Eideard

Justin Meyer, right, with Devin Dobias

Viruses regularly evolve new ways of making people sick, but scientists usually do not become aware of these new strategies until years or centuries after they have evolved. In a new study…however, a team of scientists at Michigan State University describes how viruses evolved a new way of infecting cells in little more than two weeks.

The report is being published in the midst of a controversy over a deadly bird flu virus that researchers manipulated to spread from mammal to mammal. Some critics have questioned whether such a change could have happened on its own. The new research suggests that new traits based on multiple mutations can indeed occur with frightening speed.

The Michigan researchers studied a virus known as lambda. It is harmless to humans, infecting only the gut bacterium Escherichia coli. Justin Meyer, a graduate student in the biology laboratory of Richard Lenski, wondered whether lambda might be able to evolve an entirely new way of getting into its host…

Mr. Meyer set up an experiment in which E. coli made almost none of the molecules that the virus grabs onto. Now few of the viruses could get into the bacteria. Any mutations that allowed a virus to use a different surface molecule to get in would make it much more successful than its fellow viruses. “It would have a feast of E. coli,” Dr. Lenski said.

The scientists found that in just 15 days, there were viruses using a new molecule — a channel in E. coli known as OmpF. Lambda viruses had never been reported to use OmpF before…

To see if this result was just a fluke, Mr. Meyer ran his experiment again, this time with 96 separate lines. The viruses in 24 of the lines evolved to use OmpF…

The new experiment provides a surprising glimpse at how easily viruses can evolve entirely new traits — and thus give rise to new diseases…

…The chances that a single virus would acquire so many mutations at once are certainly small. In the case of lambda viruses, Mr. Meyer estimates the chance of all four mutations arising at once is roughly one in a thousand trillion trillion.

Yet the lambda viruses repeatedly acquired all four mutations in a matter of weeks. “There’s this thinking that it all has to come together at once,” Dr. Lenski said. “But that’s just not how evolution works.”

Ready for a remake of The Andromeda Strain? Only this time it will be a documentary.

One in six UK mobile phones are contaminated with faecal bacteria due to poor personal hygiene, scientists have found.

Researchers said that 16% of the devices were contaminated with E coli, which can cause food poisoning, most probably because people fail to properly wash their hands after going to the toilet. The study…also found that Britons tend to lie about their personal hygiene…

Dr Val Curtis, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “This study provides more evidence that some people still don’t wash their hands properly, especially after going to the toilet.

“I hope the thought of having E coli on their hands and phones encourages them to take more care in the bathroom – washing your hands with soap is such a simple thing to do but there is no doubt it saves lives.”

Birmingham has the highest proportion of bacteria-ridden phones (41%) but the highest level of E coli contamination was found in London (28%).

But the scientists also found a north-south divide in the levels of bacteria found on phones, with northern cities the dirtiest. Glasgow was the worst with average bacterial levels on phones and hands nine times higher than in Brighton…

Dr Ron Cutler, of Queen Mary, University of London, said: “While some cities did much better than others, the fact that E coli was present on phones and hands in every location shows this is a nationwide problem.

“People may claim they wash their hands regularly but the science shows otherwise.”

BTW, today, 15th October is Global Handwashing Day.

I doubt anyone in the US knows that, either. Or washes their hands anymore often.

University of Minnesota researchers have discovered and received a patent for a naturally occurring lantibiotic — a peptide produced by a harmless bacteria — that could be added to food to kill harmful bacteria like salmonella, E. coli and listeria.

The U of M lantibiotic is the first natural preservative found to kill gram-negative bacteria, typically the harmful kind. “It’s aimed at protecting foods from a broad range of bugs that cause disease,” said Dan O’Sullivan, a professor of food science and nutrition in the university’s College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences. “Of the natural preservatives, it has a broader umbrella of bugs that it can protect against.”

The lantibiotic could be used to prevent harmful bacteria in meats, processed cheeses, egg and dairy products, canned foods, seafood, salad dressing, fermented beverages and many other foods. In addition to food safety benefits, lantibiotics are easy to digest, nontoxic, do not induce allergies and are difficult for dangerous bacteria to develop resistance against.

