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Promega Connections
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- October 3, 2012
- 09:36 AM
- 191 views
The Healing Power of Yogurt
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
There has been much made of probiotics regulating digestive health in the news and repeatedly hawked by people sharing the benefits of yogurt with special bacteria that will change your life. I was advised by my mother that when I was taking antibiotics, eating yogurt would help counteract some of the negative consequences of oral [...]... Read more »
Uchida Masayuki, Shimizu Kimiko, & Kurakazu Keiko. (2010) Yogurt Containing Lactobacillus gasseri OLL 2716 (LG21 yogurt) Accelerated the Healing of Acetic Acid-Induced Gastric Ulcer in Rats. Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem., 74(9), 1894. DOI: 10.1271/bbb.100287
- August 10, 2012
- 10:57 AM
- 328 views
Protein Profiling of a Lung Infection in a 500-Year-Old Mummy
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
I am fascinated by all the ways that scientists are taking sensitive techniques and using them to look into our past. For example, scientists constructed the entire genome of Yersinia pestis, the caustive agent of the Black Death, from teeth and bone samples of plague victims from the 14th century. Without methods like polymerase chain [...]... Read more »
Corthals A, Koller A, Martin DW, Rieger R, Chen EI, Bernaski M, Recagno G, & Dávalos LM. (2012) Detecting the immune system response of a 500 year-old inca mummy. PloS one, 7(7). PMID: 22848450
- July 13, 2012
- 10:08 AM
- 335 views
Curcumin Moderates the Health Effects of Diesel Exhaust
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
The majority of the ground transporation in the United States runs on diesel fuel. It powers most of the fleet of large vehicles that travel around Wisconsin and across country moving products and people. My family uses diesel fuel in all the large tractors that plant and harvest the 1,200+ acres of crops on the [...]... Read more »
Nemmar A, Subramaniyan D, & Ali BH. (2012) Protective effect of curcumin on pulmonary and cardiovascular effects induced by repeated exposure to diesel exhaust particles in mice. PloS one, 7(6). PMID: 22745783
- June 13, 2012
- 09:53 AM
- 332 views
Methylation of Your Genome Decreases as You Age
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
If asked what are the differences between a grandfather and his newborn granddaughter, I would reply with the obvious ones: size (the grandfather is larger than his granddaughter), condition of the skin (babies have soft, smooth skin and elders have age spots and wrinkles) and life expectancy. Other visual cues may seem more similar than [...]... Read more »
Heyn H, Li N, Ferreira HJ, Moran S, Pisano DG, Gomez A, Diez J, Sanchez-Mut JV, Setien F, Carmona FJ.... (2012) Distinct DNA methylomes of newborns and centenarians. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. PMID: 22689993
- May 16, 2012
- 11:09 AM
- 328 views
Autophagy: The Intersection of Vitamin D, HIV and Tuberculosis
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
With the warmer season in full swing in Wisconsin, the grass needs mowing and the weeds need pulling. As a consequence, I am outside in the sun, synthesizing Vitamin D (and watching my freckles multiply). The benefits of this vitamin have been discussed in the news (e.g., may help prevent cancer, maintains a healthy working [...]... Read more »
Campbell, G., & Spector, S. (2012) Vitamin D Inhibits Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 and Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection in Macrophages through the Induction of Autophagy. PLoS Pathogens, 8(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002689
- April 18, 2012
- 10:53 AM
- 384 views
Tracking the Progression of Plague Using Bioluminescence
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
Sequencing Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that caused the Black Plague in Europe during 1348–50, is an amazing accomplishment. Y. pestis infection still occurs sporatically and causes fatalities despite the Age of Antibiotics. Even with animal models, there are questions remaining about the progression of infection. Nham et al. used in vivo imaging to examine the [...]... Read more »
Nham T, Filali S, Danne C, Derbise A, & Carniel E. (2012) Imaging of Bubonic Plague Dynamics by In Vivo Tracking of Bioluminescent Yersinia pestis. PLoS ONE, 7(4). PMID: 22496846
- March 26, 2012
- 10:15 AM
- 578 views
Making Antibiotics More Effective Against Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
The Age of Antibiotics may prove to be our downfall as more and more microbes find a way around the compounds we use to treat bacterial infections. A potential antibiotic is no more tested, synthesized, clinically tested and approved than a bacterial strain finds a way to circumvent its action and shares this solution with [...]... Read more »
Worthington, R.,, Bunders, C.,, Reed, C., & Melander, C. (2012) Small Molecule Suppression of Carbapenem Resistance in NDM-1 Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae . ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 2147483647. DOI: 10.1021/ml200290p
- March 2, 2012
- 10:21 AM
- 650 views
Could the Next Chemotherapy be Derived from a Weed?
