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Intimate Strangers: Unseen Life on Earth Video Podcast by American Society for Microbiology

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Intimate Strangers: Unseen Life on Earth, October 07, 2006
Reviewer: David McVeigh

This is a Superb visual gateway for everyone to the real but unseen world of microscopic life and also an introduction to some of the eccentric switched on personalities leading the exploration.
It's top class!

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MWV Episode 55 - Francis H. Arnold: Laboratory Evolution

ccondayan@asmusa.org (American Society for Microbiology)Author: American Society for Microbiology
Tue, Oct 18, 2011

In episode 55 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Washington, D.C., on February 18, 2011, Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Francis H. Arnold, Ph.D., Dick and Barbara Dickinson Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry, at the California Institute of Technology.

Maloy talks with Arnold about laboratory evolution to generate novel and useful enzymes and organisms for applications in medicine and in alternative energy. Her multidisciplinary approach reveals insight into the way natural evolution might have occurred.

Episode 54 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy on September 17, 2011, features a live recorded video episode of This Week in Microbiology (TWiM), a podcast about life on Earth.

Host Vincent and co-host Michael, along with guests Arturo, Stuart, and David converse about antimicrobial resistance and why most fungi do not cause disease.

Episode 53 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy on September 17, 2011, features a live recorded video episode of This Week in Virology (TWiV), a podcast about viruses.

Special guests include: 

• Trine Tsouderos, Health/Medical Writer, Chicago Tribune
• Mark Pallansch, Ph.D., Chief of the Enterovirus Section in the National Center for Infectious Diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control

Started in September 2008 by Vincent Racaniello and Dick Despommier, two science Professors at Columbia University Medical Center, the goal of the show is to have an accessible discussion about viruses that anyone can understand and enjoy. At ICAAC in Chicago, Racaniello, co-host Rich Condit and guests will be highlighting and commenting on some of the most exciting virology at the conference.

In episode 52 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Washington, D.C., on February 18, 2011, Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Diane Harper, M.D., M.P.H., Professor in the departments of Community and Family Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Informatics and Personalized Health at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Harper played a critical role in the clinical studies associated with the HPV vaccines and has voiced concerns over their long term ability to prevent cancer. She and Maloy discuss these concerns, gender differences in protection, and the challenges of creating a pan HPV vaccine.

In episode 51 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Washington, D.C., on February 18, 2011, Dr. Stan Maloy talks with David Relman, M.D., Thomas M. and Joan C. Merigan Professor, Department of Medicine - Division of Infectious Diseases, and Department of Microbiology & Immunology in the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Maloy and Relman discuss microbial flora in the mouth and gut and why they are important for human health. They explore the impact of antibiotics and probiotics on the community of microbes in the gut and their health implications both negative and positive. Lastly they look at the future of probiotics in personalized medicine and the potential for individualized treatment based on the uniqueness of a person's gut flora.

Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone and Android devices in the iTunes or Android app stores.

In episode 50 of MicrobeWorld Video, Vincent, Michael, and Stanley recorded episode #8 of the podcast This Week in Microbiology live at the 2011 ASM General Meeting in New Orleans, with guests Andreas Baümler, Nicole Dubilier, and Paul Rainey. They spoke about how pathogens benefit from disease, symbioses between chemosynthetic bacteria and marine invertebrates, and repetitive sequences in bacteria.

Vincent and guests Rachel Katzenellenbogen, Roger Hendrix, and Harmit Malik recorded TWiV #135 live at the 2011 ASM General Meeting in New Orleans, where they discussed transformation and oncogenesis by human papillomaviruses, the amazing collection of bacteriophages on the planet, and the evolution of genetic conflict between virus and host.

In episode 48 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Washington, D.C., on February 18, 2011, Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Stephen S. Morse, Ph.D., Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Founding Director and Senior Research Scientist, Center for Public Health Preparedness, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University.

Infectious diseases remain major causes of illnesses and fatalities worldwide. Although many are known, new infections are increasingly entering the human population often spreading from geographically isolated areas due in part to ecological changes, a globally driven market for goods and services, and air travel. These emerging threats to human health include, but are not limited to, HIV/AIDS, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), Nipah, and pandemic influenza.

