{"title":"Evidence of Beer-Making 5,000 Years ago at Site in Shaanxi, China","authors":"C. Potera","doi":"10.1128/microbe.11.336.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/microbe.11.336.1","url":null,"abstract":"Like home brewers today, people living on the Central Plain of China from 3400 to 2900 BCE actively concocted beer in period-appropriate vessels, which archaeologists recently unearthed at Mijiaya near the Chanhe River in Shaanxi province. These artifacts “represent a beer-making toolkit,” and the Mijiaya site is the oldest beer-making facility ever discovered in China, according to Jiajing Wang at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., and her collaborators. This date of about 5,000 years ago for early brewing in China is comparable to estimates for when ancient brewing began further west in Mesopotamia, including reference to the drinking of such beverages that appear in the Old Testament. Details appeared 26 April 2016 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (doi:10.1073/pnas.1601465113).","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":"11 1","pages":"336-337"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1128/microbe.11.336.1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63640699","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Small Things Considered","authors":"A. Hagan","doi":"10.1128/MICROBE.11.370.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/MICROBE.11.370.1","url":null,"abstract":"If there's a hot topic in microbiology, it's bacterial interaction and communication. Bacteria “talk” to each other using a complex chemical language we are only just beginning to understand. Quorum sensing allows communication between spatially separated cells of similar species. Functioning similarly, bacteriocins warn nonimmune bacteria away from a bacterium's established niche. Type VI secretion systems also help a bacterium protect its niche, but by initiating contact between cells. Here, I'll describe another instance of cell-to-cell interaction where bacteria don't just communicate, but also heal.","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":"49 1","pages":"370-370"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1128/MICROBE.11.370.1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63641509","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Gates Foundation: “Catalytic Philanthropy” Seeking “Global Health Equity”","authors":"J. Fox","doi":"10.1128/microbe.11.334.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/microbe.11.334.1","url":null,"abstract":"“People are willing to have standing armies for war. We need to do something similar for public health,” says Bill Gates, cofounder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, Wash., and former head of Microsoft. He spoke during the opening keynote session, “A Conversation with Bill Gates: Bringing the Frontiers of Science to the Front Lines of Development,” convened at the 2016 ASM Microbe Meeting, held in Boston, Mass., in June.","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":"11 1","pages":"334-335"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1128/microbe.11.334.1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63640627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A New “Parasitism”: Mitochondrial Genome-Based Hypertension","authors":"D. Holzman","doi":"10.1128/MICROBE.11.338.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/MICROBE.11.338.1","url":null,"abstract":"Mothers with a specific mutation in a mitochondrial transfer RNA (tRNA) gene may pass a predisposition to high blood pressure on to their children, according to Min-Xin Guan of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, and his collaborators. The observation that hypertension within the three families studied appeared to be inherited exclusively maternally led them to suspect mitochondrial involvement, he says. Details appear in the July 2016 Molecular and Cellular Biology (doi:10.1128/MCB.00199–16).","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":"11 1","pages":"338-339"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1128/MICROBE.11.338.1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63641314","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Synthetic DNA for Data Storage—Tantalizing but Pricey, Not yet Practical","authors":"B. Digregorio","doi":"10.1128/MICROBE.11.337.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/MICROBE.11.337.1","url":null,"abstract":"Synthetic DNA is looking increasingly promising as a compact means for storing and retrieving different types of data, including text and images, according to Luis Ceze and Georg Seelig at the University of Washington, Doug Carmean and Karin Strauss of Microsoft Research, also in Seattle, and their collaborators. Their approach to exploiting DNA for data storage offers improved “controllable redundancy, reliability, and [information-storage] density” over previous attempts and is one of the first systems that uses DNA molecules to store digital images and retrieve them intact, they say. Details were presented last April in Atlanta during the annual Association for Computing Machinery International Conference on Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems (https://homes.cs.washington.edu/luisceze/publications/dnastorage-asplos16.pdf).","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":"11 1","pages":"337-338"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1128/MICROBE.11.337.1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63641298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fermented Foods, Lactobacillus, and Health: Lactobacillus bacteria serve as a gateway for understanding transitory host-microbe interactions in the digestive tract","authors":"M. Marco, Benjamin L. Golomb","doi":"10.1128/MICROBE.11.349.