O’Sullivan discovered the lantibiotic by chance, while researching the genome of bacteria. He then collaborated with Ju-Hoon Lee, a U of M graduate student, to continue the research…

Salmonella and E. coli, both gram-negative bacteria, account for more than half of all food recalls in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, salmonella contributes to an estimated 28 percent of more than 3,000 deaths related to foodborne illness each year.

As an aside, this is one more example of collateral discoveries made in the course of basic research. Not as uncommon as journalists believe. This is part of the whole process requiring the broadest possible outlook, an open mind throughout any basic research.

It’s why there are researchers and scientists who spend their time searching out just such side roads – and taking the time and effort to develop and add them into the sum of human tools.

Sign warning of entry to isolation area in hospital
Daylife/Reuters Pictures used by permission

German hospitals are struggling to cope with the surge in patients caused by the E coli outbreak, as the death toll from the virus rose to 22.

The health minister, Daniel Bahr, said hospitals in northern Germany were finding it difficult to provide enough beds and treatment for patients, with the total number of cases increasing to 2,200…

Agriculture officials said that bean sprouts grown in one organic farm between Hamburg and Hanover were the likely cause of the illness.

Hospital authorities said blood supplies were running low and staff were exhausted and working round-the-clock, with the northern cities of Hamburg and Bremen the worst affected…

Hamburg’s health minister, Cornelia Prüfer-Storcks, told a news conference the city was considering bringing doctors out of retirement. “We want to discuss with doctors about whether those who recently retired can be reactivated,” she said.

Patients with less serious illnesses are now being moved to nearby hospitals and operations for non-threatening diseases are being postponed…

Despite the increase in the death toll, authorities said the number of new cases had started to decline.

If the source turns out to be the organic farm unnamed in the article it points just about the only serious question in production of safe foodstuffs via organic methods. Often, in an attempt to prove a natural style of production, only outdated deliberately old-fashioned methods are used to control potential disease vectors. That’s as much a mistake in the natural organic world as it can be among modern producers who turn sleazy and use invalid shortcuts.

UPDATE: German health officials confirmed absolutely nothing today. In fact, it sounds like another rush to judgement to provide answers to the press. NO e.coli was found at the farm in question and they don’t keep animals there in the first place.

The deadly wave of food-borne illness in Europe, caused by a rare form of E. coli bacteria, could finally push the United States to take long-delayed steps to protect the food supply in this country from a similar group of toxic organisms.

Food-safety advocates hope the federal government will act soon to ban the sale of ground beef if it contains any of six dangerous strains of E. coli that have increasingly been found to cause illness in the United States — a step that regulators have been considering for at least four years in the face of stiff industry opposition.

Considering for four years? That means negotiating with lobbyists for four years.

The outbreak in Europe could also bring more scrutiny of the produce industry. Investigators believe the outbreak was caused by contaminated vegetables, but they have not been able determine which type. So far, the authorities say, more than 1,700 people have been sickened, including 6 Americans, and at least 18 people have died.

For now, the focus in this country is on beef, since E. coli lives in the guts of cows.

In January, the United States Department of Agriculture drafted a much-anticipated proposal to regulate six forms of toxic E. coli in meat, in addition to the most common form, O157:H7, which is already regulated. But the proposal has been stalled at the federal Office of Management and Budget, which typically reviews proposed regulations, and officials could not say when it would be made public.

The details of the proposal have been kept secret until a final version is settled on, but there is wide expectation in the food industry and among food-safety advocates that it would either ban the sale of ground beef containing those strains or call for testing and other controls…

The industry has also often pointed to evidence that illnesses associated with the lesser-known forms of E. coli have tended to be less severe. But the German outbreak is now one of the most severe on record.

“For the people who argued that the non-O157s are not as virulent, they’ve just lost that argument,” said Dr. Richard Raymond, a former head of food safety for the U.S.D.A…

RTFA for more details on e.coli associated with beef – and a bit more info about what may be coming from the FDA next year on new regulations covering produce.

Daylife/AP Photo used by permission

Germans have been warned not to eat cucumbers until tests identify the source of a deadly E.coli outbreak which local officials say has killed 13 people. It is thought contaminated cucumbers were imported from Spain, but further tests are being carried out.

Germany has registered 1,200 confirmed or suspected E.coli cases so far. With cases reported in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK, Germany is set to hold crisis talks later.

