META Center for Systems Biology

04/01/2014

It's here! Details on the 2014 META Center for Systems Biology symposium on host-microbe systems biology: "Modeling Our Microbial Selves". Visit http://meta.uoregon.edu/symposium-2014/ for registration, travel, and program information. See you in August!

03/02/2014

META advisory board member David Relman discusses the microbiota, antibiotics and human health with Stan Maloy.

02/28/2014

META Journal Club 2.28.14: In this article Franzenburg and colleagues use a cnidarian Hydra model and microbiota transplant experiments to determine the role that distinct antimicrobial peptide repertoires have in shaping host-associated microbial consortia. (http://goo.gl/0Lsksv)

02/07/2014

META Journal Club 2.7.14: For this JC (http://goo.gl/zupkFq) we will be discussing a CLASI way to image complex microbial communities. In their article, "Systems-level analysis of microbial community organization through combinatorial labeling and spectral imaging", Alex Valm and colleagues describe a novel method for imaging and detecting inter-species interactions that occur within host-associated microbial assemblages.

02/03/2014

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/444378688203943925/

Ashley Bateman (joint member of University of Oregon's BioBE and META Center) gives us a rundown on new research concerning the robustness of data behind the 'lean' and 'obese' microbiota and Phylosift, which is an open source software tool that "...uses evolutionary information to provide higher re...

01/31/2014

META Journal Club 1.31.14 (http://goo.gl/LnBA5e)-'House dust exposure mediates gut microbiome Lactobacillus enrichment and airway immune defense against allergens and virus infection'. In this article Fujimura et al. identify several immunomodulatory effects of house dust, which include allergen tolerance and viral defense. It was found that dust-induced shifts within host-associated microbial communities were likely responsible for these salubrious effects.

01/24/2014

On tap for Friday: META Journal Club 1.24.14- in this research article Sanchez and Gore provide experimental evidence that population and evolutionary dynamics—which are typically thought to occur on different timescales—can in some contexts be coupled. Investigation of such eco-evolutionary feedback loops should inform how host-associated microbial communities assemble and evolve.

01/20/2014

Karen Guillemin and Jessica Green have teamed with a pair of designers and illustrators from a German company to create an instructional video suitable for teachers to use in developing lesson plans. The educational production “You are your microbes” is part of TED Ed Lessons for Sharing (http://ed.ted.com/ ). TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It began in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment and Design.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1X8p0vhsWRE

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/you-are-your-microbes-jessica-green-and-karen-guillemin From the microbes in our stomachs to the ones on our teet...

01/20/2014

See you in Eugene August 8-10, 2014 for 'Modeling Our Microbial Selves'--a symposium on host-microbe systems biology!

01/20/2014

META Journal Club 1.17.14- Cullender et al. present an intriguing study in which they find that flagellin-specific antibodies can bind and induce the downregulation of flagellar motility genes in members of the microbiota.

11/14/2013

The advancements and challenges of the next frontier in visualizing host-microbe system dynamics using light sheet microscopy.

http://meta.uoregon.edu/2013-light-sheet-fluorescence-microscopy-workshop-2/ -1585

11/14/2013

'SYSTEMATICALLY RETHINKING UNDERGRADUATE BIOLOGY EDUCATION'.

http://meta.uoregon.edu/systematically-rethinking-undergraduate-biology-education/

11/14/2013

In case you missed it: Members of the META Center shared their expertise at the 2013 'Workshop on Genomics' in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic. Dr. Bill Cresko (who leads the META center's host-microbe systems evolution research area) will be giving a lecture on RAD-tag sequencing at the upcoming 2014 workshop in January.

http://meta.uoregon.edu/2013-genomics-workshop-in-czech-republic/

2013 Workshop on Genomics in beautiful Cesky Krumlov. This UNESCO world heritage site sits in the middle of the triangle formed by Prague, Munich and Vienna.