Vincent meets up with Laurene and David at the Annual Meeting of the Southern California Branch of the American Society for Microbiology, where they discuss how the Los Angeles County Department of Health is preparing for an outbreak of Ebola virus infection, and Cepheid’s game-changing, modular PCR system for the diagnosis of infectious diseases.

Michele speaks with members of the Department of Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, on the occasion of its designation as a Milestones in Microbiology site, where they discuss how the department has advanced the science and teaching of microbiology.

Vincent, Michael, Elio and Michele discuss how an endosymbiont betrays its aphid host to alert plant defenses, and a new immunosuppressive cell that allows infection of neonates.

Vincent, Elio, Michael, and Michelle discuss a symbiosis between a bacterium and fungus that increases the virulence of oral biofilms, and the assembly of amyloid fibers, which are needed for biofilm formation.