DOCSLIB.ORG

Regulars Features Meetings

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Regulars Features Meetings The magazine of the Society for Applied Microbiology ■ June 2006 ■ Vol 7 No 2 ISSN 1479-2699 REGULARS MEETINGS FEATURES Microbiologist Vol 7 No.2 04Editorial 24 Summer 20 June 2006 Lucy Harper reviews Conference Bioremediation this issues top stories ISSN 1479-2699 2006 Bugs - keeping it 05 Contact Living together: clean. Teresa Belcher explores this Full contact polymicrobial important area information for all communities Committee members WRITE FOR US! 06Media Watch Microbiological news The editor is always looking for enthusiastic writers who wish to contribute articles to 07 Mailbox Microbiologist on their chosen Readers write in microbiological subject. Publisher: Society for 08President’s For further information please Applied Microbiology. email the editor, Lucy Harper column at: [email protected] Editor: Lucy Harper [email protected] 10 Med-Vet-Net Contributions: These are Infectious disease 27 Winter always welcome and should meeting in Malta 28 Cover story be addressed to the Editor Meeting at: [email protected] 12 Membership 2007 a one day meeting Advertising: Matters Julie Wright on Food and Health: Telephone: 01234 326661 13 Micro Break the most Applied [email protected] Photo competition microbiology Art and Design & layout: Pollard Creativity 14 Careers Biomedical Scientist Microbiology Production and printing: Pollard Creativity. in the news! All technical questions should 18 Overseas be addressed to: Development [email protected] 06 Tel: 01933 665617 Reports Reports from Ghana © Society for Applied and Reading Alun Anderson Microbiology 2006 reviews the Material published in Microbiologist may not be 38 Students controversial career reproduced, stored in a of Scientist Craig retrieval system, or into Work Venter who transmitted in any form without the prior permission reports discusses his latest of the Society. Avian influenza plan to make 42 The If you spot a microbes produce Society for Applied Microbiology, The Blore President’s microbiological story clean energy Tower, The Harpur Centre, Fund articles in the media which you Bedford MK40 1TQ, UK think should feature in 34 Stat Note 5 Microbiologist, please Tel: +44 (0)1234 326661 51 Books Is one set of data send it to the Editor at: Fax: +44 (0)1234 326678 more variable than [email protected] email: [email protected] 54 Join SfAM another? www.sfam.org.uk Editorial Microbiologist N THE PREVIOUS ISSUE OF Vol 7 No.2 Microbiologist (March 2006, I Vol 7; No 1) I asked a rather June 2006 provocative question: When is a scientist not a scientist?” Answer: Contact the Editor: “When he / she is a business person”. [email protected] I was delighted by the response I received. Many of you think that the two Microbiologist copy Dates: contributors please disciplines can never be separated, that note that the final copy they are far from mutually exclusive. It’s dates in 2006/2007 will be: true to say that a successful scientist and a successful business person will both Vol 7 No.3 Sept 2006 have some very similar characteristics Friday 7 July 2006 and transferable skills — time and project management, accuracy, numeracy, Vol 7 No.4 Dec 2006 attention to detail, patience, and flexibility Friday 15 Sept 2006 to name but a few. In this sense the two go hand in hand. What do you think? To role in the Human Genome Project, Vol 8 No.1 March 2007 through his involvement in the company Friday 15 December 2006 join the debate contact me, the Editor at [email protected] or at the postal ‘Celera Genomics.’ This article was Vol 8 No.2 June 2007 address opposite. A couple of examples of written just as he was about to embark Friday 9 March 2007 different perspectives on this thorny topic upon new and apparently environmentally are described in the ‘Mailbox’ section friendly research, so ‘perhaps he’s not How to submit material (page 7). such a bad boy after all.’ We catch up Please submit all articles, with Venter at the latest stage of his reports, meetings endeavours, with an interview by Alun notifications, letters etc., as Anderson, former Editor-in-Chief of New plain text (*.txt) or rich text Scientist magazine. Venter gives us not files (*.rtf). Please submit only his opinion on the relationship all images as original photographic prints or between science and business, but also transparencies rather than describes the principles of the science scanned images and these involved, and its potential impact upon will be processed by us and the environment. returned to you promptly. On the subject of the environment, our If your images are only in second feature article is an overview of digital format please make Bioremediation (see page 20) the sure they are supplied at a dictionary definition of which is: ‘The use resolution of 300dpi (dots of plants or microorganisms to clean up or pixels per inch at a size pollution or to solve other environmental of not less than 100mm (4 inches) square. problems.’ This phenomenon has been recognised and researched scientifically Advertisers: if you wish to since the 1940s but also has state of the advertise in Microbiologist art applications, contributing to an area you should contact the which is high (though some might say not Society Office in the first high enough) on the political agenda — instance. Advertising rates the environment. and Guidelines on how to Bioremediation is also the subject of a submit advertisements are A scientist who is also a business session at our summer conference — given on the website and Living Together: Polymicrobial are also obtainable by person is the subject of our feature article emailing the editor at: (page 28). Craig Venter, the man behind Communities. The closing date for [email protected] the commercial arm of human genome registrations is now looming so get your sequencing. Considered by some a registration to us before 9 June 2006 to Website: the society maverick scientist — a ‘bad boy’ of prevent paying the late booking fee! website is a timely source science — he has now established both Spaces are limited and the conference is of up-to-date information for-profit and non-profit companies all filling up fast, so don’t delay. See page 26 on all Society matters and with a common goal — the exploitation of for a booking form or you can register maintains a comprehensive microorganisms for the commercial online at www.sfam.org.uk/sumconf.php archive of articles and production of energy. You may remember where you can fill in an online reports on a variety of registration form, or download a pdf microbiological topics. that we ran an article back in March 2003 (www.sfam.org.uk/pdf/features/ application form to complete offline. www.sfam.org.uk playgod.pdf) in which we described the I look forward to seeing you all in work of this controversial figure and his Edinburgh! 04 June 2006 www.sfam.org.uk Contact point COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2005 - 2008 HON PRESIDENT: Dr Margaret Patterson, Agriculture and Food Science Centre, Newforge Lane, Belfast BT9 5PX [email protected] HON GENERAL SECRETARY: Dr Anthony Hilton, School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET [email protected] HON MEETINGS SECRETARY: Professor Martin Adams, School of Biomedical & Molecular Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford,Surrey GU2 7XH [email protected] HON TREASURER: Dr Valerie Edwards-Jones, Research Development Unit, Manchester Metropolitan University, Lower Chatham St, Manchester M15 5HA [email protected] HON EDITOR: Journal of Applied Microbiology Professor Arthur Gilmour, Agriculture and Food Science Centre, DARD and Queen’s University, Newforge Lane, Belfast BT9 5PX [email protected] HON EDITOR: Letters in Applied Microbiology Dr Jean-Yves Maillard, Welsh School of Pharmacy, Cardiff University, Redwood Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3XF [email protected] HON EDITOR: Microbiologist Dr Lucy Harper, Society for Applied Microbiology, The Blore Tower, The Harpur Centre, Bedford MK40 1TQ [email protected] ORDINARY COMMITTEE MEMBERS until July 2006 Dr David McCleery, Chief Specialist Microbiologist, Safe Food, Food Safety Promotion Board, 7 Eastgate Avenue, Little Island, Cork, Ireland [email protected] Dr Shona Nelson, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of West of England, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY [email protected] Professor Diane Newell, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB [email protected] ORDINARY COMMITTEE MEMBERS until July 2007 Dr John Coote, Infection and Immunity Division, Glasgow University, Joseph Black Building. Glasgow G12 8QQ [email protected] Professor Geoff Hanlon, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton, Moulsecoomb, Brighton BN2 4GJ [email protected] Dr Karen Stanley, Biosciences, Faculty of Health and Wellbeing, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB [email protected] Dr Susannah Walsh, H3.09b Hawthorne Building, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Heath and Life Sciences, De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester LE1 9BH [email protected] ORDINARY COMMITTEE MEMBERS until July 2008 Dr Tony Worthington, Department of Pharmaceutical and Biological Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET [email protected] Dr Andrew Sails, Health Protection Agency, Institute of Pathology, Newcastle General Hospital, Westgate Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE4 6BE [email protected] SOCIETY OFFICE STAFF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER: Philip Wheat [email protected] MEMBERSHIP CO-ORDINATOR: Julie Wright [email protected] EVENTS ORGANISER: Rachel Dowdy [email protected] www.sfam.org.uk June 2006 05 MEDIAwatch MICROBIOLOGY IN THE NEWS If you spot a story in the media which you think should feature in this column, then send it to the Editor at: [email protected].
