MicrobeWorld Video

Will we become defenseless against bacteria? Will bacteria always find a way to infect and even kill us? The emergence of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria poses an enormous problem around the world. Scientists believe that the overuse of antibiotics is increasing the appearance of these pathogens. In the US, increasing casualties resulting from drug resistant staphylococcus infections received wide media attention. While antibiotics only work on bacterial infections, many patients and doctors regard antibiotics as a front-line form of treating any type of infection. Antibiotics are often prescribed because the specific pathogen that is causing an illness is often difficult to determine. In some cases they are used as a preventative measure. But is this the best defense? Are there ways to beat bacteria at their own game? On September 18, 2008 at the Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C., Dr. Stuart Levy, professor of Molecular Biology and Microbiology at Tufts University School of Medicine and Dr. Linda Tollefson, Assistant Commissioner for Science at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, discussed how to optimize antibiotic use and how to minimize the emergence of drug resistant pathogens. In part 1 of this 3 part video series, Dr. Levy discusses the basics of microbial pathogens, bacteria, and antibiotic resistance. And, Dr. Tollefson outlines the various types and classes of antibiotic drugs, approved uses, and current levels of effectiveness.   Dr. Levy is Professor of Molecular Biology and Microbiology at Tufts University School of Medicine where he is the Director of the Center for Adaptation Genetics and Drug Resistance. He directs research on mechanisms of bacterial antibiotic resistance. Stuart Levy is also Staff Physician at the Tufts Medical Center and he also serves as the president of The International Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics. Dr. Tollefson is Assistant Commissioner for Science at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). She previously served as Deputy Director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), where she led CVM's efforts to implement a risk-based approach to address antimicrobial resistance, fulfilling a 2001 Congressional mandate, and was instrumental in the founding of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System for Enteric Bacteria. Tollefson also served as Chief of Epidemiology in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition where she successfully investigated numerous outbreaks of food borne disease and served as liaison to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Parts 2 and 3 will be published over the coming weeks.

He's been referred to as the Elvis of E. coli, the Sinatra of Salmonella, and in this episode of MicrobeWorld Video, the singing toxicologist. Whatever you call him, Carl Winter, Extension Food Toxicologist and Director of the FoodSafe Program at UC Davis, performs parodies of contemporary popular music by modifying lyrics to address food safety issues such as bacterial contamination, irradiation, biotechnology, government regulation, and pesticides. The goal of his songs is to provide science-based food safety information in a fun, accessible way. Thanks to a grant from the USDA, Dr. Winter is now studying how to integrate his music into traditional food safety education programs.Dr. Winter's music goes beyond simply educating those who work with food and in this video he shares some of his tips to empower the everyday consumer looking to prevent the spread of foodborne illness.For more information about food safety please visit the following sites:http://foodsafe.ucdavis.eduhttp://www.foodsafety.govhttp://www.usda.govPlease feel free to embed and share this video.

West Nile virus entered the United States in 1999 and is now considered a seasonal epidemic that starts in the summer and continues into the fall. First isolated in Uganda in 1937, the virus can cause severe human meningitis or encephalitis in 1% of those infected.  In2007 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported 124 fatalities. The rapid spread of West Nile virus has put local and state mosquito surveillance programs on the front line of public health and disease preparedness. In this episode, MicrobeWorld Video interviews Dr. Jorge Arias, an expert in vector-borne diseases of the Americas. Arias currently serves as the Environmental Health Supervisor of the Fairfax County Health Department in Northern Virginia. In this role, he is responsible for directing the Disease-Carrying Insects Program which focuses on West Nile virus and Lyme disease. For more information about West Nile Virus, please visit: *U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm*National Pesticide Information Center - http://npic.orst.edu/wnv/*Fairfax County Health Department - http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/hd/westnile/ This episode was filmed at the Marian Koshland Science Museum, the Fairfax County Health Department, Huntley Meadows Park in Fairfax, Va., and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

Ronald Atlas, former President for the American Society for Microbiology, discusses the new One Health Initiative that recognizes the inter-relationships among human, animal, and environmental health and seeks to enhance communication, cooperation, and collaboration in integrating these areas for the health and well-being of all species.Development of the One Health Initiative began in 2007 with the American Veterinary Medical Association's (AVMA) efforts to strengthen communications and collaboration with colleagues in human medicine. The AVMA established a Task Force on this issue which released specific recommendations in June 2008. The American Medical Association (AMA) in June 2007 passed a resolution supporting the Initiative and strengthening collaboration between human and veterinary medicine in dealing with zoonotic diseases. Other endorsers include the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, American Medical Association, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Health (ASTMH), the American Phytopathological Society (APS), several smaller veterinary organizations, and over 300 individual scientists, including current and past leaders of the ASM.

