa Puckett. The pain Puckett was having was in her back, but it was actually a heart attack and she knew this could be the cause of her pain.
"I'd previously had a heart attack, and even though this was totally different I decided I needed to take two adult strength aspirins and call EMS," adds Puckett.
Within in a few minutes EMS arrived at her home and hooked her up to an EKG machine and confirmed she was having a heart attack.
Doctors with the cardio cath lab at the Wellmont CVA Heart Institute agree that Puckett did all the right things.
?She did two things that were very, very smart and probably saved her life. The first one was to be able to chew some aspirin down and the other one was to call 911 rather than trying to drive herself or having her family bring her in," says Atul Trivedi, a doctor at the cardio cath lab at the Wellmont CVA Heart Institute.
"Because I was having a heart attack, I think because I went ahead and acted as quickly as I did, that helped them to act more quickly," added Puckett.
Doctors placed a new stint in one of the arteries of her heart restoring blood flow. They say any damage was kept to a minimum because Puckett called EMS early, even though she couldn't be sure she was actually having a heart attack.
?It's not a matter of crying wolf or something. It's important when you think you're having a heart attack, the most important thing to do is to be able to contact emergency services,? says Dr. Trivedi.
Now Puckett is back to her normal life, but says she hopes others will do as she did and call 911 as soon as possible if they think there's even a chance they're having a heart attack.


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New method to diagnose sepsis is faster, cheaper
In managing bloodstream infections, minutes count, and delays in treatment or administering the wrong antibiotic can kill a patient. In mBio today, scientists from bioMérieux, Inc. describe a new method that could cut hours off the time it takes to diagnose blood infections while also eliminating the need for complicated ...
Gut microbiome helps determine risk of tumors
The gut microbiome plays a role in a number of phenomena, including immunity, metabolism, and disease, but it might also play a role in tumorigenesis. According to the results of a study in mBio this week, transferring the gut microbes from a mouse with colon tumors to germ-free mice makes ...
Microbiome in gut, mouth, and skin of low birth weight infants differentiate over first weeks after birth
Low birth weight infants are host to numerous microorganisms immediately after birth, and the microbiomes of their mouths and gut start out very similar but differentiate significantly by day 15 according to a study in mBio this week. Researchers from Stanford University and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine ...
In sub-Sahara, foot and mouth disease moves over short distances
You probably remember foot and mouth disease (FMD) from the 2001 outbreak in the UK that prompted the culling of over 10 million sheep and cattle, but the disease affects livestock all over the world. It's a particular problem in Africa, where wildlife that harbor the picornavirus that causes FMD ...
FrameBot: a new tool for those pesky sequencing problems
In their paper in mBio this week, Wang et al present FrameBot, a program that combines frameshift correction and nearest-neighbor identification in one Java-based tool.
Mammals harbor ~320,000 viruses. Could $6.3 billion discover them all?
What will the next big zoonotic virus be? Most emerging infectious diseases are zoonoses, and many, if not most, of them are caused by viruses, but right now we have little idea what viruses are out there in livestock and wildlife, let alone which one might be next in line ...
Genetic susceptibility to cryptococcal disease in HIV-infected patients
HIV-infected people who carry a gene for Fc gamma receptor FCGR3A 158V face a 20-fold greater risk of contracting cryptococcal disease, according to a study in mBio this week. Cryptococcal disease is a risk for everyone with HIV who has a very low level of CD4+ T cells, but those ...
Canine distemper in rare Amur tigers poses "significant risk to survival"
Endangered Amur tigers (also called Siberian tigers) face challenges from poaching, decimation of their prey base, and habitat fragmentation, but a disease from domestic dogs may be the straw that broke the tiger's back, according to the authors of a study in mBio this week. A team of scientists from ...
Methamphetamine can make users more susceptible to deadly lung infection
Need another reason NOT to use Meth? Methamphetamine can make a user susceptible to cryptococcosis, according to a study in mBio this week. Using mice as a model for humans, researchers found that injected methamphetamine (METH) significantly enhanced colonization of the lungs by Cryptococcus neoformans and accelerated progression of the ...
Are pathogens conspiring against you? Bi-directional signaling between different streptococcal species
Are pathogens conspiring against you? Pathogenesis just got a little more complicated. In their study in mBio this week, Cook et al. show that different pathogenic species of streptococci can respond to one another's quorum sensing signals, an indication that they may well coordinate their actions in the human host. ...
H7N9 influenza strain resistant to antivirals, but tests fail to identify resistance
Some strains of the avian H7N9 influenza that emerged in China this year have developed resistance to the only antiviral drugs available to treat the infection, but testing for antiviral resistance can give misleading results, helping hasten the spread of resistant strains. The authors of a study in mBio this ...
H7N9 Influenza: History of Similar Viruses Gives Cause for Concern
The H7N9 avian flu strain that emerged in China earlier this year has been subdued for now, but it would be a mistake to be reassured by this apparent lull in infections. The virus has several highly unusual traits that paint a disquieting picture of a pathogen that may yet ...
New palm-sized microarray grows 1,200 individual cultures
A new microarray the size of a microscope slide holds 1,200 individual cultures of fungi or bacteria and it could enable faster, more efficient drug discovery, say the authors who created the technology in their paper in mBio this week. Scientists at the University of Texas at San Antonio and ...
New virus discovered in patients with central nervous system infections: an infection from livestock?
Patients in Vietnam and other locations with central nervous system infections may well be suffering from the effects of a newly discovered virus. Researchers have detected a virus they're calling CyCV-VN in spinal fluid from 4% of 642 patients with central nervous system infections of unknown cause, and in an ...
Metagenomic assembly gives hints about aquatic Spartobacteria
It's a question we ask about many recently discovered bacteria: What, exactly, do the Verrucomicrobial do in the environment? Since their discovery, representatives of the phylum Verrucomicrobia have been detected in soil and aquatic environments around the world, but we have very few existing isolates to study in the lab. ...
Resistance to last-line antibiotic also makes bacteria resistant to immune attacks
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is bad enough, but what if drug resistance also gives bacteria the ability to fend off attacks by the immune system? In a study in mBio this week scientists identify a lose-lose situation with colistin and Acinetobacter baumannii: bacteria resistant to colistin are also commonly resistant ...
Algae capture, store, and release nitrogen to feed reef-building coral
Symbiotic algae that live within reef-forming corals scoop up available nitrogen, store the excess in the form or uric acid crystals, and slowly feed it to the coral as needed, according to a study in mBio this week. Scientists have known for years that these symbiotic microorganisms serve up nitrogen ...
Protein improves efficacy of tumor-killing enzyme
Researchers at NIAID have devised a method for delivering tumor cell-killing enzymes in a way that protects the enzyme until it can do its work inside the cell. In their study in mBio this week, researchers assembled microscopic protein packages that can deliver an enzyme called PEIII to the insides ...
Circumcision dramatically alters the penis microbiome
"Like rolling back a rock and seeing the ecosystem change," says the lead author of a study in mBio this week. It's a classical experiment in grade school ecology, except that the ecosystem is the microbiome of the human penis. And the "rock" is the foreskin, removed in adulthood for ...
New mouse viruses could aid hepatitis research
Who knew frozen mice could be so useful? Mouse viruses discovered in a bank of frozen rodents could pave the way for future progress in hepatitis research, enabling scientists to study human disease and vaccines in the ultimate lab animal. In mBio this week, authors from Colombia University and elsewhere ...
Chitinase: A Swiss Army tool for environmental pathogens
Humans don't make chitin. So why do many bacterial pathogens require chitinases to maintain an infection? A study in mBio this week reveals that in Listeria monocytogenes, at least, chitinase helps the environmental pathogen live a double life, digesting chitin while the bacterium lives in the soil and attacking the ...
Aromatic amino acids turn Geobacter's pili into nanowires
Geobacter's pili conduct electrons along their length using the rings on aromatic amino acids, according to a study in mBio this week. Contrary to all other known forms of biological electron transport, in which electrons are carried by discrete entities and passed from one to another, Geobacter's pili have a ...
Life on a flower is tough: stress-tolerant bacteria part of ecosystem on apple blossoms
It may well be snowing where you live, but if you're in the Northern Hemisphere, spring isn't far off. Spring means flowers. And what is a flower to a microbiologist? It's a niche. Yes, flowers are a microbial habitat like any other, and though they start out with few microbial ...
Quorum sensing fends off phages
Offense or defense? Quorum sensing has been tied to a number of bacterial functions, many of them involving virulence, but could quorum sensing also be used in defense? In mBio this week, there's new evidence that E. coli uses quorum sensing to trigger an antiphage mechanism that defends against at ...