Load more

Recommended publications
  • René Dubos, Tuberculosis, and the “Ecological Facets of Virulence”
    HPLS (2017) 39:15 DOI 10.1007/s40656-017-0142-5 ORIGINAL PAPER René Dubos, tuberculosis, and the “ecological facets of virulence” Mark Honigsbaum1 Received: 15 January 2017 / Accepted: 23 June 2017 / Published online: 4 July 2017 © The Author(s) 2017. This article is an open access publication Abstract Reflecting on his scientific career toward the end of his life, the French- educated medical researcher Rene´ Dubos presented his flowering as an ecological thinker as a story of linear progression—the inevitable product of the intellectual seeds planted in his youth. But how much store should we set by Dubos’s account of his ecological journey? Resisting retrospective biographical readings, this paper seeks to relate the development of Dubos’s ecological ideas to his experimental practices and his career as a laboratory researcher. In particular, I focus on Dubos’s studies of tuberculosis at the Rockefeller Institute in the period 1944–1956—studies which began with an inquiry into the tubercle bacillus and the physiochemical determinants of virulence, but which soon encompassed a wider investigation of the influence of environmental forces and host–parasite interactions on susceptibility and resistance to infection in animal models. At the same time, through a close reading of Dubos’s scientific papers and correspondence, I show how he both drew on and distinguished his ecological ideas from those of other medical researchers such as Theobald Smith, Frank Macfarlane Burnet, and Frank Fenner. However, whereas Burnet and Fenner tended to view ecological interactions at the level of populations, Dubos focused on the interface of hosts and parasites in the physio- logical environments of individuals.
    [Show full text]
  • The Miracle of the Mould Howard Florey and Colleagues Overcame Great Obstacles to Isolate Penicillin
    books and arts The miracle of the mould Howard Florey and colleagues overcame great obstacles to isolate penicillin. The Mould in Dr Florey’s Coat: The Remarkable True Story of the Penicillin Miracle by Eric Lax Little, Brown: 2004. 288 pp. £16.99 William Shaw HAAS/BETTMANN/CORBIS D. Well-researched and readable accounts of medical science and disease are always wel- come. The first thing to note about this new work by Eric Lax, whose earlier efforts have been a well-regarded biography of Woody Allen and an engaging account of cancer chemotherapy, is that its title prom- ises a great deal — and does so rather late in the day. There is little doubt that, after more than half a century of personal reflections and scholarship, the story of the emergence of penicillin as a life-saving medicine remains remarkable — not least for the obstacles overcome and for the personalities of the trio of Nobel laureates involved: Alexander Fleming, Howard Florey and Ernst Chain. But promise of a true story begs the question of what has been on offer since 1945. And was there a miracle? Well, nearly, at least in the sense that the small team assembled by Florey at the Sir William Dunn School of Norman Heatley (below left) oversaw the mass production of penicillin in 1940s America. Pathology in Oxford, UK, in the dark and difficult early honorary doctorate of medi- from farther afield, such as the Yale papers years of the Second World cine, the first non-medical of John Fulton, Florey’s close friend and War, hardly seemed like a person to be so honoured.