In this interview Dr. Morse emphasizes that it is essential to have early warning and surveillance systems in place if we wish to prevent existing infectious diseases from increasing their range and to avoid the next pandemic. As many emerging infections, or their close relatives, already exist in other species, the "One Health" approach is invaluable in helping to identify and track these pathogens in nature, and to target surveillance efforts.

Also discussed in this interview is the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) "Emerging Pandemic Threats" (EPT) program (.pdf of program overview), which includes PREDICT, a project to build global capacity for surveillance and prediction of novel infections that have pandemic potential. EPT/PREDICT uses the "One Health" approach to target and integrate surveillance in wildlife, livestock, and humans, and develop a framework for risk assessment. These approaches are enabled by improved understanding of factors driving infectious disease emergence, and new technological capabilities for modeling and informatics, diagnostics and pathogen identification, and communications (e.g., disease reporting using cellphones).

Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone and Android devices in the iTunes or Android app stores.

In episode 47 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Washington, D.C., on February 20, 2011, Dr. Stan Maloy talks with the Editor of ProMED-mail, Lawrence Madoff, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, University of Massachusetts Medical School Boston.

ProMED-mail is the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases, an online network of more than 55,000 members who monitor the four corners of the world for emerging infectious diseases of humans, animals and plants. ProMED was launched in 1994 with 40 people on a listserv and is perhaps one of the earliest examples of social networking. Today the site has established itself as the place to go for breaking news on outbreaks, health alerts and recalls.

Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using  iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast  application for iPhone and Android devices in the iTunes or Android app  stores.

In episode 46 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Washington, D.C., Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Tracey McNamara, professor of pathology at Western University of Health Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine, about her role as the head pathologist at the Bronx Zoo during the 1999 West Nile virus outbreak in New York City. As several local residents were hospitalized with encephalitis of unknown origin, many crows and exotic zoo birds were dying off. It was determined that the patients had St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) which is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes that got the virus from infected birds. However, birds with SLE do not get sick and a possible connection between the dying crows and human cases was dismissed by many experts.

McNamara suspected there was more to this story because of the large number of birds that were also contracting encephalitis and struggled to make her voice and preliminary research heard that suggested a new disease may be emerging in North America. It wasn't until she connected with researchers at the US Army Medical Research Institute in Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Ft. Detrick, Maryland, who quickly confirmed that the virus that was killing the crows and her birds at the Bronx Zoo was West Nile virus, a disease endemic to Africa and parts of Europe that also infects people.

McNamara's experience has made her a champion of One Health – "a call to action for collaboration and cooperation among health science professions, academic institutions, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and industries towards improved assessment, treatment, and prevention of and mutually prevalent, but non-transmitted, human and animal diseases and medical conditions."

Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone and Android devices in the iTunes or Android app stores.

In episode 45 of MicrobeWorld Video, filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Washington, D.C., Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Jeremy Nicholson, Head of the Department of Surgery & Cancer at Imperial College London, about his work with metabolomics and the human gut.

Maloy and Nicholson discuss the science of metabolomics, the systematic study of the unique chemical fingerprints that specific cellular processes leave behind, and how gut microbial metabolites are part of the diagnostic pattern of results when looking at a host of diseases. Nicholson, who is  known for his work in pharmaco-metabonomics, also discusses the potential for personalized medicine.

In episode 44 of MicrobeWorld Video filmed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Washington, D.C., Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Beatrice Hahn, Professor of Medicine and Microbiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, about her work on the origins of HIV and Malaria, and how these diseases may have spread to humans.

Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone and Android devices in the iTunes or Android app stores.

On October 23 2010, MicrobeWorld attended the first annual USA Science and Engineering Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. In part 2 of this two-part video, Stanley Maloy, Dean of the College of Science at San Diego State University, continues his tour of the microbiology related exhibits at the festival.

