Sunday, June 17 - Tuesday, June 19
Participate in ASM Live at asm2012 in San Francisco where we will be live streaming video interviews by Jeffery Fox, features editor of Microbe Magazine, and the This Week in Microbiology (TWIM) and This Week in Virology (TWIV) podcasts host Vincent Racaniello.
Stay tuned to www.microbeworld.org/asmlive for additional information.
View ASM Live interviews from last year's meeting in New Orleans.
Bacteria Could Play a Role in Developement of Parkinson's
A new mouse model suggests that the bacterium responsible for stomach ulcers could also play a role in the development of Parkinson's disease.
- Traci Testerman, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Ctr., Shreveport
Using Social Networking to Track Outbreaks and Epidemics
Using a novel methodology combining whole genome DNA sequencing and social network analysis, public health officials are able to solve a tuberculosis outbreak that was an absolute mystery by traditional epidemiologic methods.
- Jennifer Gardy, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Deepwater Horizon and Beyond
Over a year after the largest oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, scientists are still investigating the role microorganisms play in cleaning up the mess, both on land and at sea. Participants will discuss the latest research, what we have learned and what we still do not know.
- David Valentine, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
Impact of Globalization on the U.S. Food Supply
As the United States continues to import increasingly more of its food from developing nations, we are putting ourselves at greater risk of foodborne disease as many of these countries do not have the same sanitary standards for production, especially in the case of seafood and fresh produce. Additionally, prudent use of antibiotics is not practiced in many countries supplying foods, such as seafood and produce, to the United States.
- Michael Doyle, Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
asm2011 Hot Abstracts
While the pathogen Chlamydia pneumoniae has been linked to asthma in the past, new research finds over two-thirds of people with severe asthma test positive for Chlamydia-specific antibodies, suggesting this antigen could be a good biomarker for detecting those at risk for asthma. Additional research finds that, in some cases, antibiotic therapy could improve asthma symptoms.
- Eduard Drizik, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
How Microbes Can Feed the World
In the early 1960s developments in agricultural production, sponsored by international funding agencies, led to what came to be called the Green Revolution. Unfortunately, this great leap forward in food production relies highly on the use of pesticides and artificial chemical fertilizers. The next step forward in the Green Revolution, though, may feature fungi instead. Participants will present research on genetically engineered fungi that could replace chemical fertilizers and naturally occurring fungi that produce compounds that could replace pesticides for protecting crops in the field and produce in transit.
- Ian Sanders, Univ. of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Gary Strobel, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
Microbes Controlling the Climate?
Large concentrations bacteria identified in the nuclei of hailstones suggest that airborne microorganisms may be responsibility for the formation of these weather events. Participants will discuss these findings as well as the implications they may have for understanding of the role microbes play in controlling the weather.
- Alexander Michaud, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States
- Brent Christner, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
Putting Microbes to Work
The ability of bacteria to be genetically manipulated in a directed way has permitted the application of bacterial metabolism and gene expression to the creation of products useful in a wide variety of domains, including alternative energy generation, novel and manipulatable pathways for antibiotic synthesis, and synthesis of industrial intermediates. Participants will discuss engineering of bacteria to produce hydrogen gas, ethanol, anti-microbials and other useful products.
- Timothy Donohue, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
- Caroline Harwood, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
Human Microbiota in the Industrialized and Developing World
Modernization in developing countries may be accompanied by a transition from epidemic infectious diseases to chronic and degenerative illnesses as predominant causes of morbidity and mortality. The hygiene hypothesis posits that reduced exposure to infectious agents in childhood as a result of modern advances in public health can alter the development of the immune system to increase the risk of allergic, autoimmune and other illnesses. Participants will discuss the differences in disease patterns between industrialized and developing countries and consider the scientific evidence for the hygiene hypothesis and its implications for human health.
- Graham Rook, University College, London, United Kingdom
- Stephen McGarvey, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