Novel Coronavirus Well-adapted to Humans, Susceptible to Immunotherapy
The new coronavirus that has emerged in the Middle East is well-adapted to infecting humans but could potentially be treated with immunotherapy, according to a study in mBio this week. The study indicates that the virus HCoV-EMC can penetrate the bronchial epithelium and evade the innate immune system as easily ...
Inhibiting key protein halts herpes lytic cycle
Epigenetic controls like histone modification and chromatin remodeling play important regulatory roles in all cellular processes requiring access to the genome. So when a herpes simplex virus or varicella-zoster virus infects a human cell, one of the first things it does is attack the cell's epigenetic modifications so it can ...
Tricking iron oxidizers into growing on an electrode
Iron oxidizing bacteria aren't exactly rare, but they're hard to study in the lab because of the copious amounts of oxidized iron (Fe(III)) they produce. In mBio this week, a group at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities describes a new method for growing iron-oxidizing bacteria using a steady ...
Research misconduct: Is it a guy thing?
It's not hard to see that men are more likely to engage in risky behaviors than women, or that crime rates are many times higher among men, but this tendency to break the rules also extends to male scientists, according to a study in mBio this week. An analysis of ...
Human Coronavirus EMC Is Not the Same as SARS
Is the new coronavirus the next SARS? A Commentary in mBio comes on the same week scientists are convening at a WHO meeting in Cairo to share information about the novel coronavirus that is causing alarm in the public health community. In their Commentary, Stanley Perlman and Jincun Zhao of ...
Group A Strep vaccine: designing a toxin to be non-toxic
In mBio this week, a new study offers hope for a vaccine against group A Streptococcus (GAS). GAS is familiar to most of us as the cause of Strep throat, but it's more than that. It's also the cause of some serious and invasive infections, including septic arthritis, impetigo, and ...
Full genome of Pneumocystis jirovecii, fungus that causes pneumonia in immunocompromised patients
This week in mBio: A (surprisingly small) team of researchers have sequenced the genome of the fungus Pneumocystis jirovecii, an advancement that could help identify new targets for drugs to treat and prevent Pneumocystis pneumonia, a common and often deadly infection in immunocompromised patients. The organism cannot yet be isolated ...
Why don't vaginal HIV microbicides work? Collateral damage in vagina microbiome may give HIV the edge
Scientists trying to put HIV-prevention methods in the hands of women have been disappointed so far in their efforts with vaginal microbicides. In the lab, in vitro testing of microbicides like nonoxynol-9, and cellulose sulfate have produced promising results, but when subjected to clinical trials, each of these compounds has ...
New Coronavirus Could Pass from Animals to Humans Repeatedly
The SARS epidemic of 2002-2003 was short-lived, but the new human coronavirus that is alarming public health authorities can infect cells from humans and bats alike, a fact that could make the animals a continuing source of infection, according to a study to be published in mBio today. The new ...
Heat favors the prepared: CRISPR-Cas immunity more useful under thermophilic conditions
The adaptive immune system known as CRISPR-Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated genes) is found in 90% of fully sequenced thermophiles, but in less than 50% of mesophilic bacteria. Why the discrepancy? In their study in mBio this week, researchers from Harvard Medical School and from the ...
Lyme disease: White-footed mice reveal why some strains are common, others not
New clues about the evolution and ecology of Borellia burgdorferi could point the way to a vaccine for immunizing white-footed mice against the bacteria, according to a study in mBio this week. The study sheds some light on how the immune system of the white-footed mouse responds differently to different ...
Copper is golden for preventing the spread of antibiotic resistance
In mBio this week: some interesting news about horizontal gene transfer on surfaces. E. coli and Klebsiella strains with antibiotic resistance genes not only survive for weeks on dry stainless steel surfaces, they share their resistance genes instantly. But put those same bacteria on a copper alloy surface? "Rapid death, ...
For life in the hospital, Staph drops excess genetic baggage
Staph infections are common in the hospital setting and in the community, but the strains that are prevalent in these two environments differ somewhat. In their study in mBio this week, a group in Denmark looked at one of these differences and found that pressure from antibiotic use in the ...
Legacy of decades of antibiotic use: honeybees carry many different resistance genes
Honeybees the world over are susceptible to the bacterial disease called "foulbrood", which can wipe out a hive faster than beekeepers can react to the infection. In the U.S., beekeepers have kept the disease at bay with regular preventive applications of the antibiotic oxytetracycline. Given what we now know about ...
Deepwater Horizon Disaster: Oil and Dispersant Together are Bad for Human Gut Microbes
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill released roughly 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the northern Gulf of Mexico in the spring and summer of 2010, and the underwater wellhead continues to leak about 100 gallons of crude every way. One pressing question to arise from the spill is whether ...
Viral DNA in Birds: Viruses Taste Like Chicken
Like other organisms, the genomes of birds are riddled with DNA sequences from retroviruses. A study mBio this week examined the genomes of three species of birds for these proviruses and followed the expression of genes during development. What role these viral proteins might play in bird biology is not ...
Should the Moratorium on Enhancing H5N1 Transmissibility End?
How can scientists safely conduct avian flu research if the results could threaten or save millions of lives? A series of Commentaries in mBio this week presents some important perspectives on the type of H5N1 influenza research that started (the ongoing) widespread controversy among both scientists and the public one ...
Teaching tolerance: E. coli 'shocked' into tolerating a life in solvents
A bacterium that makes biofuels also needs to tolerate living in a solvent soup. The authors of a study in mBio this week amped up promoters for various heat shock proteins (HSPs) in E. coli and created a system they say could be used to create tailor-made organisms for producing ...
mBiosphere: Could viruses be used to treat acne?
The latest from the online journal mBio brings you the genomes of 11 viruses that infect the acne-causing bacterium Propionibacterium acnes and pulls back the curtain on some of the microscopic predator-prey struggles that play out on the surface of human skin. The authors say the results could help pave ...
No link between chronic fatigue syndrome and the viruses XMRV and pMLV.
A study in mBio this week shows that contrary to previous findings, new research proves there is no link between chronic fatigue syndrome and the viruses XMRV (xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus) and pMLV (polytropic murine leukemia virus). The authors say research that reported patients with chronic fatigue syndrome carried ...
A Rogue's Gallery of Genomes
It makes me itchy just thinking about it: the genomes of seven skin-infecting fungi have revealed some surprising facts about these common but little-understood pathogens. The results, published in mBio this week, show these 7 dermatophytes all have one surprising feature that could help explain why athlete's foot and other ...
Antibiotic residues in fermented sausage meat target beneficial bacteria, leave pathogens alone
It's a paradoxical lose-lose for food safety: antibiotic residues in uncured pepperoni or salami meat are potent enough to weaken lactic acid bacteria that processors add to acidify the sausage and make it safe for consumption, but not potent enough to kill off foodborne pathogens like Salmonella or E. coli. ...
Cystic fibrosis: the gut leads the way in infancy
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is most often thought of as a disease of the lung, and most microbiome studies of CF patients begin and end with the respiratory tract. But CF also causes profound complications in the gut and pancreas, problems that can seriously impact growth and nutrition. A study in ...
From one tiny room to a $26 billion budget: Joseph Kinyoun's NIH
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) today is the world's largest biomedical research institution, but back in 1887 it began its existence as a one-man immigrant quarantine station on Staten Island. The authors of a Minireview in mBio today tell the story of NIH's early growth with a biography of ...
Amphibian-killing fungus: is one gene family responsible for the downfall of frogs?
The authors of a study in mBio this week examined the genomes of two Bd isolates to find clues about its pathogenicity, reasoning that the Bd genome must bear the marks of restructuring to adapt to its new environmental niche and exploit its amphibian hosts. Compared with its fellow phylum ...
Salmonella gooses the human host to boost its own fitness
A gene Salmonella got from a virus apparently enables it to tweak the human gut to get what it needs to outcompete its neighbors, according to the latest study published in mBio this week. A multi-drug resistant strain of Salmonella that caused an outbreak among both humans and cattle in ...
Cousins C. neoformans and C. gattii cause different types of disease. Why?
Cryptococcus gattii and C. neoformans are very closely related fungi, but when it comes to the infections they cause there are some important differences. In their study in mBio this week, Ngamskulrungroj et al. drilled down into those differences using a mouse model and found that C. gatii may be ...
E. coli: can subtractive reverse vaccinology help design a vaccine?
Escherichia coli is no stranger to the human body. In around 20% of us, E. coli is the predominant species in our gastrointestinal tract, where it lives as a commensal. But when E. coli gets out of hand it can cause anything from gastroenteritis to sepsis to urinary tract infections. ...
The Black Queen Hypothesis: how microbes lose a necessary function and survive to tell the tale
Pared down genomes are the norm in symbiotic microbes, but how do non-symbionts get away with cutting out functions it would appear that they need? The authors of an Opinion piece in mBio this week explain their ideas about the matter. They say microbes that shed necessary functions may well ...