The American Society for Microbiology is helping African nations foster a scientific community that is better able to address the current and future problems that threaten not only the local population, but the world at large.  Like many African countries, Zambia and South Africa are deeply affected by HIV and tuberculosis, as well as a number of other infectious diseases. In March of 2008, ASM President Cliff Houston, Ph.D., traveled to Zambia and South Africa to gauge and assess the Society's efforts to transfer knowledge and state of the art diagnostic technology training support in laboratories, schools and universities, and to assist in meeting the goals for care and treatment of people living with TB and HIV in these resource-limited countries.

Coral reefs are dying a death of a thousand cuts and their disappearance threatens not only the incredibly diverse ecosystem that depends on them, but also human health and welfare.In this episode of MicrobeWorld Video marine scientists Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Ph.D., chair of marine studies at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia,, and Kiho Kim, Ph.D., director of the environmental studies program at American University, explain the important relationship between microbes and corals, and how this delicate symbiosis that sustains life on and around reefs is facing numerous threats from human interactions to global climate change. In addition, Tundi Agardy, Ph.D., founder and executive director of Sound Seas, discusses the need for public policy and community-based conservation efforts that may help stave off the degradation of these vital ocean ecosystems.According to a 2004 report issued by the World Wildlife Fund, 24% of the world's reefs are under imminent risk of collapse through human pressures; and a further 26% are under a longer term threat of collapse. If nothing is done to protect these resources, many scientists estimate that reefs around the West Indies in the Caribbean will be gone by 2020, while the Great Barrier Reef may only last for another three decades.Please visit the following sites for more information about coral reefs:www.climateshifts.orgwww.reefrelief.orgwww.coralreef.noaa.govPlease feel free to embed or distribute this video.

In this episode of MicrobeWorld Video we ask some leading researchers, education specialists, and public health officials about the state of HIV/AIDS education in America and ideas they have to support the teaching of microbial evolution using the latest HIV/AIDS research - all while instilling innovative prevention strategies. Filmed at a forum for educators on February, 11, 2008 at the Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C. and at San Diego State University, this episode features the following experts: Roland Wolkowicz, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, San Diego State University, whose research focus is on the use of random peptide libraries and other chemical genetics approaches for the study of viral pathogenesis and the search of antiviral factors in HIV1 and HCV. Shannon Lee Hader, M.D., MPH, Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration for Washington, D.C., an epidemiologist and public health physician who has worked with HIV-infected children and adults in Brazil, Jamaica, and Zimbabwe. Anila Asghar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Education at Johns Hopkins University, whose research focuses on curriculum development and evolution. Educational resources mentioned within the video can be found online at: Koshland Science Museumhttp://koshlandscience.org/teachers/webquest.jsp NIH Curriculum Guidehttp://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih1/Diseases/default.htm Howard Hughes MedicalInstitutehttp://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/ Please feel free to embed or distribute this video.

MicrobeWorld visits the Marian Koshland Science Museum for Microbe Lab, a free day of activities for the general public.In this episode we interview Erika Shugart, deputy director of the Koshland Museum, about Microbe Lab and the Crack Koshie's Curious Case: A Disease Detective Mission activity. Next, we talk with Nagla Fetouh, Education Program Manager for the Koshland Museum, who led a disease exchange activity that teaches people about ways to control the spread of infectious disease by participating in a simulation that shows just how fast illness can spread. Finally, Eric Flem, Communications Manager for Nikon Instruments, Inc., led us through a demonstration of Nikon's Coolscope. A state of the art microscope used by clinicians and educators that has the ability to broadcast images live on the internet.

See the history of microbiology in nine scenes of gags, burlesque, drollery and song.

Produced by Active Cultures, the vernacular theatre of Maryland, Petri Dish Circus is a play loosely based off of the classic non fiction novel Microbe Hunters by Paul Henry de Kruif. Much like the original book first published in 1926 that describes 12 historical milestones in science, Active Cultures reenacts "the daring-do of Louis Pasteur in his Parisian lab, the Scotch fortitude of Ronald Ross as he travels through disease-stricken Africa, and the melancholy saga of Walter Reed as he battles Yellow Jack in Cuba" - all with a healthy dose of humor.

In this episode we interview Mary Resing, artistic director for Active Cultures, who talks about Microbe Hunters as inspiration for theatre and her whimsical, and slightly pointed, approach to portraying the women featured in de Kruif's work. Excerpts from the actual performance are also featured.