Updated Cases for Medical Microbiology

<strong>Review of</strong>: <em>Cases in Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases</em>, 4th ed.; Peter H. Gilligan, Daniel S. Shapiro, and Melissa B. Miller; (2014). ASM Press, Washington, DC. 589 pages

Ebola Virus’ Zoonotic Roots and Horrific Path

Review of: Ebola: The Natural and Human History of a Deadly Virus; David Quammen; (2014). W.W. Norton & Company, NY, NY. 119 pages

Bacterial Survivor: An Interactive Game that Combats Misconceptions about Antibiotic Resistance

The growing threat of antibiotic resistant infections remains a huge public health concern.  While many people are aware of “superbugs”, the vast majority of the general public does not understand how antibiotic resistance arises in a population of bacteria, and how exactly over use or misuse of antibiotics contributes to this problem.  We developed an active learning exercise called “Bacterial Survivor” in order to combat misconceptions about antibiotic resistance in a large undergraduate non-majors microbiology course.  The game models the random nature of genetic change, the impact of environment on survival, and illustrates the basic principles of evolution.  This hands-on approach has been effective in counteracting student misconceptions about this important topic

A Historical Perspective on Commerce and the Spread of Disease

<strong>Review of</strong>: <em>Contagion: How Commerce Has Spread Disease</em>; Mark Harrison; (2012). Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. Hardcover, 376 pages

The role of Myo2, a yeast class V myosin, in vesicular transport

Abstract. Previous studies have shown that temperature-sensitive, myo2-66 yeast arrest as large, unbudded cells that accumulate vesicles within their cytoplasm (Johnston, G. C., J. A. Prendergast, and R. A. Singer. 1991. J. Cell Biol. 113:539-551). In this study we show that myo2-66 is synthetically lethal in combination with a subset of the late-acting sec mutations. Thin section electron miscoscopy shows that the post-Golgi blocked secretory mutants, secl-1 and sec6-4, rapidly accumulate vesicles in the bud, upon brief incubations at the restrictive temperature. In contrast, myo2-66 cells accumulate vesicles predominantly in the mother cell. Double mutant analysis also places T HE yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae exhibits a high degre