Featured in this episode are members of the departments of biology and microbiology at the University of Georgia and Idaho State University. Maloy also introduces us to some of the work being done at The J. Craig Venter Institute in San Diego, Ca.  

Watch as Maloy introduces us to the power of microbes through demonstrations of waste tunred into energy, termites living off a diet of wood, and the radiation resistant power of microbes. Maloy also takes us on a tour of the The DiscoverGenomics! Mobile Laboratory which travels around the Washington D.C. area visiting schools that otherwise wouldn't get the chance to see science in action. 

On October 23 2010, MicrobeWorld attended the first annual USA Science and Engineering Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. In part 1 of this two-part video, Stanley Maloy, Dean of the College of Science at San Diego State University, takes us on a tour of the microbiology related exhibits at the festival.

Featured in this episode are the American Society for Microbiology booth "Where the Microbes Are (Everywhere!)" and the members of the Microbial Sciences Initiative at Harvard University.

Watch as Maloy introduces us to the power of microbes through demonstrations of biospheres created in a bottle, the bioluminescent bobtail squid, and the many different roles microbes play in the creation of food products.

Blogs, podcasts, and other new media outlets have changed the way people get their news. Immediate access to information presents new opportunities as well as challenges for science communication. Watch Carl Zimmer, science writer for the New York Times and host of MicrobeWorld's Meet the Scientist podcast, at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C., discuss how scientists and journalists are using new media outlets while avoiding their pitfalls.

Carl Zimmer is an award-winning author and science journalist. He is the author of seven books, the most recent of which is The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution. In addition to writing books, Zimmer contributes articles to the New York Times, as well as to magazines including National Geographic, Time, Scientific American, Science, and Popular Science. He also writes an award-winning blog, The Loom. From 1994 to 1998 Zimmer was a senior editor at Discover, where he remains a contributing editor and writes a monthly column about the brain.

MicrobeWorld Video and This Week in Virology team up to bring you a tour of the 50th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in Boston. In this episode the host of TWiV, Vincent Racaniello, speaks with exhibitors and visitors, including Professors Derek Smith, Michael Schmidt, Frederick Hayden, and Myra McClure.

Host links Vincent Racaniello

Links for this episode:

• 50th ICAAC
• ICAAC daily press conference videos (including Prof. Myra McClure)
• Antigenic cartography
• Antimicrobial properties of copper

On May 25th, 2010 science writer Carl Zimmer gave a keynote address at the American Society for Microbiology's General Meeting in San Diego, California. The presentation entitled “Newspapers, Blogs, and Other Vectors: Infecting Minds with Science in the Age of New Media” was given at the President’s Forum, “Telling the Story of Science.” Zimmer is a lecturer at Yale University, where he teaches writing about science and the environment. In addition to writing books, Zimmer contributes articles to the New York Times, as well as magazines including National Geographic, Time, Scientific American,Science, and Popular Science. He also writes an award-winning blog, The Loom. From 1994 to 1998 Zimmer was a senior editor at Discover, where he remains a contributing editor and writes a monthly column about the brain. Zimmer also hosts "Meet the Scientist," a podcast from the American Society for Microbiology.

Pandemic H1N1 virus may be or may soon become endemic in large modern swine confinement facilities.  Despite this, there is a paucity of influenza surveillance that is currently being conducted among swine populations. 

Watch Dr. Jeff Fox, Features Editor for Microbe Magazine interview Dr. Gregory Gray, University of Florida, Gainesville, about the importance of conducting influenza surveillance among pigs and workers in these facilities in hopes that we might quickly detect the emergence of novel influenza viruses.

This video was recorded live on May 25, 2010, at the American Society for Microbiology's 110th General Meeting in San Diego, Ca.

Watch Dr. Jeff Fox, Features Editor for Microbe Magazine talk with Arturo Casadevall, MD, Ph.D., the editor-in-chief of mBio, the new online, open-access journal from the American Society for Microbiology, about an opinion/hypothesis article he co-authored suggesting that rising global temperatures will result in new fungal infections for mammals living in temperate climates.

This video was recorded live on May 24, 2010, at the American Society for Microbiology's 110th General Meeting in San Diego, Ca.