    [Show full text]
  • DAVID NACHMANSOHN March 17, 1899-November 2, 1983
    NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES D A V I D N ACHMANSOHN 1899—1983 A Biographical Memoir by SEVERO OCHOA Any opinions expressed in this memoir are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences. Biographical Memoir COPYRIGHT 1989 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES WASHINGTON D.C. DAVID NACHMANSOHN March 17, 1899-November 2, 1983 BY SEVERO OCHOA AVID NACHMANSOHN'S scientific life path was strongly D influenced by his early studies on the biochemistry of muscle in Otto Meyerhof's laboratory. This experience led to an interest in the biochemistry of nerve activity, a field of study to which he would devote most of his scientific life. In so doing, he contributed—perhaps more than any other in- vestigator—to our understanding of the molecular basis of bioelectricity. David Nachmansohn was born in Jekaterinoslav, Russia (now Dnjetropetrowsk, USSR). His parents came from middle-class families among whom were many lawyers, phy- sicians, and other professionals. Before David and his two sisters reached school age, the family moved to Berlin where they had many relatives. Thus, David's background and edu- cation were essentially, if not exclusively, German. His college education was strongly humanistic, with Latin, Greek, liter- ature, and history as mainstays, some mathematics, and the rudiments of physics. Through his readings, perhaps pri- marily through his reading of the second part of Goethe's Faust when he was only seventeen years of age, he became interested in philosophy—so much so that he continued to attend courses and seminars in philosophy even while a med- ical student at Heidelberg in 1920.
    [Show full text]
  • Speaker's Manuscript
    Nobel Prize Lessons 2018 Speaker’s manuscript – the 2018 Medicine Prize The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine • The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is one of the five prizes founded by Alfred Nobel and awarded on December 10 every year. Before Alfred Nobel died on December 10, 1896, he wrote in his will that the largest part of his fortune should be placed in a fund. The yearly interest on this fund would pay for a prize given to “those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.” Who is rewarded with the Medicine Prize? • The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is thus awarded to people who have either made a discovery about how organisms work or have helped find a cure for a disease. • This is May-Britt Moser, 2014 Nobel Laureate in Medicine. In 2005 she and Edvard Moser discovered a type of cell in the brain that is important for determining one's position. They also found that those cells cooperate with different nerve cells in the brain that help us to navigate. You can say that the Laureates discovered and explained a kind of GPS system in the brain. • Other Medicine Laureates include: • Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins, who received the 1962 Prize for their discoveries and descriptions about the structure of DNA molecules. • Alexander Fleming, Ernst Chain and Howard Florey, who received the 1945 Prize for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effects on bacterial diseases. Medicine Prize 2018 • The 2018 Nobel Prize is about a new way of treating cancer.
    [Show full text]
  • Physiological Society Template
    An interview with Ron Whittam Conducted by David Miller and Richard Naftalin on 12 August 2014 Published December 2019 This is the transcript of an interview of the Oral Histories Project for The Society's History & Archives Committee. The original digital sound recording is lodged with The Society and will be placed in its archive at The Wellcome Library. An interview with Ron Whittam Ron Whittam photographed by David Miller This interview with Ron Whittam (RW) was conducted by David Miller (DM) and Richard Naftalin (RN) on 12 August 2014 DM: Let’s make sure we’re starting. Fine. So okay this is David Miller, it’s the 12th August 2014 and we’re are in Leicester at the home of Professor Ron Whittam and we’re here to record for the oral history project of the Physiological Society. So, also here is Richard Naftalin whose voice you’ll hear and Ron Whittam himself, of course. So we’re going to run through elements of Ron’s life and background as he wishes to cover in the usual way. So that’s enough from me. Perhaps Richard if you could just say a few words so that it’s recognised whose voice is whose. RN: Okay, well I’m Richard Naftalin. I’m currently Emeritus Professor at King’s College London but I was, had the privilege of being, in Leicester University and I was appointed lecturer to Ron Whittam’s department of General Physiology in 1968. I came to Leicester as newlywed and as a virgin physiologist to Ron’s department so that was very exciting –at least for me.
