TWiM reviews the ongoing cholera outbreak in Africa, and research showing that gut complement induced by the microbiota blocks pathogens and spares commensal bacteria.
Mark Martin joins Vincent and Michael to present compelling papers suitable for teaching microbiology to undergraduate students.
Vincent visits the laboratories of Kit and Joseph Pogliano on the campus of the University of California, San Diego, where he learns about their work on the bacterial cytoskeleton, sporulation, and the effects of antibiotics on bacterial cells.
The professors of TWiM discuss a University of Wisconsin plan for rescuing biomedical research in the US, and results of a clinical trial in Bangladesh of an oral cholera vaccine.
On episode #20 of the podcast This Week in Microbiology, Vincent, Michael, and Elio follow up on the outbreaks of E. coli in Germany and cholera in Haiti, then discuss genes that confer self-identity to Proteus mirabilis.
On episode #15 of the podcast This Week in Microbiology, Vincent, Michael and Jo review the number of species on Earth, evidence that the 2010 Haitian cholera outbreak originated in Nepal, and how the gut microbiota influences the immune response to influenza virus infection of the lung.