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
As much as I may complain about weeds, one that I enjoy (in moderation and not among my vegetables) is dandelions. The bright yellow flowers herald spring, and the seed puffballs, while not as visually interesting, offer entertainment as I watch birds landing on the shaft, bending it and eating the seeds. When I am [...]... Read more »
Ovadje, P., Hamm, C., & Pandey, S. (2012) Efficient Induction of Extrinsic Cell Death by Dandelion Root Extract in Human Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML) Cells. PLoS ONE, 7(2). PMID: 22363452
- February 1, 2012
- 09:04 AM
- 451 views
The Benefits of Sand Bedding for Cattle (and Humans)
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
For many people, cows are a clean, docile animal viewed at state or local fairs or seen wandering around pastures on a drive through the countryside. However, managing a herd of dairy animals is no small task. Farmers desire healthy animals that consistently give milk every day. For cows in housed primarily in barns, the quality of the bedding used in the stall is important. Not only should bedding be comfortable but also clean, a task made difficult by cows that have no concern about where they........ Read more »
Westphal, A., Williams, M.L., Baysal-Gurel, F., LeJeune, J.T., & McSpadden Gardener, B.B. (2011) General suppression of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in sand-based dairy livestock bedding. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 77(6), 2113-21. PMID: 21257815
- January 6, 2012
- 09:07 AM
- 782 views
Fungi, a Tool for Weed Control?
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
While I enjoy growing a variety of produce from tomatoes, basil and garlic to blueberries, one thing remains the bane of my existence: weeds. My least favorite: quackgrass. I even dug up an entire garden bed to rid myself of the weed and its long rhizomes. How well do you think that worked? I found that the quackgrass happily grew around the popcorn I planted in that same location. What is a gardener to do? Well, recent research by Veiga et al. demonstrates that fungus can lend a helping hand an........ Read more »
Veiga, R.S., Jansa, J., Frossard, E., & van der Heijden, M.G. (2011) Can arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi reduce the growth of agricultural weeds?. PLoS ONE, 6(12). PMID: 22164216
- November 29, 2011
- 08:50 AM
- 666 views
Finding Life on Mars May Be Complicated by Microbes Hitching a Ride from Earth
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
“The Andromeda Strain”, a novel written by Michael Crichton, remains one of my favorite science fiction novels for two reasons (spoiler alert for the plot): The US government deliberately sent objects into space to scoop up extraterrestrial microorganisms and examine their potential to be used as a weapon (with the expected consequences of contaminated space probes falling near human habitats and causing trouble), and the deadly organism infecting humans is stopped in its tracks by t........ Read more »
Kwan K, Cooper M, La Duc MT, Vaishampayan P, Stam C, Benardini JN, Scalzi G, Moissl-Eichinger C, & Venkateswaran K. (2011) Evaluation of procedures for the collection, processing, and analysis of biomolecules from low-biomass surfaces. Applied and environmental microbiology, 77(9), 2943-53. PMID: 21398492
- November 9, 2011
- 08:56 AM
- 897 views
Black Raspberry Extract May Lead to Tomorrow’s Cancer Preventative
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
When deciding which varieties of fruit to cultivate, I chose to plant black raspberries on my small suburban lot. They grow wild in Wisconsin, but fighting through swarms of mosquitos, brush and thorns to pick berries was not my idea of fun. For the last two years, I have received a large crop of juicy black berries that I enjoy eating fresh or process into black raspberry jam to spread on toast. Therefore, I was interested to learn that black raspberries have demonstrated cancer preventative pr........ Read more »
Zhang Z, Knobloch TJ, Seamon LG, Stoner GD, Cohn DE, Paskett ED, Fowler JM, & Weghorst CM. (2011) A black raspberry extract inhibits proliferation and regulates apoptosis in cervical cancer cells. Gynecologic oncology, 123(2), 401-6. PMID: 21831414
- October 21, 2011
- 10:47 AM
- 1,020 views
Sequencing the Black Death is a Window to the Past
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
After writing my review of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA article “Targeted enrichment of ancient pathogens yielding the pPCP1 plasmid of Yersinia pestis from victims of the Black Death”, I vaguely wondered if the authors could have sequenced more than a single 10kb plasmid. If the single-copy chromosomal DNA was too scarce, maybe one of the other Yersina pestis plasmids that may exist at a higher copy number (e.g., pMT1) might be sequenced. Well, that questi........ Read more »
Bos KI, Schuenemann VJ, Golding GB, Burbano HA, Waglechner N, Coombes BK, McPhee JB, Dewitte SN, Meyer M, Schmedes S.... (2011) A draft genome of Yersinia pestis from victims of the Black Death. Nature. PMID: 21993626
- September 30, 2011
- 09:24 AM
- 648 views
Dance Macabre: Will 14th Century Remains Reveal the Pandemic Secrets of the Black Death?