Meningitis: A protein in spinal fluid is associated with survival
Bacterial meningitis strikes around 1,000 people in the U.S. every year, according to the CDC, and 10-14% of those cases are fatal. Researchers are drilling down into what happens in the spinal fluid to make a bad case of meningitis and deadly one, but they still know little about the ...
How to balance risk of H5N1 escape with benefits of research?
Where can you safely work with avian H5N1 influenza? The debate over H5N1 continues, and this week we present two Commentaries that can help stimulate an honest discussion about the most appropriate place to carry out research on newly developed strains. As Arturo Casadevall and Tom Shenk point out in ...
MRSA in livestock acquired drug resistance on the farm, now infects humans
A strain of MRSA that humans can contract from livestock most likely became drug resistant due to the use of antibiotics on the farm. That's according to the authors of a study in mBio this week, who looked closely at the genetic relationships among strains of the antibiotic resistant bacterium ...
Your urinary tract: a two lane highway for E. coli
Cranberry juice, anyone? Most everyone has had to deal with a UTI at some point, but as common as the condition is, we still know little about how bacteria progress through the urinary tract. Observations have taught that bacteria may move from the urethra, into the bladder, then up the ...
H5N1 flu studies: Special Commentaries section in mBio today
mBio is publishing a special series of Commentaries this week in response to recent actions of the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), which recommended that two scientific journals withhold crucial details of upcoming relating to a novel strain of the bird flu virus, H5N1. The Commentaries, written ...
Dead vent, thriving habitat: expired hydrothermal chimneys home to plenty of bacteria
Hydrothermal chimneys can be found wherever you have a mid-ocean ridge spreading center. Like geysers on the sea floor, chimneys are formed when hot, mineral-laden sea water emerges from beneath the crust and deposits those minerals in a (sometimes towering) column rich in metals and sulfur. Microbiologists have studied these ...
Bacteria in the gut of autistic children different from non-autistic children
Individuals with severe autism often suffer from another problem as well: gastrointestinal disturbances. The underlying reason for this apparent link is unknown, but a study in mBio this week reveals that the guts of autistic children differ from other children in at least one important way: many children with autism ...
One at a time, please! One herpes virus per compartment in infected cells
Even if a cell is bombarded with many different herpes viruses, only a limited number of those viruses are expressed once the cell is blown up. Many types can go in, but only a few types come out. Why? In their paper in mBio this week, Kobiler et al. explain ...
How the body fights dengue fever
We don't hear a whole lot about dengue fever here in the U.S., but it is a really big problem: worldwide, dengue fever strikes roughly 50 million people every year and takes the lives of thousands, but there are currently no specific treatments and no vaccine to prevent infection with ...
Needs-Based Assistance for Outer Membrane Proteins
How do outer membrane proteins (OMPs) make it from the interior of the cell, through the periplasm, and into the outer membrane? In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bam and Lol proteins are big helpers that get some, but not all, OMPs where they need to go. The authors of a study in ...
New compound to control Listeria
Cantaloupe contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes killed 29 people in the U.S. this year in the deadliest foodborne outbreak since 1924. The authors of a study in mBio this week screened 57,000 small molecules to find one compound that can stop Listeria in its tracks, a needle-in-the-haystack approach that has turned ...
Antibiotics stimulate gene exchange in swine gut microbes
Livestock farms in the U.S. use an estimated 24.6 million pounds of antimicrobials for nontherapeutic purposes every year. A study in mBio this week reveals new evidence that adding antibiotics to pig feed stimulates gene exchange in the guts of these animals, a development that could move antibiotic resistance genes ...
Has plant biomass met its match?
Converting plant biomass into useful products and biofuels inevitably runs up against a big problem: degrading cellulose and other cell wall polymers, which are, by design, tough nuts to crack. Plants need tough cell walls in order to stand tall and compete for sunlight, but the recalcitrance of these polymers ...
How did a Toxoplasma chromosome spread globally?
A parasite of animals (most notably cats) and humans alike, Toxoplasma gondii can boast a global distribution. But it's not exactly the same organism the world over: one clonal type predominates in Europe and North America and another leads the pack in South America. One thing they do have in ...
Enzymes act like a switch, turning antibiotic resistance on and off in enterococci
Enterococcus faecalis isn't always a deadly pathogen. Normally a friendly resident of the gastrointestinal tract, in individuals who are immune compromised E. faecalis can turn ugly and infect the bloodstream, urinary tract, and surgical sites. Patients who are given cephalosporin antibiotics for other problems are also prone to opportunistic ...
The Anthrax Attacks: Good for Research? Not Really.
The anthrax attacks that took the lives of five people and infected seventeen others took place ten years ago. What are the repurcussions of the events in the Fall of 2001 for science? That's the question Mike Imperiale of the University of Michigan and Arturo Casadevall of the Albert Einstein ...
Can antivirulence drugs stop infections without causing resistance?
Antivirulence drugs disarm pathogens rather than kill them, and although they could be effective in theory, antivirulence drugs have never been tested in humans. A new study to in mBio reveals these drugs have the potential to fight infection while avoiding the pitfalls of drug resistance. Traditional antibiotics aim to ...
New genomes show off the abilities of ocean cyanobacterium
The cyanobacterium Cyanothece is a resident of the open ocean, where it fixes nitrogen and carries out photosynthesis. But five new genome sequences of reveal that Cyanothece is equipped for a lot more than just plain-old nitrogen fixation. It has versatile metabolic pathways – an asset that makes it a ...
Point mutation makes gonorrhea resistant to antibiotics easily, efficiently
Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacterium behind "the clap", has several tools in its shed to help it evade antibiotics. One such tool is the multidrug efflux pump MtrC-MtrD-MtrE, which shuttles low concentrations of antimicrobials out of the cell before they can take their toxic toll. In mBio this week, researchers describe ...
2009 H1N1 pandemic flu: damages lungs, opens opportunities for pneumonia
Why did so many of the people who died from the new strain of H1N1 influenza that broke out in 2009 also get infected with pneumonia? The authors of a study in mBio this week found out how the two infections, pandemic flu and pneumonia, interact to make to make ...
Antibody creates a Greek tragedy among pneumococci: it gets the bacteria to kill their own "brother" cells
The current vaccines for pneumococcal disease have succeeded in some ways and failed in others, and we still have a lot to learn about vaccine-mediated protection. A study out in mBio this week reveals that some antibodies instigate a Greek tragedy among pneumococci: they get the bacteria to kill their ...
Commensal E. coli mutates one gene, becomes invasive
E. coli K-12 is a lot like your average lab rat: predictable, well-understood, and tame. However, there's one important difference between a white rat and K-12: the rat can't mutate and become a voracious, man-eating scourge. Okay, maybe that characterization is a little overblown. But it demonstrates the point of ...
Why Do Influenza Virus Subtypes Die Out? A Hypothesis
When a new strain of flu takes hold, why does the old strain die out? Why doesn't it continue making people sick every year? The authors of a new Opinion piece in mBio have an idea. They say the secret's in the stalk. Novel flu strains arise in those folks ...
New sequence data: UN Peacekeepers brought cholera to Haiti
New evidence published in mBio this week provides strong evidence that United Nation's peacekeepers brought a cholera epidemic to Haiti. Haiti has had a terrible history of hardship, but 2010 was an annus horribilis. In January of that year, an earthquake laid flat many parts of Haiti killed hundreds of ...
New approach for diagnostics: identify antigens in blood using amplification, arrays
Despite the great strides medicine has made in the past century, diagnosing infectious disease remains a difficult – and often impossible – task. One major barrier in diagnosis is knowing what to look for. Which of the millions of potentially antigenic products that a pathogen makes can actually be found ...
Spotlight: Cryptococcus neoformans
Two new papers describe insights into how the pathogen interacts with the body's macrophages, those big eaters of the immune system that should (but often don't) gobble up C. neoformans before it can do real harm. In chronic C. neoformans infections, the pathogen is often found inside macrophage phagosomes where ...
High impact factor journals have more retractions
In their article published ahead of print in IAI this week, Arturo Casadevall and Ferric Fang examined retractions in 17 journals between 2001 and 2010 and plotted the retraction index against the impact factor of the journal. Considering the far-from-random correlation they uncovered, Casadevall and Fang point say the scientific ...
Grace under fire: when stressed, Candida mutates and adapts
When Candida albicans encounters stressful conditions, does it curl up and die? No! According to a paper just published in mBio, this crafty pathogen gets to work on its inventory of genes, slashing away until it finds a winning combination that can get it through the tough times. (I've written ...
One from many: single 'species' biofilms differentiate into multiple roles
The Lost City hydrothermal fields in the mid-Atlantic are pulsing with microbial life thanks to the process of serpentinization, which generates heat and hydrogen and methane from rocks and seawater. So how is it that a single "species" of archaea comprises the bulk of the biofilms lining these hydrogen-rich carbonate ...