    [Show full text]
  • Alexander Fleming, Ernst Chain Och Howard Florey NOBELPRISET I FYSIOLOGI ELLER MEDICIN 1945
    Alexander Fleming, Ernst Chain och Howard Florey NOBELPRISET I FYSIOLOGI ELLER MEDICIN 1945 ”för upptäckten av penicillinet och dess botande verkan vid olika infektionssjukdomar” Nobelstiftelsen© Nobelstiftelsen© Nobelstiftelsen© Fleming tillhörde inte de mest fanatiska forskarna. Han drack ”afternoon tea”, spelade biljard, schack, kort, tog en Sir Alexander Fleming Sir Ernst Boris Chain Sir Howard Walter Florey drink för att sedan gå hem * 6 augusti 1881 i Lochfield, * 19 juni 1906 i Berlin, * 24 september 1898 i Ade- Skottland Tyskland laide, Australien till familjen och äta middag † 11 mars 1955 i London, † 12 augusti 1979 i Mulrany, † 21 februari 1968 i Oxford, England Ireland England klockan åtta på kvällarna. Alexander Fleming upptäcker 1928 att ett och blodförgiftning till döden. Idag kan vi med mögel har växt i en av hans bakterieodlingar. penicillin eller motsvarande antibiotika bota Runt möglet har bakterierna dött. I de andra dem. Men för stor användning av antibiotika proverna, där det inte finns mögel har bak- har också lett till att bakterier blivit resistenta. terierna växt normalt. Fleming inser snabbt Detta innebär att det börjar bli allt vanligare att det här är en fantastisk upptäckt. Kan man med bakteriesjukdomar som inte går att bota använda den här mögelsvampen som medi- med de antibiotika som finns tillgängliga idag. cin? Han börjar odla den speciella svampen Det finns därför ett stort behov av att hitta nya i större skala, för att få möjlighet att också former av antibiotika. Redan 1945 i sin Nobel- testa den på bakterier som angripit djur och föreläsning varnade Fleming för att bakterier det fungerar. lätt kan utveckla motståndskraft mot penicil- linet om det används fel.
    [Show full text]
  • The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London Galen Medal Winners
    The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London Galen Medal Winners 1926 Prof WE DIXON, BSc, MA, MD, DPH, FRS Pharmacology 1927 Sir Gowland HOPKINS, MA, LLD, DSc, FRCP, FRIC, FRS Discovery of vitamins 1928 Prof JJ ABEL, MD, ScD, LLD Isolation of Adrenaline 1930 Prof E FOURNEAU, Directeur de 1'Institute Pasteur Pharmacology of amino-alcohols 1932 Sir Henry DALE, OM, GBE, MA, MD, FRCP, FRS Neurophysiology 1934 Prof Sir Frederick BANTING, MC, Hon FRCS, DSc, LLD Discovery of Insulin 1946 Sir Alexander FLEMING, FRCP, FRCS, FRS Penicillin Lord FLOREY, MA, MD, FRCP, FRS 1947 F CURD, BSc, PhD D DAVEY, MSc, PhD Discovery of Paludrine F ROSE, BSc, PhD 1948 Sir Lionel WHITBY, CVO, MC, MD, FRCP Sulphonamides 1949 Prof J TREFOUEL, Directeur de 1'Institute Pasteur Sulphonamides 1951 Prof Sir Charles DODDS, Bt, MVO, MD, FRCP, FRS Biochemistry 1953 Sir Charles HARINGTON, MA, PhD, FRS Synthesised Thyroxin 1954 EL SMITH, DSc, FRIC Vitamin B12 1955 Lord BROCK, MS, FRCS Cardiac surgery 1957 Prof Sir Ernst CHAIN, MA, DPhil, FRS Production of Penicillin 1958 Sir Macfarlane BURNET, OM, MD, FRCP, FRS Vaccines for virus infections 1959 Prof Sir Bradford HILL, CBE, PhD, DSc, FRS Medical statistics 1960 Sir Tudor THOMAS, DSc, MD, MS, FRCS Corneo-plastic surgery 1961 Prof R PATERSON, CBE, MC, MD, FRCS, FFR Radiotherapy 1962 Prof W PENFIELD, OM, CMG, MD, DSc, FRS Neurosurgery & Neurophysiology 1963 Prof Sir Alexander HADDOW, MD, DSc, PhD, FRS Experimental pathology & cancer research 1964 FP DOYLE, MSc, FRIC Chemical & biological GN ROLINSON, BSc, PhD development
    [Show full text]