On March 18, 2010, Roberto Kolter, Harvard Medical School and ASM President, gave a presentation to a group of graduate and postdoctoral students on why scientists need to be able to communicate effectively. This talk opened up the 2010 ASM Scientific Writing and Publishing Institute that was held at ASM Headquarters in Washington, DC on March 18 - 21, 2010.

The Institute provides four days of hands-on intensive training in scientific writing and publishing under the mentorship of ASM Journal editors and reviewers. Groups of four to six participants are paired with one experienced mentor from their field to provide individual critique and resources.

Every year the American Society for Microbiology offers several graduate and postdoctoral level programs that provide professional skills development in grantsmanship, scientific presentations, scientific publishing, teaching and mentoring, scientific ethics, career planning, and networking. For more information visit ASM's Graduate and Postdoctoral Opportunities website at asmgap.org.

From the flu to HIV, RNA viruses challenge our immune systems like no other infectious agent on the planet. RNA viruses provide unique insights into the patterns and processes of evolutionary change in real time. The study of viral evolution is especially topical given the growing awareness that emerging and re-emerging diseases (most of which are caused by RNA viruses) represent a major threat to public health. How do RNA viruses adapt and change, and how do our bodies respond? Why are diseases like HIV so difficult to predict and contain?

In episode 35 of MicrobeWorld Video, Eddie Holmes, professor in Biology at Pennsylvania State University leads a discussion before a live audience at Busboys & Poets in Washington, D.C. on the genetics and evolution of RNA viruses and how we can combat them.

The Dish was created by the Marian Koshland Science Museum and is made possible by a Science Education Partnership (SEPA) grant from the National Center for Research Resources, a component of the National Institutes of Health. This program was held in collaboration with the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Mobile health or mHealth is part of a movement towards citizen-centered health services delivered through cellular technologies. Mobile phones in particular are becoming a first line of defense against emerging infectious diseases by keeping healthcare practitioners and the public informed about outbreaks. For individuals mHealth technologies can provide real-time monitoring of vital signs and even deliver treatment services in the form of risk assessments, medication regimens and doctor appointment reminders. In addition, this new technology also has the potential to supply researchers and public health officials with up-to-date community and clinical health data.

In episode 34 of MicrobeWorld Video, we talk with William Warshauer about the work he's doing with Voxiva, a company that specializes in interactive mobile health information services. By leveraging the web, email, text messaging, interactive voice response systems and smart phone apps, he hopes to stay one step ahead of infectious disease outbreaks wherever they may occur.

We also speak with Amy Sonricker from Healthmap.org about their unique web interface and iPhone application that allows for real-time viewing and reporting of disease-related events around the globe.

This episode of MicrobeWorld Video was filmed in October 2009 at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C., at one of their frequent events for the public.

For more information about the Koshland Museum, upcoming events and online resources visit them online at www.koshland-science.org.

mHealth Resources

• United Nations Foundation - mHealth for Development: The Opportunity of Mobile Technology for Healthcare in the Developing World (.pdf)
• mobihealthnews.com
• www.mobih.org
• mHealth on Wikipedia

Whether you are making lunch for work, school or a summer picnic, knowing what food to pack and how to prepare it can be the difference between enjoying your day or going home sick. From recent peanut butter and pistachio nut recalls to E. coli outbreaks associated with hamburger patties, people are increasingly concerned about the safety of the food they eat. Many illnesses can be prevented with proper food preparation and a clean kitchen.

On this episode of MicrobeWorld Video, Chef Jim Ringler from the National Academy of Sciences explains some of the best practices for food safety both in and out of the home.

Dr. Keith Lampel, a microbiologist from the Food and Drug Administration, also joins the discussion and offers up some statistics regarding foodborne illness and provides the viewer with some tips for maintaining a clean kitchen.

In additional you'll hear from Natalia Mikha from the Partnership for Food Safety Education as she explains the organization's website FightBac.org and their basic guidelines for keeping the food you eat safe.

