Identification of hot spring Obelisk-like RNA replicons and expanded diversity of the Obelisk superfamily

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Figure 3 from the article: Scenic stops and extended stay: immune interference across the host landscape shapes tissue colonization, persistence, and clinical manifestation during B. burgdorferi infection. This schematic integrates pathogen-intrinsic strategies and host immune disruptions across spatial, temporal, and immunological scales. It frames the journey from early tissue colonization to prolonged immune stalemate. The central panel depicts the host landscape, emphasizing the translational continuum between experimental host models and human disease. Surrounding concentric rings organize immune interference by function rather than by individual molecules. The inner pink ring delineates four major modes of host-pathogen interaction that shape immune interference and persistence. The outer ring depicts representative mechanisms corresponding to each immune-interference category, illustrated as discrete modules.

From forest floor to doctor’s office: the immunological journey of Borrelia burgdorferi through vertebrate hosts

new review by Singh & Bankhead

www.frontiersin.org/journals/imm...

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Congratulations on the new funding!

Don't get me started on "gifting"

Lots of things kill Borrelia burgdorferi in culture. That’s a long way from killing the bacteria in a human body

Current funding decisions are not necessarily being tied to study section recommendations. I will not be surprised if ND-C proposals are funded and 1%ile proposals are denied funding

Should be an interesting presentation.

The speaker was lead author on papers that deal with B. burgdorferi OspC alelles and infectivity

e.g. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38099660/

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Illuminated stereoview of the Moon, showing both Moon images

Enlargement of one Moon photograph

Front view of the Moon stereoview

In honor of the Artemis II mission, photos of the full Moon that were taken during the 1850s by Warren de LaRue. Two slightly different images were made into a stereoscopic view, to give a 3-D effect.

Israel Environment & Nature: Mustard

Black mustard, Brassica nigra, grows 6-15 feet tall. See:
jewishvirtuallibrary.org/mustard

The aggadah relates that a man having sown "a single seed of mustard… would climb it as he would a fig tree" (TJ, Pe'ah 7:4, 206).

Shalom

The Ixodes ricinus complex life cycle comprises four life stages (egg, larva, nymph and adult), where each post-egg stage needs a blood meal to develop into the next stage or reproduce. Larvae and nymphs feed on many vertebrate species, including mammals, songbirds and lizards, whereas adults feed on a narrower range of hosts, most commonly deer. Lyme borreliae are not passed from infected female ticks to their offspring; thus, the bacteria are maintained in an enzootic cycle between immature ticks (larvae and nymphs) and reservoir hosts, typically small mammals and songbirds. For illustrative purposes, this figure typifies the life cycle of Ixodes scapularis in the northeastern USA. Eggs are laid in the late spring; larvae will hatch in mid-summer and then seek their first host in late summer. Engorged larvae will detach, drop off the host and moult into nymphs. Unfed nymphs emerge and quest for their second host the following late spring through summer, which is therefore the epidemiologically most risky time of the year. Engorged nymphs detach, drop off the host and moult into adults in the leaf litter. Beginning in the fall, adult ticks quest for a third host, most commonly deer. Engorged females detach from the host and drop into the leaf litter, where they overwinter. Adult ticks that are unable to locate hosts in the fall will also overwinter and resume questing in early spring. Fed I. scapularis females will oviposit an egg mass (up to 1,500–2,000 eggs), and then die. Although both nymphs and adult females may be infected, because of their small size (about the size of a poppy seed), their large numbers, and a spring/summer activity period that coincides with increased outdoor human activity, nymphs are responsible for most human infections. Because they are larger (about the size of a sesame seed) and have red coloration, adult female ticks are easier to notice and remove before the bacteria can be transmitted

Lyme Borreliosis

Nature Reviews Disease Primers
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41888159/

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#TickSky

Congratulations (sympathies?) to colleague Dr Cat Brissette @brissettelab.bsky.social for taking on even more administrative duties, in addition to running a successful research lab.