Who's using up the fertilizer? Nitrate reduction linked to breakdown of soil humics
Maintaining soil nitrogen is crucial for growing crops, but erosion and the microbial conversion of nitrate to nitrogen gas can continually undermine a farmer's efforts. A new study in mBio has identified several types of bacteria that can live off of that valuable nitrate by breaking down a ubiquitous soil ...
No vacation from tuberculosis: pausing drug therapy encourages resistance
Tuberculosis is no picnic, but taking the required medicines to treat the disease is a long slog: it takes six months, at least, to treat TB. To prevent patients from quitting treatment too soon, many doctors insist on "directly observed therapy", where patients take their antibiotics under the watchful eye ...
Novel nidovirus also offers lessons on evolutionary ecology
In the hunt for new organisms, sometimes you just get lucky. The authors of a paper in mBio this week found a virus that offered two discoveries for the price of one: it's a novel organism that also reveals lessons in evolutionary ecology. The Cavally virus (CAVV) is the first ...
Shuffling the deck: chromosomal rearrangement in Salmonella driven by life in host
To get around host defenses, Salmonella enterica serovars that specialize in a single type of host are known to shuffle their genomic decks by recombining their chromosomes, rearrangements that result in inversions, translocations, duplications, or deletions of various sizes. But what drives these rearrangements, exactly? Scientists have proposed two possible ...
Is it getting crowded in here? Bacterial competition for space goes from deadly to detente
When a successful bacterium begins to outgrow its physical niche, things can get ugly. Paenibacillus dendritiformis, for instance, turns on its brothers and produces a toxic protein called Slf, which kills cells of encroaching sibling colonies. The bacterium senses when space gets tight, then deploys its toxic protein on nearby ...
Strep pneumoniae survives weeks on surfaces, remains infectious
S. pneumoniae is one of the leading culprits behind ear infections, pneumonia and meningitis, and it often makes its home in the nasopharynx (way in the back of your sinuses), where it can get along as a commensal or switch over to the pathogenic way of life. Although other respiratory ...
Unwelcome guest: C. albicans changes your pH to suit its needs
Candida albicans can make a home for itself almost anywhere on or in the human body, and the range of pH the pathogen can cope with is impressive. Whether it's in the highly acidic stomach, where the pH gets down to around 2, or the mildly acidic skin or vagina, ...
New test opens the door to routine testing for prion diseases
A study in mBio this week describes a new test for detecting prions in blood and blood products that could enable doctors to detect prion diseases in patients before they become symptomatic. It could also help put healthy individuals back in those Red Cross blood donation buses. The technique, called ...
What's worse than one strain of Chlamydia trachomatis? A combination of two strains of C. trachomatis
A novel strain of Chlamydia trachomatis is actually a combination of two well-known strains –one of them a harmless symbiont. Reading about Chlamydia is not for the squeamish. In the U.S. alone, as many as 2.8 million people are afflicted with diseases caused by C. trachomatis every year, conditions that ...
Stomach damage by H. pylori under partial control of Mua protein
Helicobacter pylori's own heartburn remedy may be a good means for preventing the damage the stomach-ulcer pathogen causes. H. pylori lives happily in the stomachs of about half of the world's population, where it relies heavily on the enzyme urease to break down urea in stomach acid into carbon dioxide ...
How to train your microbe: metatranscriptomics as a care and feeding guide
If you work in microbiology, you know the statistics: as many as 99% of bacterial species have yet to succumb to science's best efforts to cultivate them. In mBio this week, a new approach to cultivating these reluctant microbes reads the metatranscriptome – the RNA a community of bacteria makes ...
Epigenetic control on transcription of viral genes
Viruses like human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) use your own cell machinery against you by hijacking your RNA polymerase machinery, among other things, to turn their genes into viral proteins. A study published in mBio this week reveals new information that could help in designing drugs to fend off these cellular pirates: ...
Microbial hydrogen: circumventing the Calvin cycle gives better yields
Microbially-produced biofuels are big business – even Google is getting in on the act http://goo.gl/20DXU. Because biofuels have such great potential for widespread use and profit, incremental advancements that eke out a few more milliliters of fuel from a process have the potential to have a big impact in the ...
Bacillus subtilis plays a game of "Telephone"
Without the benefit of sex to help them ensure their genetic legacy, bacteria employ horizontal gene transfer to move genes from one cell to another. One way to get this done between cells in contact with one another is using integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs), DNA segments that normally reside ...
Gut microbes: silent partners in liver metabolism
A recent boom in research on the gut microbiota is revealing that these communities are even more integral to human health than previously thought. And now a study published in mBio yesterday draws more links between gut microbes and metabolism. Colonizing the guts of germ-free mice with bacteria stimulated significant ...
First pathogen with a human gene: N. gonorrhoeae plays the field, accepts DNA from bacteria AND humans
Of the many things that have been said about gonorrhea, here's one thing no one ever guessed: gonorrhea is a little bit human. A study published in mBio today reveals that the genomes of some strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae carry a piece of the human long interspersed nuclear element (LINE) ...
Hunted: Vibrio cholerae is followed by a bacteriophage
You are an ecosystem. Think of your body as a microscopic Serengeti – a wild place where the strong prey upon the weak and "survival of the fittest" is the law of the land. To a microbe, the human body is just another place they try to eke out a ...
Bait-and-switch to fight tuberculosis bug: Find out what it needs, then give it something else
A study published in mBio this week highlights a novel approach to developing new antibiotics for tuberculosis and other infections using high-throughput bioinformatics. Lamichhane et al. generated and genotyped over 5,000 strains of M. tuberculosis and used statistical analysis to find putative essential genes. By cross-listing these essential ...
Directed Evolution: E. coli gets off the couch, becomes an extremophile
Can you create an extremophile? The microbes living and thriving at the fringes of the biosphere manage to get by in spite of extreme temperatures, radiation levels, and pressures (did I miss any?) that most other life forms would choke on. But how easy would it be for ...
When a baby gets a vaccine, who reaps the benefits?
Babies in this country and in Europe are given several immunizations during the first two years of life, and one vaccine that has made a big dent in infant mortality rates is PCV7 – the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. A study coming out in mBio this week shows that the ...
Preterm birth: different bacteria in placenta elicit different responses in fetus
Over half a million babies are born preterm every year in the U.S. alone, leaving these children to bear significantly elevated risk of death, morbidity, and developmental problems. The way a fetus responds to inflammation in the uterus appear to contribute to the risk of preterm labor, but what ...
Candida albicans puts one set of proteins to work in two different jobs
Reduce, reuse, recycle? Candida albicans is a reuser. No, it doesn't use its old grocery bags over and over – it puts one set of proteins to work in two different jobs. To mate, C. albicans must switch its cells from white to opaque (see inset). ...
Designer cellulosome unites dream team of enzymes to degrade plant materials
A study published in mBio this week reveals a novel system for turning plant materials into biofuels using a designer cellulosome, an enzyme complex that is like the fantasy football team of biological processes. Consider the similarities: in fantasy football, participants assemble virtual dream teams of players from the ...
Cytomegalovirus protein pUL71 works like a microscopic UPS Store
It's the leading infectious cause of birth defects: every year in the U.S., infection with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) leaves more than 5,000 children with permanent problems like hearing loss or developmental disabilities, according to the CDC (http://www.cdc.gov/cmv/trends-stats.html). Researchers working to understand the ins and outs of how the virus ...
Feeling queasy? Rotavirus punches holes in organelles
Stomach flu season is upon us, and if you or your kids have suffered through a bout of what doctors call "viral gastroenteritis", rotavirus may well be the culprit: it is the leading cause of the illness in children. One of the virus' secrets of success lies in how ...
Bioluminescent E. coli leaves a glowing path in the bloodstream
Many urinary tract infections (UTIs) can be cleared up with a big bottle of cranberry juice, but when these infections go bad, they can be really, really bad. Uropathogenic E. coli is the leading cause of uncomplicated UTIs, and if left untreated it can proceed right up the urinary ...
Keeping the fungi away: did warm bodies put mammals on top in evolutionary history?
Did a warm body put mammals at the head of the evolutionary rat race? Aviv Bergman and Arturo Casadevall present evidence in an Observation piece in mBio this week that the warm mammalian body is no accident and our relatively high body temperature could represent the perfect evolutionary compromise ...
ZAP! Manipulating Bacterial Metabolism With an Electrode
Humans have been getting microbes to do our bidding for millennia, but a study appearing in the latest issue of mBio reveals an electrifying new way to get what we want from bacteria: researchers were able to manipulate bacterial metabolism by pulling excess electrons out of the mix and ...
