Friday, May 10, 2002

The institute for genome research (TiGR) has sequenced a number of Antrhax strains looking for some method to distinguish one isolate from another. It looks like this technique is a long shot for figuring out who released the spores last year, but could be useful in the future. One interesting fact at the end of the article is that it cost about $125,000 to determine the entire genome sequence of a microorganism. At this price an avalanhce of genomes are being sequenced. This information is of incredible value to scientists studying the microorgansisms. It will lead to new treatments against pathogens and speed up our understanding of all sorts of basic and applied research problems. 1:05:00 PM

Professor Uses Comics to Teach Physics. New York Times May 10 2002 0:53AM ET [Moreover - moreover...] Anything to get the kids interested in Science IMHO. 12:28:05 PM

Gonorrhea may become untreatable According to the CDC Neisserria gonorhoeae, the cause of a nasty venereal disease, is gaining resistance to the antibiotic cipro. About 14% of all diagnosed cases of gonorrhea in Hawaii are resistant to the recommended class of antibiotics. These strains are starting to spread to California. It's only a matter of a few years before these strains spread across the U. S. There is only one class of antibiotics left to treat these resistant strains. If these fail, we are in big trouble. Similar scenarios may happen with other diseases. For more information see the CDC report. 12:21:16 PM