I Love Microbiology

Cupit heart on LB agar with Serratia marcescens. S. marcescens naturally produces a red pigment: prodigiosin.

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happy valentine's day

 Source: Microbrworld

Complex, large-scale genome analysis made easier

Researchers at EMBL-EBI have developed a new approach to studying the effect of multiple genetic variations on different traits. The new algorithm, published in Nature Methods, makes it possible to perform genetic analysis of up to 500,000 individuals - and many traits - at the same time.

The relationship between genes and specific traits is more complicated than simple one-to-one relationships between genes and diseases. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) show that many genetic factors are at play for any given trait, but scientists are just beginning to explore how, specifically, genetic variations affect health and disease. Two major statistical challenges to finding these connections involve analysing associations between many different genetic variants and multiple traits, and making the best use of data from large cohorts that include hundreds of thousands of individuals.

Read more:
Complex, large-scale genome analysis made easier

Source: EurekAlert! Science News

E. coli smiley

E. coli was grown on MacConkey Agar (MAC) at 37 degrees for 24 hour. MAC is a Selective and Differential media used to inhibit G+ growth and some G- bacteria as well as identify and isolate lactose fermenting G-enteric bacteria mainly Enterobacteriaceae.

Read more:
"E. coli Happens"

Source: Microbeworld

Unique bacterial fingerprint identified in systemic sclerosis

The results of a study presented 13 June, 2015 at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2015) Press Conference showed that people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) have  a unique bacterial signature in their colon, when compared with healthy people. These findings suggest that in the gut ecology could contribute to the clinical symptoms of  SSc, and could be used to diagnose the condition, and in the development of alternative treatments.

Read more:
Final_Systemic_sclerosis_is_associated_with_a_unique_colonic_microbial_consortium_OP0213.pdf

 Source: EULAR2015

World Blood Donor Day 14 June, 2015

The theme of this year’s campaign is "Thank you for saving my life". It focuses on thanking blood donors who save lives every day through their blood donations and strongly encourages more people all over the world to donate blood voluntarily and regularly with the slogan “Give freely, give often. Blood donation matters.” The campaign aims to highlight stories from people whose lives have been saved through blood donation, as a way of motivating regular blood donors to continue giving blood and people in good health who have never given blood, particularly young people, to begin doing so.

Read more:
WHO | 2015 World Blood Donor Day campaign

Source: WHO

Nordic Congress on Quality in Laboratory Medicine 2016

Labquality Days 11-12 February, 2016, Helsinki, Finland

Labquality Days is one of the largest annual congresses in Scandinavia focused on quality and laboratory medicine. The congress is held at Messukeskus, Expo and Convention Centre in Helsinki. The congress inspires laboratory medicine and quality management professionals, researchers, and healthcare experts. The 2016 congress themes are Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) and Preanalytics.

Read more: www.labqualitydays.com

Preliminary Scientific Program

Thursday 11th February, 2016

 

Preanalytics

 

Demand management in
the preanalytical phase
Tim Lang, Dr, FRCPath, Consultant Clinical Scientist,
Clinical Biochemistry Department,
University Hospital of North Durham, UK

How to guide and prepare the patient
and the importance of sampling
Mads Nybo, M.D. Ph.D., Chief Physician,
Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology,
University hospital of Odense, Denmark

The ways in which we measure and grade
preanalytic and postanalytic performance in
microbiology by Performance Testing
Michael Noble, M.D. FRCPC,
The University of British Columbia in Vancouver BC, Canada

Pre-analytics in coagulation lab:
why struggle for better results?
Valdas Banys, Ph.D.
Faculty of Medicine, University of Vilnius, Lithuania

The “pre-analytical question” in anatomical
pathology – implications and challenges for
personalized medicine in a digital world
Pedro Soares de Oliveira, M.D.
Department of Pathology, Hospital da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal

Logistics and preanalytical factors in specimen
transportation – how it’s done locally, nationally
and on an international scale
Synlab/speaker to be announced

Preliminary Scientific Program

Friday 12th February, 2016

 

POCT

 

POCT for glucose measurements in different
matrix – reference systems can provide solutions
for improved analytical quality
Gerhard Schumann, Professor, Dr
Hannover Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Chemistry,
Hannover, Germany

POCT in Switzerland
Roman Fried, M.D.
Institute of Clinical Chemistry,
University hospital of Zürich, Switzerland
Challenges in POCT for coagulation
Piet Meijer, Ph.D.
The ECAT Foundation, Voorschoten, The Netherlands

POCT accreditation based on ISO standards
15189 and 22870
Speaker to be announced
Point-of-Care data management & connectivity
Staffan Ahlandsberg, Global Business Director DM & CS
Hemocue, Sweden

EQA of POCT methods: how to interpret results?
Anne Stavelin, Ph.D.
NOKLUS, Bergen, Norway

POCT – the Australian experience
Tony Badrick, Ph.D.
Chief Executive, RCPAQAP, Australia