Down with cooperation! Better to make methanogens do all the work
Mutually-beneficial cooperation is a high ideal, but for bacteria and archaea, working together isn't always a good solution. Now a team at Pennsylvania State University has worked out a system that could work better than inter-domain cooperation: by putting genes from a bacterium into an archaeon, they got the ...
Ground zero in a fight for interdisciplinary knowledge: microbiology and immunology
This week, the Editor in Chief and a member of the Board of Editors of mBio weigh in on the relationship between two natural allies in medicine: microbiology and immunology. The two disciplines have a long history that stretches back to when they each emerged in the late 1800s, ...
Open-access science publishing: reaching beyond academia?
Who benefits when scientists publish articles in open-access journals? I talked recently with someone who thinks a lot about open-access publishing, and he had some surprising things to say. Phil Davis, a postdoctoral associate at Cornell University, studies the use and dissemination of open-access content, applying scientific methods ...
When it comes to DNA replication, archaea look like eukaryotes
Could it be another nail in the coffin for the term "prokaryotes"? Patterns of inheritance are complicated, and the microbial world is no exception. Take the Archaea: since they're small, we often assume they have more in common with bacteria than with eukaryotes. We even lump archaea ...
Proteins get the glory, but are non-protein-coding RNAs doing the work?
When it comes to biology, the proteins get all the glory. A new study coming out in mBio might change this, though: the results show that, in the immune response, non-protein-coding RNAs may deserve some credit for what they do, too. Peng et al. used whole transcriptome analysis ...
Making biofilms: what role for enzymes that act on biofilm signaling molecule?
Biofilms: whether it's coating the opening of a geyser in Yellowstone Park or lining the surface of your shower curtain, the signaling molecule cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP) essentially tells bacteria in these ecosystems when to get-up-and-go or when to settle down and get comfortable. By regulating this transition between motile ...
Coronaviruses cut down interferons. How to get around it?
When confronted with a virus, several cell types in the immune system go about producing interferons, which get the ball rolling, so to speak, and mobilize the innate immune system against the invader. Unfortunately for us, coronaviruses, which include SARS-CoV and many cold viruses, inhibit interferon production in some ...
How to crack P. aeruginosa open? Tinker with its porins
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one tough nut to crack, but a new paper sheds some light on how that cracking might be done, and adds to our knowledge of an opportunistic pathogen that strikes in homes and hospital wards every day. Unfortunately for patients, P. aeruginosa is able to resist ...
The Catch of the Day: Bacterial Lobster Traps
It's the kind of microbiology that would make Steve Irwin proud: tracking and trapping the wild Pseudomonas aeruginosa to study its habits. In mBio's latest paper, the authors describe using "bacterial lobster traps", picoliter-scale, permeable protein cages, to study quorum-sensing among small groups of cells. Unlike the conditions ...
Immune Reaction to Infection Leads to Autism-like Disorders in Mice
Could an immune reaction to a virus cause autism? We still don't know the answer to that question, but a new study shows that, in mice, infecting a pregnant mother with an artificial virus can spark a chain of events that leads to autism-like disorders in her offspring. ...
Make Sense of it All: a Framework to Identify Networks Among Microbial Communities
Just try to wrap your head around this impossible task: if each gram of soil holds thousands of different species of microorganisms, how can you detect and describe how those various members interact? A new study just released by mBio offers up one way to approach the problem, using ...
Lyme Disease Bacterium Collaborates with Accomplices to Evade Immune System
Warning: the bacterium behind Lyme disease is collaborating with its accomplices to construct a gene that can defeat your immune defenses. That's what researchers investigating the evolution of a crucial gene in Borrelia burgdorferi found when they compared bacteria found in ticks gathered across the country. The study ...
Perspective: H1N1 will either cause low or moderate mortality or go extinct
The 2009 swine flu virus faces two probable fates: it will either continue to cause low or moderate mortality or it will go extinct. That's the judgment of the authors of a new Perspectives piece in mBio, which points out that the impact of the virus this flu season ...
How Does a Pathogen go From Temp to Full-time? Parallel Evolution in P. aeruginosa
Once Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonizes the lungs of a cystic fibrosis patient, it begins transforming itself from a squatter into a fully-invested resident, eventually establishing a chronic airway infection. A study just released by mBio tracked the gene expression patterns of P. aeruginosa during this transformation in three individual patients ...
Got Operons? Big Economic Gain in Co-transcribing Proteins in Complexes
Every choice has its trade-offs, and while the advantages of many choices are easy to discern, other situations require closer analysis. In a paper just released by mBio, scientists have modeled the economic trade-offs involved in putting genes in an operon, and they've shed some light on why it ...
Flu factory: Influenza makes 100,000 short viral leader RNAs
We now know MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have big positive and negative impact on replication in DNA viruses, but what about RNA viruses like influenza? The authors of a new study just released by mBio went looking for miRNAs made by the flu virus, but they made an unexpected discovery that ...
Group B Strep: did this newborn infection really come from a cow?
A family tree can be very illuminating, but there can be some surprises in those branches, too. A recent mBio paper delves into the ancestry of Streptococcus agalactiae, a.k.a. Group B Strep (GBS), and uncovers some unexpected facts about the bacterium's family history. Sørensen at al. examined 15 ...
More than a sex addiction: pheromones are for more than just gene exchange
At first glance, you might not think the fungus Candida albicans and the bacterium Enterococcus faecalis would have a lot in common, but mBio's first Minireview reveals another story: these dissimilar pathogens both use pheromone signaling for mating and for pathogenesis. By probing the environment with chemical messengers, both ...
From unpleasant infection to flesh-eater: Three virulence factors help Group A Strep make the switch
Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is responsible for infections ranging from "strep throat" to necrotizing fasciitis, aka the "flesh-eating disease", a severe and invasive condition that has seen a marked increase in incidence in the past 30 years. The increase has been pinned on a single clone of the M1T1 ...
How does E. coli stay so young-looking? Bacteria have fountain of youth
They say Ponce de Leon looked for the Fountain of Youth in Florida, but he might have saved himself some trouble by looking a bit closer to home. A study just released by mBio links an enzyme present in almost all organisms to the reduction of age-related products called ...
How to make a P. aeruginosa infection: New maps of lipopolysaccharide-making enzymes
For immune compromised individuals, like those living with AIDS, cancer, and burn wounds, and for cystic fibrosis patients, Pseudomonas aeruginosa can cause serious or even fatal infections. Why is it so devastating? One of the essential elements of P. aeruginosa's virulence is a slick coating of goo on ...
Skip the Alignment? Simpler Search for Novel Viruses
Searching for novel viruses in environmental samples is a lot like searching for a needle in a haystack, but harder. Researchers are usually forced to extract genetic material from a sample, then sequence and align those genes against a database of known sequences, but aligning genes is difficult and ...
Making Proteins on the Cheap
When it comes to building proteins, it's in a bacterium's own best interest to use low-cost components. After all, using an energetically expensive amino acid where a cheaper one would suffice gives your more parsimonious competitors an advantage, and prior studies prove that abundant proteins are hit hard by ...
When can a vitamin be bad for you?
When it's made by the stomach ulcer-causing bacterium Helicobacter pylori. A study just released by mBio reveals that the enzymes that synthesize vitamin B6 are important virulence factors for this pathogen, possibly because of the role vitamin B6 plays in building fully-functioning flagella to get around the human stomach. ...
A One-Two Punch for Multi-Drug Resistant TB?
One in ten of the 2 billion people infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis will fall ill with tuberculosis in their lifetime, so finding effective drugs to treat TB and preventing the emergence of drug resistance are public health priorities of the highest order. Treating TB requires a combination of antibiotics, ...
How Salmonella typhimurium gets the inside angle on your cells
The type III secretion system allows Salmonella typhimurium to get the goods into your cells: bacterial effector proteins travel through the connected inner and outer membrane rings and down a protruding needle-like tube, into the host cell. Despite the importance of S. typhimurium as a human pathogen, we still ...
A sugar-coated vaccine: antigens wrapped up in glucans
Sometimes a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down; or in this case, the vaccine. A new study released by mBio shows that combining β-(1-3)-D-glucans (long chains of the sugar glucose) with an antigen creates a potent vaccine platform that could eventually be put to clinical use. ...
Go! Fight! Win! Are bacterial cheerleaders making your ears hurt?
Ear infections: almost every kid has suffered through them at least once, making otitis media the most common reason for pediatric visits and new antibiotic prescriptions in children. But those little bottles of sweet pink antibiotics don't always clear up ear infections. Bacteria often form mixed-species biofilms inside ...
Riling up the immune system: P. aeruginosa polysaccharide facilitates inflammation
Being wrong isn't always a bad thing. Take Christopher Columbus: he set out on his voyage expecting to find a shortcut to India, but landed an extended vacation in the Bahamas instead. The authors of an Observation piece just released in mBio were wrong about their assumptions, too, and although ...