You can find out more information about food safety by visiting www.asm.org, www.fightbac.org, and www.cdc.gov.

This episode of MicrobeWorld Video was filmed at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C., during one of their popular public science events. For more information about the Koshland Museum, upcoming events and online resources visit them online at www.koshland-science.org.

Animal, human and environmental health are inexorably intertwined. Diseases are making the jump from animals to humans and vice-versa at an increasing pace. The emergence of animal borne diseases such as Avian flu, Ebola, and most recently H1N1 (swine flu), demonstrate the need for an integrated strategy across several scientific, medical and environmental fields for improved public health.

In this episode of MicrobeWorld Video, Dr. Mark Lutschaunig, director of the Governmental Relations Division of the American Veterinary Medical Association discusses the need for a holistic approach to human and animal health. He emphasizes that our ability to better predict when and where disease outbreaks are likely to occur depends on a strong relationship between veterinarians, doctors, and health agencies.

In addition, Dr. Ron Atlas, chair of the One Health Commission, gives an overview of the organization's mission to foster closer professional interactions, collaborations, and educational opportunities across the health sciences professions, together with their related disciplines, to improve the health of people, animals, and our environment.

To learn more about the links between animal health and human health, visit the One Health Commission website at www.onehealthcommission.org. You can also find out more information by visiting www.asm.org, www.avma.org, www.ama-assn.org and www.cdc.gov.

This episode of MicrobeWorld Video was filmed at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C., during one of their popular public science events. For more information about the Koshland Museum, upcoming events and online resources visit them online at www.koshland-science.org.

Bacteria communicate with chemical languages that allow them to synchronize their behavior and thereby act as multi-cellular organisms. This process, called quorum sensing, enables bacteria to do things they canât do as a single cell, like successfully infect and cause disease in humans.

Bonnie Bassler, Ph.D., the Squibb Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University and President-elect for the American Society for Microbiology, has been researching strategies that can interfere with quorum sensing and will hopefully yield novel antibiotics to prevent disease.

In this episode of MicrobeWorld Video we present the full presentation Dr. Bassler gave at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C. on June 18, 2009. Not only does Dr. Bassler explain the mechanisms of bacterial communication, but she also puts forth her theories on how we can disrupt this communication for human benefit.

Links for this episode:

Cytomegalovirus infection causes an increase of arterial blood pressure
Avian influenza virus glycoproteins restrict virus replication at low temperature
First West Nile virus isolation of the year in PA
CDC press release of 18 May 2009
Glaxoâs influenza vaccine with adjuvant
NY Times article on Guillain-Barrà and a more scientific view

Weekly Science Picks

Dick - National Museum of the History of Science and Medicine, Leiden
Alan - Beginning Mac OS X Programming
Vincent - Vaccinated by Paul Offit
Raul - HubbleSite

Contact/Subscribe

Please send your virology questions and comments to twiv [at] twiv [dot] tv. To listen, click the play button next to the title of this entry. You can subscribe for free to TWIV via iTunes, through the RSS feed with a podcast aggregator or feed reader, or by email.

Thanks to Chris Condayan and ASM for making TWiV live possible. Recorded by Chris Condayan and Ray Ortega.

Download

 TWiV #33 (Audio Only) (51 MB .mp3, 74 minutes)

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Fine cheeses are like fine wines. Producing and aging them properly is
both an art and a science. From cave-aging to the use of raw milk,
watch Dr. Catherine Donnelley, Co-director of the Vermont Institute
for Artisan Cheeses, describe the microbial world of cheese.

risk to cheese consumers. In this episode of MicrobeWorld Video, Dr.
Donnelly explains how these risks are mitigated through strict
processing guidelines, why these safeguards make cheese one of the
safest commodities today, and how beneficial organisms contribute to
the cheese making process. In addition, Erica Sanford from Cowgirl
Creamery with the help of Carolyn Wentz from Everona Dairy walk us

For more information about cheese making and cheese safety please
visit the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheeses. If you would like to
try some of the cheeses featured in this episode order them online
from www.cowgirlcreamery.com and www.everonadairy.com. Bon AppÃtit!

