Vaccines in the past typically work by using a weakened virus or a purified viral protein from the virus to stimulate our immune response. But, the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines we’ve been hearing about work a bit differently. Instead of containing viral protein, the vaccines contain mRNA, which instructs your cells to make the viral protein…
A dog’s nose knows, and it might just know when you’re emitting the scent of infectious disease. With its 300 million scent receptors, the dog’s most recent detective work involves COVID-19. Dogs are identifying COVID-19 cases in airports You might have seen the many news stories about dogs sniffing out COVID-19 at the Helsinki airport…
Five years ago, Tasha Sturm shared a photo of an agar plate full of colorful bacterial colonies in the shape of a handprint. Perhaps you remember seeing it on social media. This bacterial handprint came from her son’s hand after playing outside. But before the handprint photo, Sturm had been growing a collection of photos…
Don’t want to read but want to get some microbiology in your life? Or maybe you need something to get your through your long day in the lab. Here are some of my favorite podcasts with microbial mentions. If you have another suggestion, feel free to drop it in the comments below!
In 1933, Ruth Ella Moore (1903-1994) became the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in the natural sciences. The Columbus, Ohio native received her Ph.D. in bacteriology from Ohio State University, where she also finished her B.S. and M.A. Her dissertation was published in two parts: Studies on Dissociation of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, and A…