In many of the reported cases, the gastrointestinal infection has led to Hemolytic-uremic Syndrome (HUS), which causes kidney problems and is potentially fatal.

One woman was taken to hospital in Poland on Monday. She was said to be in a serious condition after returning from a trip to the northern German city of Hamburg, which has seen the majority of infections.

Authorities in the Czech Republic, Austria and France have taken some Spanish-grown cucumbers off shop shelves amid contamination fears. Czech officials said contaminated cucumbers may also have been exported to Hungary and Luxembourg.

Suspicion has fallen on organic cucumbers from Spain imported by Germany but then re-exported to other European countries, or exported directly by Spain.

Austria has banned the sale of cucumbers, tomatoes and aubergines imported via Germany, while Russia has banned the import of some vegetables from Germany and Spain…

Two Spanish greenhouses identified as sources for the outbreak have been closed and are currently under investigation to see whether the outbreak originated there or elsewhere, said an EU spokesman…

The Sweden-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has called the outbreak “one of the largest described of HUS worldwide and the largest ever reported in Germany”…

The head of Hamburg University’s Eppendorf Clinic, Joerg Debatin, said more deaths were expected, as 30 people infected with HUS had lost kidney function.

Wow! Sounds a lot worse than any e.coli outbreaks we’ve suffered through here in the States. Though, the fact that we seem to have outbreaks with some regularity may have people already conscious of food-borne illness and responding more quickly. Including the bureaucrats.

UPDATE: German scientists say they’re now confident after extensive testing the source was not Spanish cucumbers.

A Kansas company has recalled more than 14,000 pounds of ground beef due to possible E. coli contamination, federal authorities have announced.

The recalled meat, sold in large packages and distributed in numerous states, comes from Creekstone Farms Premium Beef of Arkansas City, Kansas. Some 14,158 pounds of beef, in a handful of varieties, are subject to the recall, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said Tuesday in a press release.

A “third-party” inspector — not Creekstone Farms or the USDA — determined the presence of E. coli 0157:H7, according to the federal agency. The USDA classifies the recall as “Class 1,” having determined “this is a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death…”

That kind of makes the point.

All branded “EST. 27″ inside the USDA inspection mark, the recalled products were processed on February 22, then shipped to firms in Arizona, California, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington for “further processing and/or distribution.”

The beef’s final destinations remain unclear since they may have been repackaged into smaller packages for sale to individual consumers and sold under different brand names…

E. coli can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and, in severe cases, kidney failure. Babies, seniors and people with weak immune systems are most susceptible to the infection.

We would only buy ground beef from a couple of retailers – I wouldn’t trust most of the rest any further than I might throw a cow.

Federal health officials are warning consumers to avoid a cheese sold in five states over an E. coli outbreak that has left 25 people sick.

The Gouda cheese was sold at Costco stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. Costco offered the Bravo Farms Dutch Style Raw Milk Gouda Cheese for sale and in-store tasting between October 5 and Monday.

Twenty-five people have been sickened by E. coli in the five states, the Food and Drug Administration said. No deaths have been reported.

Those who have purchased the cheese should dispose of it in a closed plastic bag and place in a sealed trash can, the FDA said. Costco also is offering refunds to customers who return the cheese.

The cheese is Costco item 40654.

Is this cheese a CostCo exclusive? Should folks be made aware of other brand names?

The cheese is labeled Bravo Farms when sold at CostCo [.pdf].

Engineered E.coli strain (yellow) attaching to solid iron oxide (black)

The Terminator. The Borg. The Six Million Dollar Man. Science fiction is ripe with biological beings armed with artificial capabilities. In reality, however, the clunky connections between living and non-living worlds often lack a clear channel for communication. Now, scientists with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have designed an electrical link to living cells engineered to shuttle electrons across a cell’s membrane to an external acceptor along a well-defined path. This direct channel could yield cells that can read and respond to electronic signals, electronics capable of self-replication and repair, or efficiently transfer sunlight into electricity.