Watery relatives of crop pathogen P. syringae discovered in rivers
Summer's here, and many vacationers face the question of where to spend these halcyon days: by the water or in the country? The plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae may be in the same predicament, according to a new paper released by mBio. Morris et al. examined the genetic diversity and traits ...
Microbiota of the nose and throat: phylum-level similarities, species-level differences
There's more than one way to skin a cat. The latest paper from mBio reveals that although the bacterial phyla in the nose and throat are somewhat consistent from person to person, the individual species vary a great deal, indicating there is more than one ideal community for these niches, ...
Why does an electronic journal have page limits?
When it comes to a research article, how many pages is enough? How many is too many? These are matters mBio has wrangled with over the last year, and after much deliberation we've come up with a policy for page limits: http://mbio.asm.org/site/misc/authors.xhtml. But why should mBio set page ...
Q: What do British Petroleum and M. vanbaalenii have in common?
A: Both BP and M. vanbaalenii make a living from oil. The oil spill in the gulf is going to need the skills of a few good microbes, and Mycobacterium vanbaalenii might be a perfect candidate for the job. It was originally isolated from oil-contaminated estuary sediment in Texas, ...
Quality is job one: E. coli signal recognition particle system keeps tabs on synthesis of membrane proteins
E. coli uses its signal recognition particle (SRP) system in membrane protein biogenesis, but there has been some question about its other possible roles. A new paper just released by mBio reveals E. coli's SRP is also capable of regulating membrane protein synthesis.
Electrons In, Biofuel Out
Is "microbial electrosynthesis" the future of biofuel? Corn fermentation is one oft-used way to make biofuel, but making ethanol this way is often criticized as inefficient, and since it requires corn (or some other crop), it requires farm land and other farming resources that might otherwise be directed toward ...
mBio Releases Inaugural Issue
There's no place like home. Just like Dorothy, today mBio will click its heels and end up right where it started, but with a whole new look (and in Technicolor!). The journal has launched its official website AND its inaugural issue at the familiar old URL it has ...
21st Century Vaccines: Kill More Birds With Fewer Stones
Change is a-coming. Thats what Rino Rappouli (of Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics in Siena, Italy) and Antonio Cassone (of the Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immunomediated Diseases at the Istituto Superiore di Sanita Rome) argue in a new Perspectives piece accepted for the inaugural issue of mBio: the days ...
Cholera: Simple Sari Solution is Sustainable, Successful
Preventing cholera could be as easy as straining water. In a new study accepted for the inaugural issue of mBio, researchers show that when you teach villagers how to filter their drinking water, some (but not all) of them still follow the guidance years later and reap the benefits ...
New blog by ASM's open-access journal, mBio
Brace yourself - you are about to enter the mBiosphere... mBio's new blog, "mBiosphere", is now live and ready to burn some information onto your impressionable mind. mBio's Social Media Editor, Dr. Merry Buckley, interviews mBio staff, editors, and authors to get the stories behind the developing journal and its most ...
Bad company: Mixed Infections of Cryptococcus neoformans
Bad company: Cryptococcus neoformans is responsible for an estimated 1 million cases of cryptococcal disease every year, predominantly meningoencephalitis. These cases are often fatal. So, what's worse than an infection with one kind of Cryptococcus? A new paper selected for the inaugural issue of mBio shows many ...
Inositol or bust: genes reveal importance of inositol for Cryptococci
When Bacillus subtilis gets the chance, it establishes thick, gluey biofilms held together by a matrix of exopolysaccharides and protein. Once cells sense that there's enough extracellular matrix, they switch over to sporulating and tend to localize themselves in aerial protrusions so they can spread to new locations. ...
Got RNA? 1,000 Antisense RNAs Discovered in E. coli
When a bacterium goes over the top with making a particular gene transcript, it needs a way to degrade that mRNA before it invests too much energy and resources in creating unneeded proteins. A new Observation piece accepted for the inaugural issue of mBio reveals that antisense RNAs may ...
Sigh of relief: Mutations don't help H1N1
The H1N1 pandemic hasn't been the devastating and deadly global event the WHO once feared it might be, but public health officials worry that a more virulent form of the virus could emerge and cause a second, more lethal wave of cases. Mutations in genes that encode the viral ...
Heating up the climate may light a fire under fungal diseases
Will global warming make fungal infections a bigger problem for humans? Fungi usually prefer to keep the thermostat turned down around 12ºC to 30ºC, a bit colder than the human body. This preference for cooler temperatures is part of the reason relatively few fungi have emerged as human ...
Dysentery amoeba gets a boost from a transcription factor
Every year, the parasite Entamoeba histolytica causes an estimated 40 million cases of amoebic dysentery and liver abscesses and 100,000 deaths, mainly in developing countries. A new paper accepted for publication in mBio shows that a transcription factor called Upstream Regulatory Element 3-Binding Protein (URE3-BP) promotes the expression of ...
Cholera - a model problem solved?
Studying cholera just got a little easier, thanks to a new (old) animal model. For years, cholera research has relied on some less than ideal animal models: infant mice, which don't develop the diarrhea characteristic of severe cholera infection, and infant rabbits, which require surgery to infect them with ...


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Postgraduate Units of Study
RLST6921 - Dissertation Part 1
Semester 1, 2013 | Credit Points: 6
Coordinator: Christopher Humphrey Hartney
A dissertation of between 12000 and 15000 words may be an option for students. This is equivalent to two units of study and will usually be undertaken to complete the degree, that is, later rather than earlier in the student's candidature. This unit involves completing the writing of a dissertation on an approved topic under the supervision of an academic staff member commencing in RLST6921 Dissertation Part 1, and concluding in RLST6922 Dissertation Part 2. Students must consult the Chair of Department or the Postgraduate Coordinator before enrolling in the dissertation.
research and writing toward a dissertation of 12000-15000 words
4x1-2hr supervised meetings/semester
A timetable is not available for this session.
Please refer to the list of Units of Study on the left-hand menu to view the units on offer for the relevant academic year.
The information displayed above is indicative only as online information is subject to change without notice. The Faculty Handbook and the University of Sydney Calendar are the official legal source of information relating to study at the University of Sydney


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The trend of strong earnings growth for most of the main banks operating in New Zealand is nearing its end, consultants PwC say.
New Zealand's mostly Australian-owned banks have drawn flak in recent years for reporting big increases in earnings while other parts of the economy have struggled, but PwC partner and banking specialist Sam Shuttleworth said those those days could be limited. "Double-digit earnings growth will be a lot harder in light of the low-growth environment that we are in, and the highly competitive market place,' he said.
He said it appeared earnings would return to "more normal" levels, due in part to tighter regulation and to banks not wanting to fall into the same lending traps as their Northern Hemisphere counterparts.
Shuttleworth, in releasing PwC's latest report - New Zealand Banking Perspectives - said the local banking sector was in good shape, with capital adequacy continuing to improve.
PwC's report analyses the financial performance of the Australian-owned operations of ANZ Bank, Westpac, National Australia Bank (BNZ) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), and the New Zealand Government-owned Kiwibank.
PwC said the banks' combined pre-tax profits in the second six months of their 2012 financial years were $2.17 billion, down from $2.44 billion reported in the first six months.
The five banks posted the biggest growth on their lending books in the second half since 2009.
Shuttleworth said as the banks compete to attract borrowers, they need to resist the temptation of reducing their interest margins too far if we wish the New Zealand banking system to retain its global reputation as a safe banking environment.


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When Zac Guildford is sidelined for his latest alcohol-related incident - and unfortunately for him and the Crusaders it is a foregone conclusion - he won't be the only one to pay the price.
The former All Black's absence will leave the Crusaders light on pace and experience among their outside backs and could bring Sean Maitland's exit for the Glasgow Warriors last year into sharp relief.
A New Zealand Rugby Union misconduct hearing in Wellington this week will dictate the length of Guildford's ban - at best he faces a suspension, at worst he risks having his NZRU contract torn up - and it is understood the Crusaders are already looking into replacing him.
Todd Blackadder has a quality fullback in All Black Israel Dagg and good cover for the No 15 jersey in Tasman's Tom Marshall, but the Crusaders coach will be relying on big things from 22-year-old wing Johnny McNicholl, who topped the ITM try-scoring table last year with 10 in 11 matches as his Canterbury team made it five titles in row.
But although McNicholl often set the field alight in his two seasons for Canterbury, he has yet to play a Super Rugby match and the step up is an increasingly large one.
The Crusaders' other wing option is Adam Whitelock, a steady player with a good work rate and excellent defence but lacking Guildford's speed and ability to sniff out the try-line.
Guildford's alliance with Hawkes Bay mate Dagg often results in tries and he can also be effective running angles off first-five Dan Carter.
New Zealand Sevens player Kurt Baker is the only other specialist outside back option for the Crusaders after they picked him up in their wider training squad.
