Clinical
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Posted: June 09, 2022
Miracle in the Mucin... Discovered in 2004, Akkermansia muciniphila is a relative newcomer to microbiology. Akkermansia was named for the microbial ecologist Antoon Akkermans, and muciniphila meaning preferring mucin. This organism in the phylum Verrucomicrobia was the result of a study that used purified mucin as...
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Posted: June 08, 2022...
Lyme disease is one of the most common types of tick-borne diseases (TBDs), yet many questions remain surrounding long-term treatment of this disease. Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochete causing the disease, is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected Ixodes tick. (1) The first symptoms will often include a bullseye rash forming around the tick bite, as seen in the photo
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Posted: June 07, 2022
In December 2021, Canada reported the first case of the 2021-2022 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in North America. Subsequently, HPAI H5N1 viruses have been confirmed in wild birds, backyard flocks, and commercial poultry facilities in both Canada and the United States. (1) According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), as of April 26, 2022, there have been almost 37...
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Posted: April 15, 2022...
Genetic engineering can help preserve endangered species
Since 1978, Escherichia coli has been used in the development of synthetic “human” insulin (1). More recently, E. coli has become an essential part in the development of cancer drugs (2). Researchers at The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability in Denm
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Posted: March 21, 2022Categories: Modern Innovations, Clinical, Industry Insights, Public Health Alerts, Health & Wellness
As the COVID-19 pandemic moves into its third year, new treatment options to combat the coronavirus disease are being authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In December, 2021, the FDA issued emergency use authorization (EUA) for two oral antiviral treatments for COVID-19, Molnupiravir and Paxlovid.(1,2)
This comes at a crucial time in the pandemic as new variants emerge and COVID-19... -
Posted: March 03, 2022...
Is there a cranial microbiome? Can it be harmful?
Over the decades, scientists have dedicated their entire careers to studying microorganisms on and in our bodies. Although the brain has largely been considered a sterile environment, research has shown evidence of microorganisms living harmlessly in the brain.
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Posted: February 24, 2022Categories: Food Safety, Health & Wellness, Industry Insights, Outbreak Alerts, Microbiology, News & Insights
Salmonella Infantis
Globally, Salmonella causes illness in 93.8 million people and causes approximately 155,000 deaths each year.(1) Within the United States alone, Salmonella is responsible for 1.35 million infections, 26,000 of which...
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Posted: February 10, 2022
How dangerous are the BA.2 and BA.3 sub-variants compared to the Omicron BA.1 that we already know?
South Africa has one of the most robust public health systems in the world, carefully monitoring their SARS-CoV-2 case load, which has been dominated these last few months by the Delta variant. In recent months, however...
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Posted: January 31, 2022
Probiotics found to assist in restoring normal immune function...
COVID-19 disrupts normal bowel flora
SARS-CoV-2 infection induces an aggressive inflammatory response which is strongly implicated in the cause of multi-organ dysfunction...
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Posted: January 11, 2022...
How can you be sure the bacteria and parasites are dead?
In the United States, 62% of the population has tried sushi at least once. (1) However, recent studies from Norway and Brazil indicate that consumers should be checking that their sushi and sashimi were recently prepared and stored properly. To define our terms, many non-Japanese
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Posted: December 29, 2021...
Do food labels tell the full story of what consumers are eating? In the U.S., many citizens may be unaware of how much inulin they may be consuming on a daily basis.
As a result, individuals who consume inulin may suffer from digestive discomfort without knowing the true cause.(1) On many food labels, there is helpful and descriptive information
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Posted: December 15, 2021...
Will Releasing Genetically Modified Mosquitos Finally Conquer Malaria?
For the first time, scientists have shown that a new kind of genetic engineering, known as a "gene drive," can crash populations of malaria-spreading mosquitoes.
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Posted: November 30, 2021...
Melioidosis (also called Whitmore’s Disease) is an infectious and potentially fatal bacterial disease affecting approximately 165,000 individuals worldwide.(1) Symptoms of this disease range from mild fever, chest pain, and cough to more severe symptoms such as ulcers, chronic respiratory illness, and even central nervous system infection.(2, 3) Thankfully, person-to-person spread is extremely rare.(4) Y
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Posted: November 23, 2021
In the United States, Campylobacter is the most common bacterial cause of diarrhea, affecting 1.5 million U.S. residents every year.(1) Approximately 30% of Campylobacter strains have decreased susceptibility to fluoroquinolones (e.g., ciprofloxacin) or macrolides (e.g., azithromycin), the antibiotics commonly used to treat infections, which poses a serious threat to public health.(2)
In August... -
Posted: October 20, 2021
More deadly than Lyme Disease...
In 1958, a five-year-old boy from Powassan, Ontario, Canada presented to a children’s hospital complaining of dizziness; his parents also described tremors of his left arm. Electroencephalogram readings showed a widespread disturbance in the patient’s brain. The patient’s condition began to ra...