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Promega Connections
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- August 27, 2010
- 10:00 AM
- 1,622 views
Stop Targeting Lasers on My Chromosomes!
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
The phases of the cell cycle, particularly that of mitosis, were taught in college as part of my studies in biology. The cell cycle is a fundamental process for all organisms and constantly happens within our bodies. While cells generally spend most of the time in interphase, many scientists focus on what happens as the [...]... Read more »
Baker, N., Zeitlin, S., Shi, L., Shah, J., & Berns, M. (2010) Chromosome Tips Damaged in Anaphase Inhibit Cytokinesis. PLoS ONE, 5(8). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012398
- March 9, 2011
- 10:46 AM
- 1,366 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
- June 2, 2010
- 11:26 AM
- 1,195 views
One Ebola Virus Vaccine Offers Protection for Three Viral Species
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
When I was a graduate student studying HIV-1 encapsidation, I encountered an unusually enthusiastic virologist-to-be. As a prospective graduate researcher in my lab, he described his fascination with the Ebola virus, how he wanted to do research on it, how it affected human beings, and how he desired to be part of a team that [...]... Read more »
Hensley LE, Mulangu S, Asiedu C, Johnson J, Honko AN, Stanley D, Fabozzi G, Nichol ST, Ksiazek TG, Rollin PE.... (2010) Demonstration of cross-protective vaccine immunity against an emerging pathogenic Ebolavirus Species. PLoS pathogens, 6(5). PMID: 20502688
- August 1, 2011
- 09:00 AM
- 1,183 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
- March 8, 2010
- 09:42 AM
- 1,170 views
Finding the Next Generation of Antibiotics
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
Mention the word penicillin and it conjures up images of mold growing on bacterial culture plates and Dr. Alexander Fleming observing that the mold had killed the surrounding bacteria, ushering in the age of antibiotics. Bacterial infections could easily be treated with penicillin or any one of the bewildering array of new antibiotics continually being [...]... Read more »
Lincke T, Behnken S, Ishida K, Roth M, & Hertweck C. (2010) Closthioamide: An Unprecedented Polythioamide Antibiotic from the Strictly Anaerobic Bacterium Clostridium cellulolyticum. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English), 49(11), 2011-2013. PMID: 20157900
- June 2, 2011
- 02:35 PM
- 1,148 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
- October 21, 2011
- 10:47 AM
- 1,030 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
- January 26, 2011
- 09:57 AM
- 1,024 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
- October 20, 2010
- 10:15 AM
- 966 views
What Caused the Black Death?
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
I was confident I knew a few things about the bubonic plague: It was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which was transmitted to humans by fleas hitching a ride on the back of traveling rats; it spread rapidly and devastated populations around the globe, and because cats, a natural predator of scurrying rodents, had [...]... Read more »
Haensch S, Bianucci R, Signoli M, Rajerison M, Schultz M, Kacki S, Vermunt M, Weston DA, Hurst D, Achtman M.... (2010) Distinct Clones of Yersinia pestis Caused the Black Death. PLoS pathogens, 6(10). PMID: 20949072
- November 15, 2010
- 08:32 AM
- 959 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
- November 9, 2011
- 08:56 AM
- 909 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
- May 3, 2010
- 10:24 AM
- 869 views
From Veggie Scraps to Humus: An Ecosystem in your Compost Bin
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
Living in the northern hemisphere where spring showers bring May flowers and being the first post in said month, I feel it is my duty to discuss an important topic: compost. Compost is the seemingly simple product of a complex mixture of materials. Take a smorgasbord of leaves, grass, kitchen waste, coffee grounds and other [...]... Read more »
Ryckeboer J, Mergaert J, Coosemans J, Deprins K, & Swings J. (2003) Microbiological aspects of biowaste during composting in a monitored compost bin. Journal of applied microbiology, 94(1), 127-37. PMID: 12492933
- November 30, 1999
- 12:00 AM
- 827 views
Minding 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 sta........ 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
- December 3, 2010
- 11:45 AM
- 815 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
- January 6, 2012
- 09:07 AM
- 798 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
- 674 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
- March 2, 2012
- 10:21 AM
- 662 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
- September 30, 2011
- 09:24 AM
- 658 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
- November 30, 1999
- 12:00 AM
- 591 views
Dance Macabre: Will 14th Century Remains Reveal the Pandemic Secrets of the Black Death?
by Sara Klink in Promega Connections
Another group of researchers decided to further analyze the causative agent of the Black Plague by enriching for and sequencing one of the extrachromasomal plasmids present in the bacterial genome: the 9.6kb virulence-associated pPCP1 plasmid.
The recently published research in the Proceedings of the National Association of Science USA chose to use samples from East Smithfield (ES) cemetery in London, England, a burial ground that was established during the medieval Black Death pandemic of 13........ 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
- March 26, 2012
- 10:15 AM
- 591 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
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