New Crusaders backs coaches Tabai Matson and Aaron Mauger will be forced to consider new ways to breach opposition defences without little No 11 Guildford.
The pair replaced Daryl Gibson, now at the Waratahs, as Blackadder sought to add more attacking flair to a backline which failed to click as it should have over the past four seasons.
It's not a crisis for the Crusaders - they will quickly put this behind them and back themselves to cover for Guildford's absence - but it is an unpleasant disruption as they seek to win their first title since 2008.
The NZRU banned Guildford for four matches after his post-World Cup exploits in Rarotonga in 2011. He missed the Crusaders' round one fixture against the Blues last season, with the rest of the suspension served during the pre-season campaign.
The latest revelations appear to show that Guildford has yet to resolve the issues that surround him. He perhaps never will, but while the Crusaders will continue to support him while he is in their charge, once Guildford is gone he will need help from other sources.
Meanwhile, a weakened Crusaders will move on and look for others to help them add another title to the seven they already hold. Such is the ruthlessness of professional sport.


text: I just picked up my new 1k today after having some lights added to the mast. They are a great company to deal with . I spoke to Mark Brown ,he actually listened to my concerns for the machine and could answer any and all my technical questions without having to get back to me. They also did some customizations to the machine at my request . I highly recommend taking a look at the new 1K if you are in the market for a new loader .


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I am a new beekeeper as well, installed my first nuc at end of May. (Thanks to the help of a helpful family friend who has kept bees for 40 years) We have found some strange things in the hive yesterday, things he has not ever seen:
1- a huge mass of drone cells on top of already developing worker cells. (like a duplex of bees!) Mass took up about 1/4 of the frame, in the second super. Within this mass were (2) 1/4 inch gray "rocks".
2- also found several new queen cells in both supers.
I use a top feeder and we just installed a slatted rack yesterday. I have cork sized holes in the supers as well as slide them back a little for ventilation.
Other than the queen cells, my friend thinks the patterns look fairly normal and there are eggs and larvae.
Questions: Is the first problem a sign of a failing queen? Would swarm cells form towards the top of the frame? Is just the fact that there are queen cells an indicator that the queen is failing? And what is my next step-one book says to buy a new queen and others say to let them make their own.
I just joined this forum and find it so informative so far!!


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I have a virgin queen that may be my only chance at a queen that will lay eggs. My other hive has no queen. Unfortunately, here we cannot order queens like in the U.S., so I have to make this queen work or I'm in deep crap and will likely lose both hives.
What is the chance my queen will die on her mating flights? If she does then I'm up a creek.
Also, does she mate with drones from her hive or other hives? I ask b/c there is no one in the local area who has meliferra, so I assume she would have to mate with drones from one of my hives. And there aren't that many drones. Like only a handful.


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Hello From Connecticut, I bought my first hive last year, a full grown 2-deep hive loaded with bees, I did get that one through this long winter and I started 3 packages a few weeks ago and all is well so far. I have been reading this forum for almost a year and just signed up. This info here is fantastic! I was raised on a dairy farm so farming is in my blood but now. I own a driving range in Connecticut where I have 2 of my new hives. I got into bees to help out the cause and I soon realized I have the perfect facility for a small bee school to help new-bees get into the hobby. My plan is simple: I will hire qualified beeks to give lessons and talks at my facility to help people decide if getting into bees is for them. Should they decide to get into it I will have hives ready to go all summer as well as advanced classes so they don't get discouraged by not being able to get what they want when they decide to "go for it". I hope to buy nucs and splits from local bee keepers to keep me stocked up and give them another source of income without going to look for it. OK, still in the planning stage but that's the gist of it.
I have to get my hives up and strong before I go much further and my wife cringes when I estimated the cost of opening a small bee store on the property I am already paying taxes and insurance on. Another flaw in the plan is I am working 70-90 hours a week as it is as a business owner, how will I manage another biz? I have another year to think it all out, any help would or advise would be appreciated.


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Roald Hoffmann
The chemical reaction should go, but refuses to do so? Bang on it—with heat, with light, with pressure. Or, so much better, find a catalyst—an ingenious partner in a reaction that cuts down an energy hill that is in the way, or gets involved with the reactant molecules, takes them in hand, so to speak, and guides them in a path around that hill. And then the catalyst is regenerated.
The giant chemical industries of the world offer testimony to our skill at devising ways to make reactions go in ton lots. And yet we would like to exercise still greater control over what happens. For instance, it's no sweat to break the weakest bond in a molecule. But what if the bond we want to break, and no other one, is not the weakest? In this, the last of four Marginalia on contemporary chemical dynamics, I look at some fascinating developments in precisely guiding chemical reactions at the microscopic, molecular level.
The direction may take different forms. Energy in molecules is distributed in their motion (translation), and also in their internal vibrations and rotations. Molecular beams and lasers allow chemists to select very precisely the way a molecule is tweaked—for instance the excitation may be neatly deposited in one vibration. Having prodded the reactants in a very specific way, we can look at what happens to the reaction products. Which bond is energized? Which bond is broken, which formed? Let me begin with one remarkable and simple reaction that has been studied in this way.
For the longest time chemists had been foiled in trying to put energy into a molecule in a selective way. It's clear that just heat, which is the totality of collisions between molecules, is indiscriminate. But one might have thought that using light to excite one particular vibration of a molecule would work. Which vibrations? In Figure 2 are shown the three "normal modes" of vibration of a triatomic molecule, water. It looks like the asymmetric stretch might break an OH bond. But no, inject a dollop of energy (from an infrared laser) into just that vibration, and the energy is just quickly randomized among all the vibrations.
In 1989 Fleming Crim and his coworkers at the University of Wisconsin overcame that. They used the singly deuterated water molecule, HOD; the deuterium served to distinguish two modes of vibration: In one, the O–H bond is mostly vibrating on its own; in the other, the O–D bond is. By tuning a laser to a specific frequency (color), one could excite the third overtone of the O–H stretching motion; by tuning to another color, one could put that energy into the fourth overtone of the O–D bond. An overtone of water is just like an overtone of a vibrating guitar string—a sound emitted at a multiple of the fundamental frequency; one such overtone of a water vibration (the fifth O–H overtone) is responsible for the pale blue-green color of thick water layers.
The two vibrations—O–H stretch and O–D stretch—do not communicate well with each other in water. If you now put in (with still another laser!) a substantial further amount of energy via light, the "O–H excited" HOD breaks the O–H bond preferentially, and the "O–D excited" HOD favors breaking the O–D bond. Similar large selectivities are exhibited in a chemical reaction:
vs. H + HOD → HD + OH
Crim's experiments were the first demonstration of bond-selective laser chemistry—prior to his work people thought that even bonds as distinct as O–H and O–D would quickly randomize any energy put into one bond among the two. Crim and Richard Zare at Stanford have gone on to find several further spectacular selective bond-breaking reactions.
One can also affect a reaction's outcome by choosing the way reactants approach. This is done by firing beams of gaseous reagents at each other, in which one or both of the reaction partners is at least partially aligned in a specific way. The control one may thus achieve on reaction geometry is impressive; it is also something one cannot do in the liquid state. Let me show you an example that blends molecular beams and selective excitation.
The first reaction encountered in organic chemistry texts is likely to be the chlorination of hydrocarbons. The important, rate-limiting "chain-propagation" step in that reaction (for, say, methane) is Cl + CH4 → CH3 + HCl. Zare's group recently found a remarkable result in their study of this old chlorination reaction. When the reactants just collide, even if the Cl atoms move in quickly (actually they are fired in), the reaction is difficult. To make the reaction go, a direct hit (in the trade this is called a "small impact parameter") is needed, and this is hard to arrange, for the molecular bullets are very small, metaphorically speaking.
That HCl comes off "backwards" relative to the incoming Cl is understandable. Says Zare, "It's just like three billiard balls of the same mass all colliding in a line, in which the incoming ball nearly stops and the one at the other end takes off in the same direction." In what we call a center-of-mass system, the HCl (made up of the Cl billiard ball coming in and the H hit first) would be going "back," rebounding, viewed from the CH3 fragment.
To make the collisions more effective, the laser chemists excite selectively and strongly the C–H stretching vibration of methane, CH4. Now a lot of HCl is formed (the rate of the reaction increased by more than a factor of a hundred); obviously even glancing collisions are effective. And much of the HCl product moves in the same direction as the incoming Cl. What has changed? Well, the highly excited C–H bond is stretched a lot. It is more likely to be on the "outside" of the rotating CH4 target that presents itself to the incoming Cl atom (Figure 3). The target for the arrow is effectively bigger, much bigger. And the Cl sweeps along the hydrogen whose bond had been weakened by vibrational excitation, stripping it from the methane.