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/MICROBE.11.349.1","url":null,"abstract":"The earliest development of fermented foods, among the most ancient agricultural products, coincided with the rise of civilizations around the world. According to archeological records, wine was produced during the Neolithic Period from 8500 to 4000 BC, while beer and bread were mass-produced shortly thereafter. These foods, as well as others such as cheese, yogurt, and miso, are mentioned in ancient texts, including the Bible, the Iliad, and the Odyssey. Although modern preservation and processing methods reduced reliance on these products, fermented foods and beverages remain an important part of diets throughout the world.","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":"11 1","pages":"349-354"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1128/MICROBE.11.349.1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63641032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Host-Targeted TB Therapies of Limited Efficacy So Far","authors":"Shannon Weiman","doi":"10.1128/MICROBE.11.335.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/MICROBE.11.335.1","url":null,"abstract":"Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is notoriously difficult to eradicate even with combinations of antibiotics, leading researchers to pursue alternate strategies, including one aimed at bolstering host defenses against this pathogen. “Our inability to effectively treat all infected individuals necessitates a deeper understanding of the host-pathogen interface to facilitate new approaches,” says Amy Barczak of the Ragon Institute and Massachusestts General Hospital in Boston, Mass. She was one of several experts who participated in the symposium “Aiming at Non-Conventional Approaches to TB Therapies,” held at the 2016 ASM Microbe Conference in Boston last June.","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":"11 1","pages":"335-336"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1128/MICROBE.11.335.1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63640689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Branches: ASM Activities at the Local Level:","authors":"T. Soule","doi":"10.1128/MICROBE.11.360.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/MICROBE.11.360.1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":"11 1","pages":"360-361"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1128/MICROBE.11.360.1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63641165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Obituary: Arthur L. Koch:Arthur L. Koch","authors":"Y. Brun, C. Fuqua","doi":"10.1128/MICROBE.11.321.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/MICROBE.11.321.1","url":null,"abstract":"Arthur L. Koch, 90, passed away on May 10, 2016, from Alzheimer's Disease. Arthur has been described as “one of the true Renaissance scientists of the past several decades.” He published on diverse topics, including metabolic rates and cell growth, antibiotic resistance, cellular evolution, gliding motility, bacterial growth and division, bacterial shape, solute transport, bacterial light scattering, adaptive responses of bacteria, the interferon dose response curve, and even problems faced by migrating sea turtles! His last paper, from 2008, is on “Stone-Age Diseases and Modern AIDS.”","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":"40 1","pages":"321-322"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63640960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reviews and Resources:Climate Change and Microbial Ecology: Current Research and Future Trends: BOOKS","authors":"Daniel P. Haeusser","doi":"10.1128/MICROBE.11.325.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/MICROBE.11.325.2","url":null,"abstract":"As one might expect, this new text nicely reviews important topics in environmental microbiology research related to the increasing trends of global climate change. Editor Jurgen Marxsen does a great job with the breadth of coverage, including chapters on viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protists alike, in a range of environments from marine, freshwater, to soil. Chapters address both the data that is known regarding alterations in biochemistry, biogeology, and community interactions due to climate change, but also highlight areas where data is particularly lacking, such as in sediments and inland waters. The first chapters also incorporate relevance to rising pathogenic risks due to climate change through alterations in abundance of cyanobacteria or Vibrio species, or expansion of freshwater parasite ranges. With multiple black-and-white and color figures typical of journal review articles in each chapter, this is an impressive short overview of a topic with likely broad student appeal.","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":"11 1","pages":"325-325"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63641003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}