Residues of pharmaceuticals are increasingly detected in surface waters throughout the world.In four streams in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, we detected analgesics, stimulants, antihistamines, andantibiotics using passive organic samplers. We exposed biofilm communities in these streams to the com-mon drugs caffeine, cimetidine, ciprofloxacin, and diphenhydramine.

Original Source

Alternative therapeutics for infectious diseases is a top priority, but what infections should be the primary targets? At present there is a focus on therapies for severe infections, for which effective treatment is most needed, but these infections are hard to manage, and progress has been limited. Here, we explore a different approach.

Hundreds of clinical studies have demonstrated associations between the human microbiome and disease, yet fundamental questions remain on how we can generalize this knowledge. Results from individual studies can be inconsistent, and comparing published data is further complicated by a lack of standard processing and analysis methods. Here we introduce the MicrobiomeHD database, which includes 28 published case–control gut microbiome studies spanning ten diseases.

Original Source

In the last five years antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has gained greater importance and climbed up higher on the global health and development agenda. In 2011, an initiative by India was culminated in the Jaipur Declaration on AMR by the 11 countries of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) South-East Asia region. In response to request by the 68th Session of the World Health Assembly (WHA), the WHO coordinated the development of a global action plan (GAP) against AMR through extensive process of consultation.

Blowflies and houseflies are mechanical vectors inhabiting synanthropic environments around the world. They feed and breed in fecal and decaying organic matter, but the microbiome they harbour and transport is largely uncharacterized. We sampled 116 individual houseflies and blowflies from varying habitats on three continents and subjected them to high-coverage, whole-genome shotgun sequencing. This allowed for genomic and metagenomic analyses of the host-associated microbiome at the species level.

Moisture response functions for soil microbial carbon (C) mineralization remain a critical uncertainty for predicting ecosystem-climate feedbacks. Theory and models posit that C mineralization declines under elevated moisture and associated anaerobic conditions, leading to soil C accumulation. Yet, iron (Fe) reduction potentially releases protected C, providing an under-appreciated mechanism for C destabilization under elevated moisture. Here we incubate Mollisols from ecosystems under C3/C4 plant rotations at moisture levels at and above field capacity over 5 months.

As phase 1 of the Earth Microbiome Project, analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA sequences from more than 27,000 environmental samples delivers a global picture of the basic structure and drivers of microbial distribution.

Original Source

In its most recent Model List of Essential Medicines, WHO adopted a new classification for antibiotics.

Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium extensively remodels the host late endocytic compartments to establish its vacuolar niche within the host cells conducive for its replication, also known as the Salmonella-containing vacuole (SCV). By maintaining a prolonged interaction with late endosomes and lysosomes of the host cells in the form of interconnected network of tubules (Salmonella-induced filaments or SIFs), Salmonella gains access to both membrane and fluid-phase cargo from these compartments.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is increasing in a wide range of pathogens, causing morbidity and mortality globally, and threatening modern medicine. While the long-term impact of AMR on human societies remains uncertain, the conservation of antimicrobials’ effectiveness has become an urgent priority. Tackling this ubiquitous problem requires coordination among countries and across sectors that include human and animal health, the environment, development, and trade.