The preceding examples have shown how energy specifically deposited in the vibrations of a bond or a molecule may dramatically alter the course of a reaction. What follows is a fascinating example of the "microscopic reverse," molecules vibrating in finely defined ways as a consequence of a chemical reaction.
In an earlier Marginalium, I wrote of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images showing us molecules in stages of catalysis; in another, I described femtosecond spectroscopy "freezing" molecules in the act of falling apart or coming together. Experiments whose output is a graphic image have immense power; the experiment I am about to describe images quite directly the products of a chemical reaction flying apart.
Paul Houston and his colleagues at Cornell have been looking at what happens when ozone is dissociated in the near ultraviolet, just the region in which ozone optimally shields us from much of the sun's ultraviolet. The Cornell chemists follow one mode of decomposition, into a certain spin state (triplet) of both O2 and O:
O3 yields O(3P) + O2(3Sg–)
The fragments travel away from each other, preferentially along a specific direction that is roughly along the extension of what was an unbroken O–O bond of the parent ozone. In this case the oxygen atoms are detected—the brighter (more yellow) the area in Figure 4, left, the more oxygen atoms strike there; the farther from the center of this pattern, the faster moving the oxygen atoms.
The peaks at top and bottom in this roughly resolved image were expected—lots of fast moving O atoms. What was startling was that there were also some slow-moving O atoms (the vertical dumbbell near the center).
Next, conservation of energy comes into play. Knowing the energy in the light, the energy needed to break the O–O bond in ozone and the kinetic energy borne by the fleeing O atom, one can calculate the energy left behind in the unobserved O2 (actually that energy can be measured in another experiment). Lots of energy in O (outer peaks in Figure 4, left) means little energy in O2. Little energy in O (inner peaks in Figure 4, left) implies that there's a lot of energy in the O2 molecule left behind.
A lot is a lot—indeed enough to put the O2 into its 27th and 28th overtone, nearly enough to knock it apart. That's remarkable. The fine-resolution image at right in Figure 4 shows well-defined "halos" that are the result of molecular vibration being quantized—one "halo" corresponds to O atoms that have left behind an O2 in the 27th vibrational overtone. The other halo, further in, is due to the slower O atoms that leave behind the O2 in the 28th overtone.
The degree of control that chemical dynamicists are beginning to exercise is startling. I love the understanding that emerges. There is also something else that appeals to me personally, both as a quantum chemist and as a builder of conceptual bridges; each of these experiments is not only a tour de force of high vacuum technology, optics and electronics—but also a wonderful blend of quantum and classical mechanics. There is no way to understand the chemistry of molecules reacting without moving in both worlds.
Let me elaborate: The molecular beam machines (I've spared you the cost of these) operate on classical billiard-ball logic; the same way of thinking lets us see molecules colliding, fragments bouncing off in certain directions. Simple and foolproof conservation of energy was at work in the Houston experiment. But at the same time, to understand these ingenious experiments one must think in the beautiful and sometimes mysterious logic of quantum physics—think of the uncertainty relationship shaping the wave packets and time resolution in femtosecond spectroscopy, the quantum helicity I described in one Marginalium, the tunneling current that makes STM possible. The laser, that tunable jack-of-all-trades source of strong light, owes its coherence and power to a quantum effect; the energy level spacing that is behind the laser also explains state selection.
Chemical dynamics, the kinetic art, exemplifies in every one of its experiments the intersection of the classical and quantum worlds. It is the realm of the quantum mechanic, just as much as it is of the clever instrument builders. Who are getting to know, finally, what makes chemistry run.
© Roald Hoffmann
I am grateful to Paul Houston and Dick Zare for their comments and encouragement, and to Andrea Ienco for help with the drawings.
You can find this online at http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/num2/exquisite-control/2
© 2016 Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society


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The low experienced after getting your hair done and it looks awesome the first day and then wake up the next day and try and do it yourself and it looks rubbish. Especially relevant when you've had a fringe cut in.
After unsuccessfully trying to style her new hair-cut herself like the hairdresser had done the day previously, Monica had a bad case of detression when she realised that she was failing miserably.
by MonStev July 24, 2013


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GoldenEye 007
Pierce Brosnan is pretty rubbish at GoldenEye 007 in this video
GoldenEye 007 on the N64 is still held up by fans as one of the best shooters ever made, and certainly the finest movie-game tie-in. Unfortunately Pierce Brosnan, who only bloody was James Bond, is pretty crap at playing it.
GoldenEye 007 headlines
Goldeneye 64 was nearly on rails, lacked multiplayer
In a GDC Europe post-mortem of N64 classic Goldeneye 007, as reported by IGN, director Martin Hollis revealed a troubled development history for the system-seller. Highlights include the team building an on-rails shooter because it didn't know what kind of controller the then-new console would have, and chucking the famous multiplayer in at the last […]
GoldenEye 007: Reloaded launch trailer shows a refined, recharged experience
Activision has released the launch trailer for GoldenEye 007: Reloaded. The game, originally released on Wii and revamped for 360 and PS3, will include separate Mi6 Ops Missions spanning the varied environments from the story. Each will also contain challenges for players to complete suing Assault, Elimination, Stealth and Defense objectives. The game also includes […]
Quick Shots: GoldenEye 007: Reloaded gamescom screens
Activision has sent over a batch of screenshots from GoldenEye 007: Reloaded. Earlier this week, we posted a video featuring the brand new Mi6 Ops Missions from the game, which contains levels separate from the campaign that span varied environments from the story. These missions also contain a challenge to complete different Assault, Elimination, Stealth […]
Amazon lists GoldenEye Reloaded for Xbox 360 and PS3
Amazon France has outed GoldenEye Reloaded for Xbox 360 and PS3, which would explain the various domain registrations which popped up for the game last month.
Big Head Mode found in GoldenEye 007
BH mode is your friend.
Activision confirms November 5 release date for 007: Blood Stone
Activision's just confirmed to VG247 James Bond: Blood Stone for November 5 in the UK, the same day as other Bond title Goldeneye 007.
Go behind-the-scenes in this GoldenEye 007 video
Activision has released a new behind-the-scenes video for GoldenEye 007. Get it below.
Black Ops DS dev "down, but not out"
N-Space has confirmed its laid off an unspecified number of employees, but insists the studio has not closed.
Goldeneye gets new dev diary
Activision's released a new dev diary for Goldeneye 007. Get it after the break.
Goldeneye for PS3 or 360? "Never say never," says Activision
Activision's Julian Widdows has said that, while it's unlikely it will happen, the possibillty of a PS3 or 360 version of Goldeneye isn't entirely out of the question.
Goldeneye 007 pre-order info detailed
Activision's detailed some of the pre-order promotions for Goldeneye 007 in the US.
GoldenEye 007 diary discusses the challenges of reimagining a classic
A video has been released for GoldenEye 007, and in it, you get to go behind the scenes a bit with the game's developer, Eurocom.
GoldenEye shots show guns and stuff
Activision's released some new shots of GoldenEye. They show guns, you see.
GoldenEye 007 assets shoot out of London event
Activision has sent over a few GoldenEye 007 assets, following on the heels of this morning's media event in London where James Bond: Blood Stone was revealed.
Rumor: GoldenEye 007 peripherals outed by GameStop
GameStop has listed, and subsequently pulled, a listing for GoldenEye themed controllers for the Wii revamp.
Activision explains Wii exclusivity for GoldenEye
Brian Pass, senior producer at Activision, has said that GoldenEye 007's exclusivity to Wii was due to a gap in Wii's line-up and because the firm wanted to partner with Nintendo.
GoldenEye 007 latest
Pierce Brosnan is pretty rubbish at GoldenEye 007 in this video
GoldenEye 007: Reloaded launch trailer shows a refined, recharged experience
Activision confirms November 5 release date for 007: Blood Stone
Goldeneye for PS3 or 360? "Never say never," says Activision
GoldenEye 007 diary discusses the challenges of reimagining a classic


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BBQ Chicken Pizza
1 cup thinly sliced yellow and red bell peppers
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound pizza dough
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Fontina cheese
1 rotisserie chicken
1/4 cup barbecue sauce, warmed on the stove or in a microwave (a milder sauce works best for this recipe)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Sauté yellow and red bell peppers in olive oil. Roll out a pizza dough to a 15-inch round, and top dough with mozzarella cheese, Fontina cheese and sautéed bell peppers.
Bake the pizza for about 12 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. While the pizza is cooking, cut 1 1/2 cups of meat from a rotisserie chicken into bite-size pieces. (If you are using leftover chicken or the chicken has been sitting for awhile, warm it up in the microwave for a few seconds so it is warm when you put it on the pizza.) Toss the chicken pieces with heated bottled barbecue sauce.
Remove the pizza from the oven, and evenly arrange the chicken on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and top with parsley. Cut pizza into slices; serve.