  • Microbiologytoday
    microbiologytoday microbiology vol36|feb09 quarterly magazine of the society today for general microbiology vol 36 | feb 09 the legacy of fleming ‘that’s funny!’: the discovery of penicillin what manner of man was fleming? the future of antibiotic discovery look who’s talking when good bugs fight bad contents vol36(1) regular features 2 News 38 Schoolzone 46 Hot off the Press 10 Microshorts 42 Gradline 49 Going Public 36 Conferences 45 Addresses 60 Reviews other items 33 The Defra-commissioned independent review of bovine tuberculosis research 54 Education Development Fund report 58 Obituary – Professor Sir James Baddiley FRS 59 Obituary – Emeritus Professor Naomi Datta FRS articles 12 ‘That’s funny!’: the 24 Look who’s talking! discovery and development Julian Davies of penicillin Antibiotics aren’t just for fighting infections; they are part of the bacterial signalling network. Kevin Brown The chance discovery of penicillin 80 years ago made Alexander Fleming a famous scientist. 28 When good bugs fight bad Roy Sleator 16 What manner of man was There are alternative methods available Alexander Fleming? for combating infectious diseases – not just antimicrobial chemotherapy. Philip Mortimer Alexander Fleming, the Society’s first President, did so much more than discover penicillin. 32 A precious memory Norberto Palleroni One of the few people left who met Fleming recounts his 20 Antibiotics and experience. Streptomyces: the future of antibiotic discovery 64 Comment: Debating creationism Flavia Marinelli Many options for drug discovery
    [Show full text]
  • Leading Research for Better Health
    < Contents > Contents Please click on the > to go directly to the page. > Introducing the MRC >AchievementsIntroducing thetimeline MRC Achievements>1913 to 1940s timeline >1950s to 1980s >1913 to 1940s >1990s to 2006 >1950s to 1980s >1990s to 2006 > Leading research for better health >NobelLeading Prize resear timelinech for better health Nobel>1929 Prizeto 1952 timeline >1953 to 1962 >1929 to 1952 >1972 to 1984 >1953 to 1962 >1997 to 2003 >1972 to 1984 1997 to 2003 >MRC research over the decades MRC> From resear discochvery over to healthcare:the decades translational research > EvidenceFrom discovery for best to pr healthcareactice: clinical — translational trials research > EvidencePublic health for bestresearch practice: clinical trials > PubDNAlic revhealtholution research > ReducingDNA rev olutionsmoking: preventing deaths > ReducingTherapeutic smoking: antibodiespreventing deaths > TherapeuticReducing deaths antibodies from infections in Africa > ReducingPreventing deaths heart fromdisease infections in Africa > PrevMedicalenting imaging: hearttransformingdisease diagnosis > MedicalCutting childimaging: leukaemia transforming deaths diagnosis > Cutting child leukaemia deaths < Click on any link to go< directly Contentsto a page >> < Contents > < Contents > < Contents > < Contents > Leading research for better health The most important part of the MRC’s mission trials, such as those on the use of statins to lower is to encourage and support high-quality research cholesterol and on vaccines in Africa.The MRC with the aim of improving human health.The MRC is the UK’s largest public funder of clinical trials is committed to supporting research across the and it supports some of the most productive entire spectrum of the biomedical and clinical and ambitious epidemiological studies in the world, sciences. We are proud of our international including the UK Biobank.