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
Last year, I reviewed a PLoS Pathogens paper that found European Black Plague victims from the mid 14th century were infected with more than one clone of Yersinia pestis. While the Y. pestis-specific sequences amplified from several skeletal samples from various countries were evidence of the bacterium as the etiological agent, questions still remained about the virulence of the outbreak. What allowed that ancient strain of Y. pestis to cause such widespread death? Another group of researchers d........ Read more »
Schuenemann VJ, Bos K, Dewitte S, Schmedes S, Jamieson J, Mittnik A, Forrest S, Coombes BK, Wood JW, Earn DJ.... (2011) From the Cover: Targeted enrichment of ancient pathogens yielding the pPCP1 plasmid of Yersinia pestis from victims of the Black Death. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(38). PMID: 21876176
- August 1, 2011
- 09:00 AM
- 1,154 views
Milk (Fat) Does a Body Good
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
One Milk Marketing Board campaign uses celebrities to promote its product by photographing them with milk moustaches. Glamour aside, selling cow’s milk is the livelihood of many farmers worldwide and generates a variety of well-appreciated products. What would pizza be without cheese? Summer without ice cream? Lunches without yogurt? Mashed potatoes without butter? Flammkuchen without crème fraiche? You can see where I am going with this. I live in America’s Dairyland where pe........ Read more »
Sun X, Zhang J, Gupta R, Macgibbon AK, Kuhn-Sherlock B, & Krissansen GW. (2011) Dairy milk fat augments paclitaxel therapy to suppress tumour metastasis in mice, and protects against the side-effects of chemotherapy. Clinical . PMID: 21739249
- June 2, 2011
- 02:35 PM
- 1,129 views
Minding the As and P: Can Arsenic Substitute for Phosphorus or Not?
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
Back in December 2010, there was a press conference held by NASA to announce the discovery of a bacterium found in a high salt, high pH lake with high concentrations of arsenic that seemed to have substituted arsenic for phosphorus in the bacterium’s biomolecules. This set off a wave of response in the blogosphere regarding what Felisa Wolfe-Simon and her team did nor did not do to confirm arsenic was incorporated into DNA molecules. Controversy ranged from the ability of arsenic to form a........ Read more »
Wolfe-Simon, F., Blum, J., Kulp, T., Gordon, G., Hoeft, S., Pett-Ridge, J., Stolz, J., Webb, S., Weber, P., Davies, P.... (2011) Response to Comments on "A Bacterium That Can Grow Using Arsenic Instead of Phosphorus". Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.1202098
- March 9, 2011
- 10:46 AM
- 1,343 views
Just a Spoonful of Honey is Medicine Enough
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
As we face more challenges when treating and healing humans, revisiting therapies that fell out of favor has become more common. For example, people with open wounds that are not healing receive judicious applications of maggots to remove necrotic tissue and promote healing. Leeches are used for patients after surgery to prevent blood clotting in [...]... Read more »
Kwakman, P., te Velde, A., de Boer, L., Vandenbroucke-Grauls, C., & Zaat, S. (2011) Two Major Medicinal Honeys Have Different Mechanisms of Bactericidal Activity. PLoS ONE, 6(3). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0017709
- January 26, 2011
- 09:57 AM
- 1,010 views
Stand Up and Walk; Repeat Often
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
As someone who regularly works at a computer both at work and at home, sedentary activity is a part of my daily life. Unfortunately, my desk is the standard kind that requires me to sit on a chair; I can only dream of the kind that has a treadmill to encourage movement as I work. [...]... Read more »
Healy GN, Matthews CE, Dunstan DW, Winkler EA, & Owen N. (2011) Sedentary time and cardio-metabolic biomarkers in US adults: NHANES 2003-06. European heart journal. PMID: 21224291
- December 3, 2010
- 11:45 AM
- 803 views
Six Required Elements for Life: C, N, O, S, H, and P. Well, maybe not P.
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
According to James Elser, professor at Arizona State University, the one thing he could always count on telling his students was that “Every living thing uses phosphorus to build its DNA.” After Thurday’s announcement by NASA astrobiologist Felisa Wolfe-Simon, he will probably be rewriting his lectures. At a NASA press conference at 1:00 pm, December [...]... Read more »
Wolfe-Simon, F., Blum, J., Kulp, T., Gordon, G., Hoeft, S., Pett-Ridge, J., Stolz, J., Webb, S., Weber, P., Davies, P.... (2010) A Bacterium That Can Grow by Using Arsenic Instead of Phosphorus. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.1197258
- November 15, 2010
- 08:32 AM
- 950 views
What do Cheese and H5N1 Have in Common?
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
Earlier this year, the state of Wisconsin considered adding Lactococcus lactis as the state microbe. Wisconsin is known as America’s Dairyland, and L. lactis is part of the cheese-making process. While its run to become the state microbe was ultimately unsuccessful, I wanted to learn more about the L. lactis bacterium. A quick search through PubMed yielded an intriguing paper by Lei et al., and it had nothing to do with converting milk to cheese. ... Read more »
Lei H, Xu Y, Chen J, Wei X, & Lam DM. (2010) Immunoprotection against influenza H5N1 virus by oral administration of enteric-coated recombinant Lactococcus lactis mini-capsules. Virology, 407(2), 319-24. PMID: 20850860
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