STCEID - South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases

25/01/2025

Germophiles! There's a new ! Viroids are making the Cannabis industry go to pot. Find out about these weird RNA molecules and their impact on w**d from Zamir Punja Simon Fraser University Listen!
American Society for Microbiology
STCEID - South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases
UTSA - The University of Texas at San Antonio
UTSA Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

How viroids only infect plants, how a viroid stunts the growth and potency of cannabis plants, where viroids may have come from, why agricultural practices may enhance the spread of the cannabis viroid, and how “beneficial” biological approaches may protect cannabis from infectious agents.

03/12/2024

Germophiles! There's a new ! Archaeophile Alex Bisson from Brandeis University chats about this squishy, fascinating domain of life. Listen!
STCEID - South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases
UTSA - The University of Texas at San Antonio
UTSA Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
American Society for Microbiology

Dr. Alex Bisson discusses how Archaea are able to shape-shift, grow at extremely high salt concentrations, cope with being “squishy” and are able to desalinate soil to allow trees to grow.

21/04/2024

13/01/2024

Germophiles, there's a NEW microTalk Podcast!!! Dr. Hyun Jung Kim, Cleveland Clinic specializes in coaxing human cells to differentiate and form tissues resembling the gastrointestinal tract, aka "gut-on-a-chip". Dr. Kim discusses how these guts-on-a-chip can be used to study diseases like inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer, as well as personalized medicine, and the things he misses about Texas. This episode was supported by Eezy Breezy Poke, an elegant at-home vaccine service.
If you're interested in gut-on-a-chip, personalized medicine, or science communication, please have a listen!
-on-a-chip American Society for Microbiology UTSA Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

How common immortalized cultured cells can differentiate and form something that resembles a gut-on-a-chip, how these guts-on-a-chip can be used to study diseases like inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer, how the addition of a microbiome to the gut-on-a-chip allows the bacteria to retai...

05/08/2023

Germophiles, there's a NEW microTalk Podcast!!! Dr. John Coates, a professor at the University of California Berkeley UC Berkeley specializes in environmental microbiology and how microbes can be utilized to resolve problems in industry.

Dr. Coates discusses an unexpected discovery of how microbes drive the iodine cycle on earth, how climate change has stimulated his research into the “bioeconomy”, and how Berkeley is a remarkable place to do science. This episode was supported by miniScope, the portable keychain microscope.
If you're interested in environmental microbiology, bioremediation, or science communication, please have a listen!

How microbes drive the iodine cycle on earth, how sequencing microbes in the oceans has been beneficial for identifying novel biochemical activities, and how climate change has stimulated his research into the “bioeconomy”, why he’s optimistic that science can mitigate the effects of climate c...

08/07/2023

Germophiles, there's a NEW microTalk Podcast!!! The study of evolution has experienced a tremendous revolution with the advances in current sequencing technologies.
Dr. Vaughn Cooper, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh who studies evolution in microbes, has taken advantage of these technologies to delve into how microorganisms adapt and evolve in different environments.
Dr. Cooper discusses the power of next gen sequencing for the study of evolution, how providing hands-on evolution experiments to high school students can stimulate the next generation of scientists, and how antibiotic resistance evolves in the presence of immunodeficiency.
This episode was supported by Darbie’s pinworm detection kit, to combat nematodes in your bikini bottom.
If you're interested in evolution, antibiotic resistance, next gen sequencing, or science communication, please have a listen!

The power of next generation sequencing for the study of evolution, how mutation rates affect evolution, how providing hands-on evolution experiments to high school students can stimulate the next generation of scientists, how scientists need to work to combat public distrust of science, how antibio...

06/04/2023

Germophiles, there's a NEW microTalk Podcast!!! Exosomes are small vesicles that that facilitate communication between eukaryotic cells. Dr. Ramin Hakami is a Professor of Microbiology at George Mason University. Dr. Hakami talks about how exosomes can deliver messages to cells, how Rift Valley Fever and Plague affect exosome signaling within infected hosts, and his alternate career as a salsa dancer. This episode was supported by IV Rehydration Therapy, the treatment that prevents explosive diarrhea from inhibiting your social life.
If you're interested in exosomes, biodefense, cell signalling, salsa dancing, case studies, or science communication, please have a listen!

How exosomes can deliver messages to cells, how Rift Valley Fever and Plague affect exosome signaling within infected hosts, how exosomes provide specificity and a “reply all” function to signaling.