“Melding the living and non-living worlds is a canonical image in science fiction,” said Caroline Ajo-Franklin, a staff scientist in the Biological Nanostructures Facility at the Molecular Foundry. “However, in most attempts to interface living and non-living systems, you poke cells with a sharp hard object, and the cells respond in a predictable way – they die. Yet, in Nature many organisms have evolved to interact with the rocks and minerals that are part of their environment. Here, we took inspiration from Nature’s approach and actually grew the connections out of the cell…”

“We were interested in finding a pathway that wouldn’t kill the living systems we were studying,” said Heather Jensen, a graduate student at University of California, Berkeley whose thesis work is part of this publication. “By using a living system in electronics, we can one day create biotechnologies that can repair and self-replicate…”

In their approach, Jensen, Ajo-Franklin and colleagues first cloned a part of the extracellular electron transfer chain of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, marine and soil bacteria capable of reducing heavy metals in oxygen-free environments. This chain or “genetic cassette,” Ajo-Franklin notes, is essentially a stretch of DNA that contains the instructions for making the electron conduit. Additionally, because all life as we know it uses DNA, the genetic cassette can be plugged into any organism. The team showed this natural electron pathway could be popped into a (harmless) strain of E. coli—a versatile model bacteria in biotechnology— to precisely channel electrons inside a living cell to an inorganic mineral: iron oxide, also known as rust.

The researchers plan to implement this genetic cassette in photosynthetic bacteria, as cellular electrons from these bacteria can be produced from sunlight—providing cheap, self-replicating solar batteries. These metal-reducing bacteria could also assist in producing pharmaceutical drugs, Ajo-Franklin adds, as the fermentation step in drug manufacturing requires energy-intensive pumping of oxygen. In contrast, these engineered bacteria breathe using rust, rather than oxygen, saving energy.

Bravo! Contrast this with the know-nothings who would respond to this – if they read any science news – by prating some crap about god’s will and vowing to halt further heresy.

I only wish I could live long enough to witness our species trudging all the way out of the Stone Age.

Terri Camesano with the subject of her research

Expanding their scope of study on the mechanisms of bacterial infection, researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) have reported the surprise finding from a small clinical study that cranberry juice cocktail blocked a strain of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) from beginning the process of infection.

In a report by Terri Camesano, professor of chemical engineering at WPI. “Most of our work with cranberry juice has been with E. coli and urinary tract infections, but we included Staphylococcus aureus in this study because it is a very serious health threat,” Camesano said. “This is early data, but the results are surprising.”

The virulent form of E. coli that Camesano studies is the primary cause of most urinary tract infections. Strains of S. aureus can cause a range of “staph infections” from minor skin rashes to serious bloodstream infections. One particular strain, known as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is a growing public health problem in hospitals, nursing homes, and other institutions because it doesn’t respond to most antibiotics.

To cause an infection, bacteria must first adhere to a host, then gather together in colonies to form a biofilm. In the current study, Camesano recruited healthy female students at WPI to drink either cranberry juice cocktail or a placebo fluid that looked and tasted like cranberry juice. The subjects provides urine samples at prescribed intervals after drinking the juice or placebo, and those samples were incubated in petri dishes with several strains of E. coli and a single strain of S. aureus. Camesano’s team stained the bacteria with a special dye, then used a spectrophotometer to measure the density of the bacterial colonies in the dishes over time. Their analysis showed that the urine samples from subjects who had recently consumed cranberry juice cocktail significantly reduced the ability of E. coli and S. aureus to form biofilms on the surface of the dishes.

“What was surprising is that Staphylococcus aureus showed the most significant results in this study,” Camesano said. “We saw essentially no biofilm in the staph samples, which is very surprising because Staph aureus is usually very good at forming biofilms. That’s what makes it such a health problem.”

With E. coli, Camesano’s focal point is the small hair-like projections known as fimbriae, which act like hooks and help the bacteria latch onto cells that line the urinary tract. Camesano has shown that exposure to cranberry juice causes the fimbriae on E. coli to curl up, blunting their ability to attach to cells. S. aureous, however, doesn’t have fimbriae, so there must be other reasons why the cranberry juice affected its biofilm formation in the study. “These results do create more questions than answers,” Camesano said. “We believe this is an important new area to explore, and we are now thinking about how best to proceed.”

Every new avenue opened to research on health is a welcome start. The sort of potential truly afforded by basic research. And being as open-minded about the reality of results that good traditional science always affords.

I look forward to seeing more encouraging news from WPI and Professor Camesano.