Parents are often presented with conflicting messages about germs and cleanliness. On the one hand, the news headlines warn us about dangerous "superbugs." On the other hand, there is growing concern that over-cleaning and excessive hygiene may weaken children's immune systems. Fortunately, there is real, vetted science available to help us understand how to best protect, without overprotecting, our kids.

In episode 26 of MicrobeWorld Video, we talk with Dr. Harley Rotbart, author of Germ Proof Your Kids: The Complete Guide to Protecting (without Overprotecting) Your Family from Infections. Dr. Rotbart, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at The University of Colorado and The Children's Hospital of Denver, has practiced, researched, and taught germ defense for the past 25 years. His new book serves as a resource for parents and health care providers to help put science back into the discussion of protecting kids from microscopic dangers. In addition to evaluating the traditional approaches to infection prevention (vaccines, antibiotics, etc.), Dr. Rotbart also analyzes the science behind Mom's advice about the effects of hygiene, nutrition, sleep, stress, exercise, and even wearing boots in the rain. It turns out Mom was right most of the time.

This video was filmed live at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C. and in various locations around the DC metro area.

In this episode of MicrobeWorld Video we visit the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., for the opening of "An Iconography of Contagion," an art exhibition featuring more than 20 public health posters from the 1920s to the 1990s. Covering infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS, gonorrhea, and syphilis, the posters come from North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

This video features interviews with J.D. Talasek, Director of  Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences, and Michael Sappol, Ph.D., Curator-Historian for the National Library of Medicine, along with several of the opening's attendees, on their impressions and thoughts of how public health promotion and education have changed over the decades.

The presentation of the posters along with comments provided by Talasek and Sappol provide insight into the interplay between the public's understanding of disease and society's values. The exhibit reflects the fears and concerns of the time and also the medical knowledge that was available. Considered an art form, many of the posters are beautiful and entertaining, but during their heyday, they sought to educate people on matters of life and death.

The exhibition is free and open to the public weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until December 19, 2008. The National Academy of Sciences is located at 2101 Constitution Ave., NW, in Washington, D.C. Visitors enter at 2100 C St., N.W. The gallery is located upstairs.

For those who can't make it to the Nation's Capitol, but would like more information, please feel free to download the <a href="http://www7.nationalacademies.org/arts/044621.pdf">exhibit's brochure</a>.

From your local bus route to international air travel, infectious diseases can spread across the globe in a matter of hours. In this video podcast episode filmed at the Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C., Stephen Eubank from the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute of Virginia Tech and Daniel Lucey from Georgetown University discuss the role of transportation in the spread of disease and examine the effectiveness of various measures to curb transmission.

Stephen Eubank, Ph.D., is a project director at the Network Dynamics and Simulation Science Laboratory at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute of Virginia Tech. His research focuses on modeling and simulating the spread of disease and regional transportation, and the analysis of complex systems.

Daniel Lucey, M.D., M.P.H., is an adjunct professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Georgetown University, where he is co-director of the master of science program in biohazardous threat agents and emerging infectious diseases. In recent years, his teaching focus has been on SARS, avian flu, and the threat of pandemic human influenza.
Resources
 
Learn more about infectious diseases at
http://www.koshland-science-museum.org/exhib_infectious/index.jsp
 
Transportation Research Board of the National Academies
http://www.trb.org/default.asp
 
Pandemic Flu and Travel
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/travel/index.html

MicrobeWorld and the Koshland Science Museum present a video podcast of comedian Brian Malow that includes excerpts from his science comedy act on infectious disease and an interview about the geek mystique of science.\

Malow is also a contributing editor to the Journal of Irreproducible Results, a science humor magazine, and was producer and host of a pioneering internet talk show, But Seriously. His routine on Neil Armstrong was heard aboard the space shuttle. Brian lives in San Francisco. For a taste of his humor, visit his website, www.butseriously.com.

Explore the future of microbes and how they can improve the quality of life on Earth through genetic engineering, bioremediation and electronics.

This Author: American Society for Microbiology

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