03/12/2022

Germophiles, there's a NEW microTalk Podcast!!! Coxiella burnettii causes Q Fever, a zoonotic disease that has a history of being developed as a bioweapon. Dr. Stacey Gilk is an Associate Professor at University of Nebraska Medical Center - UNMC who studies Coxiella. Dr. Gilk talks about what makes Q Fever a potential bioweapon, how a large outbreak in the Netherlands led to the deaths of thousands of dairy goats, and how falling in love with Toxoplasma led her to pursue infectious disease research. This episode was supported by Gordo Sheepsay’s My Dope Microscope, the kitchen appliance that may literally save your life.
If you're interested in Q fever, biodefense, intracellular bacteria, Nebraska, case studies, or science communication, please have a listen!

Coxiella burnettii causes Q Fever, a zoonotic disease that is rarely acquired by humans

19/11/2022

Germophiles, there's a NEW microTalk Podcast!!! There have been dramatic declines in amphibian populations around the world, and one of the culprits is the disease Chytridiomycosis. This is a skin disease of amphibians caused by Batrachochytrium fungi, and it has driven some frog and salamander populations to extinction. Dr. Anat Belasen Anat Belasen is a scientist at the University of Texas Austin UT-Austin who studies Chytridiomycosis. Dr. Belasen discusses how some amphibians are highly susceptible to this disease, how frogs can be considered a biological indicator of the health of an ecosystem, how farmed bullfrogs may be spreading the disease around the world, and how she’s been a frog lover for her entire life. This episode was supported by Gordo Sheepsay’s My Brave Little Autoclave, the kitchen appliance that may literally save your life.
If you're interested in frogs, salamanders, Chytridiomycosis, global extinctions, case studies, or science communication, please have a listen!

How some amphibians are highly susceptible to Chytridiomycosis whereas others are resistant, why amphibian skin is so important for their well-being, how frogs can be considered a biological indicator of the health of an ecosystem.

03/11/2022

Germophiles, there's a NEW microTalk Podcast!!! Thiomargarita magnifica is so BIG, it has smashed all the dogma in Microbiology textbooks. T. magnifica reaches 2 cm in length and can be easily seen with the naked eye. Dr. Jean-Marie Volland is a scientist at the Laboratory for Research in Complex Systems in the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories Berkeley Lab. Dr. Volland has characterized the surprising properties of T. magnifica, and he discusses why T. magnifica is found in mangrove swamps, how it overcomes the limitations of nutrient diffusion that keeps most bacteria small, how symbiotic relationships between bacteria and other cells are ubiquitous, how studying in Guadeloupe and Austria influenced his interest in symbiosis, and how looking for things in atypical environments leads to novel discoveries. The microCase for listeners to solve is about Gordo Sheepsay, the temperamental chef of a cooking competition show who eats something more life-threatening than haute cuisine.
If you're interested in BIG bacteria, life in extreme environments, mangrove swamps, case studies, or science communication, please have a listen!

The surprising properties of T. magnifica, why T. magnifica is found in mangrove swamps, and how it overcomes the limitations of nutrient diffusion that keeps most bacteria small.

15/10/2022

Germophiles, there's a NEW microTalk Podcast!!! Vibrios are marine bacteria that live in aquatic environments with a lot of other microbes, and occasionally a particular strain will arise that can cause serious disease in humans and can spread through the population in pandemics. Burroughs Wellcome Investigator Dr. Salvador Almagro-Moreno of University of Central Florida is studying how pathogens emerge from a background of relatively harmless environmental organisms. Dr. Almagro-Moreno discusses how Vibrios can arise that cause disease, how oysters may be a training ground for Vibrio vulnificus pathogenesis in humans, and how playing flamenco guitar keeps him sane. The MicroCase for listeners to solve is about France Holiday, an anti-vax social media influencer who gets more than she bargained for while promoting an antibacterial drinking straw. If you're interested in Vibrios, pathogen emergence, eating raw oysters, case studies, or science communication, please have a listen!

How Vibrios cause disease and how the environment can influence pathogenic traits that are advantageous inside of a host.

23/09/2022

Germophiles, there's a NEW microTalk Podcast!!! One of the consequences of the “Antibiotic Era” has been the increased occurrence of infections caused by Clostridioides difficile, also known as “Cdiff”. Dr. Vincent Young is a professor in the departments of Internal Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Young discusses how Cdiff infections have increased over the past several decades, how f***l transplants have been wildly successful at treating recurrent Cdiff infections, and how playing keyboard in a band has been an important side job. If you're interested in Cdiff, f***l transplants, case studies, or science communication, please have a listen!

How Cdiff infections have increased over the past several decades, how f***l transplants have been wildly successful at treating recurrent Cdiff infections, how banking f***l samples can be beneficial