Author Archives: admin
Move Over, E. coli?
Escherichia coli was discovered over 130 years ago and has become the dominant model organism for microbiology, genetics, gene function and protein expression analysis and proteomics. In the past few decades it has become a workhorse in producing therapeutic recombinant … Continue reading
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Low Endotoxin Recovery (LER) Using LAL
Low Endotoxin Recovery (LER) is the observation that, for many biological compounds, it is difficult to recover known endotoxin spikes. This has become the prevailing topic in the endotoxin field since the inability of LAL to detect endotoxin does not … Continue reading
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Inherited Microbiomes?
Previous work has shown that certain bacterial species are transferred from parents to children. A new study from the Max Planck Institute in Tubingen suggests that part of your microbiome is actually inherited. That is, there are specific genes that … Continue reading
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A Role for Endotoxin in Aggression and Depression
A link between depression and inflammation has been observed in many studies. Aberrant social behaviors, such as aggression, often present with depression and can be indicative of suicidal behavior. A recent study addressed the association between stress-associated behaviors, such as … Continue reading
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Bacteria Establish “Us vs Them”
It is well understood that many microbial species release amino acids and vitamins into the environment to benefit the population. However, this behavior could be harmful if “outsider” species receive these molecules without contributing to the group. Scientists at the … Continue reading
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Endotoxin in Nanoparticles
Endotoxin contamination in recombinant therapeutics is a widely discussed problem. A recent review highlights similar issues in the field of nanoparticles. Nanomaterials are commonly contaminated with endotoxin due to their highly reactive surfaces combined with the ability of endotoxin to … Continue reading
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Bugs as Drugs
The role of gut bacteria has been well-established for diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s and has even been shown to play a role in depression, infertility, alcoholism and HIV progression. Starting in 2013, the US FDA … Continue reading
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The LAL Assay May be Unsuitable for Blood
A recent publication in the Journal of Immunological Methods revisits a common problem with endotoxin detection in biological solutions. Using the Endosafe PTS (Charles River Laboratories) and the Kinetic-QCL LAL Assay (Lonza) with serum samples, they found that neither were … Continue reading
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Alcohol Alters Gut Microbiome
Direct liver cell damage by alcohol has been well established as one of the primary causes of liver disease. Recent work by scientists at UC San Diego demonstrates that, in addition, alcohol can lead to liver disease by causing an … Continue reading
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National Microbiome Initiative
Last Friday the White House announced that it was creating a National Microbiome Initiative to bring together scientists to study microbial diversity associated with the human body and our environment. The move will inject $121 million/year into microbiome projects from … Continue reading
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