When I was on a study section, I often had several weeks between receiving pink sheets from a review and the next CS deadline. That was enough time to revise proposals and resubmit without missing a cycle. I had 2 grants funded that way. A nice perk

Testing is needed to determine how quickly ticks will die or drop off. The window may be adequate to significantly reduce transmission.
Plus, it would work against all tick species, potentially preventing RMSF, Ehrlichia, and tick-borne viruses

OspA has always been a ludicrous candidate for a vaccine. It only works if you already have a high titer of anti-OspA antibodies, which means constantly repeating injections.
There are better candidates, such as CspZ

Testing is needed before jumping to conclusions, for and against.
I will state that this has far more promise than any OspA-based vaccine.

By preventing tick bites, this will be an effective way to prevent almost all tick-borne diseases.

When I was on a study section, I often had several weeks between receiving pink sheets from a review and the next CS deadline. That was enough time to revise proposals and resubmit without missing a cycle. I had 2 grants funded that way. A nice perk

A Pill That Kills Ticks Is a Promising New Weapon Against Lyme Disease

Your pets can already eat a chewable tablet for tick prevention. Now, a pill that paralyzes and kills ticks has shown positive results in a small human trial.

Saw a presentation on this a couple of years ago. Brilliant idea!

Your death will come on an ordinary day, in the middle of unfinished plans, and the world will continue on without you. So live a little

So live a little…

Men qualify for a 1-year extension of their tenure clock at the University of Kentucky (USA) if a child is born or adopted.
Men can, and should, participate equally in caring for children.

Tick talk: UK researcher targets Lyme disease with 2 grants Brian Stevenson, Ph.D., a professor in the College of Medicine’s Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics and the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment’s Depa...

Tick talk: UK researcher targets Lyme disease with 2 grants

Nice when the university recognizes you! 😊

#MicroSky
#PhageSky

uknow.uky.edu/research/tic...

Thank you!
They are scheduled to finish shooting interiors in a few weeks. My guess is release in the autumn/winter.
Being a parent, I am often the last to know what my children are doing!

Darkened theater, with "The First Omen" displayed on the screen

Bill Nighy and Ralph Ineson talking before the film screening. Arkasha Stevenson in the background

Lead cast of The First Omen at the grand premier

My guest pass to "The First Omen"

A personal post:
Two year's ago in Hollywood, at the premier of daughter Arkasha Stevenson's first feature film, "The First Omen". Released by Twentieth Century/Disney
With Bill Nighy, Nell Tiger Free, and Ralph Ineson

Her latest film for A24 is now in production

Scientist dude holding a vial that contains engorged ticks

The university is planning a press release on my research program. They sent around a professional photographer to shoot some pictures. They especially liked this vial has two engorged Amblyomma americanum ticks.

PS, they required that I wear goggles so that I wouldn't get a tick in my eye.

Wensleydale??

Free Webinar on Vector-Borne Disease Epidemiology for Educators

March 30

Frontiers | Treponema pallidum TprD and TprK are adhesins and their surface expression promotes spirochetal opsonophagocytosis BackgroundTreponema pallidum subspecies pallidum causes systemic syphilis, exclusively infects humans in nature and can persist for decades in the absence of...

Treponema pallidum TprD and TprK are adhesins and their surface expression promotes spirochetal opsonophagocytosis

Significant results from some clever experimentation

www.frontiersin.org/journals/imm...

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corn on the cob is cooking on a grill with wooden handles Alt: corn on the cob is cooking on a grill with wooden handles

Roasted corn!
Yummmmmmmmmm 😋

If the title says "bacteria", then it is about E. coli. No need for further clarification

Graphic abstract of the article: "Spirochete motility is driven by periplasmic flagella, yet how sheath architecture is organized and regulated has remained unclear. This study reveals that coordinated asymmetric localization of sheath proteins underlies flagellar architecture and motility in Leptospira. The periplasmic flagellum of Leptospira consists of a FlaB1-based core filament that is asymmetrically surrounded by the sheath proteins FcpA and FcpB. FcpA functions as a major flagellar coiling protein required for filament curvature. FcpB acts as a structural wedge that reinforces flagellar rigidity. FlaA2 controls the asymmetric localization of FcpA and FcpB, thereby coordinating flagellar architecture and motility."

"Asymmetric sheath coordination controls flagellar architecture and function in Leptospira spirochete"

Cool new information on spirochete structure and function!

link.springer.com/article/10.1...
(open access)

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