    [Show full text]
  • Antimcrobial Stewardship 11-11
    11/8/11 Antimicrobial Stewardship Protecting a Valuable Resource November 8, 2011 Edward Lifshitz, MD Medical Director Communicable Disease Service NJDHSS [email protected] (609) 826-5964 Edward Lifshitz, MD [email protected] “One can think of the middle of the twentieth century as the end of one of the most important social revolutions in history, the virtual elimination of infectious diseases as a significant factor in social life” 1962 Sir Frank MacFarlane Burnet Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research 1960 Nobel Prize co-winner in Physiology or Medicine Edward Lifshitz, MD [email protected] “Unless we act to protect these medical miracles, we could be heading for a post-antibiotic age” 2001 Gro Harlem Brundtland WHO Director-General Edward Lifshitz, MD [email protected] 1 11/8/11 Antimicrobial Stewardship “Antimicrobial stewardship programs in hospitals seek to optimize antimicrobial prescribing in order to improve individual patient care as well as reduce hospital costs and slow the spread of antimicrobial resistance.” Clinical Microbiology Reviews, October 2005, p. 638-656, Vol. 18, No. 4 Edward Lifshitz, MD [email protected] Microbes vs Humans Microbes Microbes Humans by factor # on Earth 5 x 1031 7 x 109 ~ 1022 # cells in a Human 5 x 1013 5 x 1012 ~ 5 - 10 Mass - kg 5 x 1019 3 x 1011 ~ 108 Generation time 30 min 30 years ~ 5 x 105 Time on earth, years 3.5 x 109 4 x 106 ~ 103 Data: Schaechter M, et al, Microbiology in the 21st century:
    [Show full text]
  • 1901-2009 NOBEL PRIZE:1901-2009 O Prêmio Nobel De Medicina Desse Ano Foi Entregue a Elizabeth Blackbur
    EDITORIAL PRÊMIO NOBEL: 1901-2009 NOBEL PRIZE:1901-2009 Rosa Lúcia Vieira Maidana, Francisco Veríssimo Veronese, Sandra Pinho Silveiro O prêmio Nobel de Medicina desse ano foi entregue a Elizabeth Blackburn, Jack Szostak e Carol Greider (Figura 1) por terem elucidado a estrutura e o processo de manutenção dos telômeros, como descrevem didaticamente Jardim et al. nesse volume da revista (1). Elizabeth Blackburn (University of California, San Francisco, EUA), Jack Szostak (Harvard Medical School, Boston, EUA) e Carol Greider (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, EUA) descobriram que os telômeros são sequências de DNA situados nas extremidades dos cromossomos e possuem uma estrutura que protege os cromossomos de danos como a erosão. Também de- monstraram que uma enzima específica, a telomerase (descoberta em 1984 por Elizabeth Blackburn e sua então assistente Carol Greider), está envolvida no processo de reparação dos cromossomos após a mitose celular. Como descrevem Calado e Young em revisão publicada em dezembro de 2009 no New England Journal of Medicine (2), os telômeros e a telomerase são protetores contra danos ao genoma que podem surgir de uma replicação assimétrica do DNA. Sem os telômeros, o material genético poderia ser perdido toda vez que ocorre uma divisão celular. As implicações clínicas destes processos são importantes, uma vez que alte- rações nos telômeros estão causalmente relacionadas a patologias em que ocorre mutações genéticas, como a anemia aplásica. Telômeros curtos estão associados a risco aumentado de doença cardiovascular, e mutações no gene da telomerase a condições como fibrose pulmonar e hepática e susceptibilidade a alguns tipos de câncer (ex., coloretal, esôfago, leucemia mielóide).
    [Show full text]
  • Fact Sheet: the Challenge of Mass Production
    Fact Sheet: The Challenge of Mass Production Discovery Sir Alexander Fleming discovered the bacteria-killing properties of penicillin while conducting research at St. Mary’s Hospital in London in 1928. Upon returning to his disorganized lab from a weekend vacation, Fleming noticed that one of the Petri dishes was uncovered and a blue-green mold was growing inside. Rather than tossing the contaminated dish into the trash, he looked carefully and observed that the mold had killed bacteria growing nearby. Quite by accident Fleming had discovered penicillin, the antibiotic released by the mold of the genus Penicillium. Alexander Fleming’s original photograph of the contaminated dish. Alexander Fleming was well acquainted with the treatment of bacterial infections after spending World War I as a captain in the British Medical Corps. He witnessed firsthand the lack of medicine to treat infections, with disease causing approximately one third of military deaths during the Great War. Despite its historical significance, Fleming’s discovery of penicillin in 1928 brought little attention. The technology and funding needed to isolate and produce the antibiotic was lacking at the time. Fleming, however, continued to grow the Penicillium notatum strain in his lab for twelve years, distributing it to scientists and saving the specimen for someone willing and able to transform the “mold juice” into a medicine suitable for human use. Purification and Trials Meanwhile, Australian scientist Howard Florey hired Ernst Chain to help with his microbiology research at Oxford University. Florey and Chain were interested in Alexander Fleming’s work and in 1938, began studying the antibacterial properties of mold.
    [Show full text]