This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Fecal microbiota transplantation is a promising procedure for preventing recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI), which is the most frequently identified healthcare-associated infection in the US. Unfortunately, the effects of microbiota transplantations on the microbiome and resistome of rCDI patients have not been examined in detail. To address that gap, researchers recently conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of the investigational microbiota therapeutic RBX2660 for patients with rCDI. Over the first 7 days after treatment, all patients showed significant recovery of gut microbiome architecture and a decreased abundance of antibiotic-resistance genes. However, patients receiving RBX2660 showed more significant and longer-lasting microbiome and resistome shifts toward a balanced configuration than those receiving the placebo..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Microbes are widely known to spread disease, but could they also help prevent it? A look inside in the mosquito gut reveals a community of microbes fit for the job. Mosquitoes are well-known vectors of disease, transmitting West Nile and Zika virus and the pathogens that cause malaria and dengue fever. Unfortunately, traditional control methods have led to insecticide resistance and negative impacts on other organisms, but mosquitoes, like other animals, also host non-disease-causing microbes in their gut. These benign microorganisms can directly interact with the deadly pathogens harbored by these insects. They can also affect mosquito traits influencing pathogen transmission, such as their population density, development, biting rate, and survival. For example, certain bacterial strains can reduce female fertility and the egg-hatching rate, while others can protect mosquitoes from environmental stress..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Student teams practice water quality analysis through turbidity measurement and coliform bacteria counts. They use information about water treatment processes to design prototype small-scale water treatment systems and test the influent (incoming) and effluent (outgoing) water to assess how well their prototypes produce safe water to prevent water-borne illnesses.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"The scavenger receptors (SRs) are a group of surveillance proteins that play important roles in immune defense. These proteins are divided into 12 classes (A–L) on the basis of their diverse structures and functions. Their differences enable SRs to interact with a vast array of pathogenic factors, such as bacteria, to induce appropriate responses. Multiple SR types can bind to the same pathogenic signals, and an individual SR can bind multiple signal types. Furthermore, SRs can reversibly interact with co-receptor proteins to launch various responses, highlighting the complex and dynamic nature of SR-related defense. In general, SRs control the recruitment and activation of immune cells that eat harmful substances, and they can either induce or suppress inflammation depending on the conditions. Many SRs have both membrane-bound and soluble forms that accomplish their scavenging functions, while one potential SR, ACE-2, appears to scavenge only in its soluble form..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"The beneficial microbes that live in and on us play many important roles in our health. In mammals, these microbial communities are assembled after birth, particularly before weaning. Intestinal microbes do more than just help digest food or produce metabolites. They also contribute to the development of organ structures and the immune system. To better understand this process, researchers used mice with a specifically constructed, simplified gut microbiome. Mice without a microbiome, called germ-free, have significantly impaired immunity, but giving these adult mice a simple microbiome of 14 strains was enough for them to establish an immune response. The addition of microbes stimulated maturation of the intestinal blood vessel system and activated both innate and adaptive immunity..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Students modify a provided App Inventor code to design their own diseases. This serves as the evolution step in the software/systems design process. The activity is essentially a mini design cycle in which students are challenged to design a solution to the modification, implement and test it using different population patterns The result of this process is an evolution of the original app.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"In the age of antibiotic-resistant microbes, developing new anti-infective alternatives is crucial. A new study takes a novel approach – turning our gaze back on the microbes that colonize us. Commensal skin bacteria are fundamental to maintaining the skin barrier and protecting us from pathogenic microbes. While dysbiosis of the skin microbiome is associated with diseases such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, in healthy skin, skin commensals protect the host by supporting the immune system and impairing the growth or virulence of competitors. Researchers screened of over 3000 human skin isolates to evaluate bacterial competition. Their results revealed a strain of Staphylococcus hominis with activity against Gram-positive pathogens, mediated by a molecule called MP1. Using either a “probiotic” approach or nanoparticles could replicate the effect of MP1, reducing infection by the pathogenic bacteria Staphylococcus aureus in mice. While future studies will determine whether S..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Leveraging the soil microbiome is one way we can sustainably improve crop yields, but little is known about how, or if, specific soil amendments encourage the development of plant-protective soil microbiomes. A recent study examined the impact of pineapple residues on soils heavily burdened with the banana Fusarium wilt disease pathogen. Adding pineapple residues to the soil reduced the number of pathogens and the incidence of disease. The researchers traced this to fungal taxa affiliated with Aspergillus fumigatus and Fusarium solani. Isolates of these fungi (F.S-F and A.F-F) also suppressed the incidence of wilt disease in controlled experiments. While A. fumigatus isolates had clear antagonistic effects on the Fusarium wilt disease pathogen, F. solani did not. Instead, F. solani may compete against the wilt-causing pathogen (Foc4) for nutrients, as it has a similar carbon source utilization pattern..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Ticks act as vectors for many zoonotic pathogens and are an increasing threat to human and animal health, but tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) are not the only important residents inside ticks; they coexist with many other microorganisms. Tick microbial communities can affect tick health and immunity, and they can also interact directly with tick-borne pathogens. A recent study sought to characterize tick-borne microbes and their temporal dynamics and interactions. Using high-throughput sequencing, researchers studied the dynamics of microbes in specimens of the tick species Ixodes ricinus collected over 3 years in a peri-urban forest. They found that around 75% of sequences belonged to maternally inherited bacterial genera. The structure of the tick microbiota varied over time, with the greatest changes driven by environmental microbes..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Students learn about water quality testing and basic water treatment processes and technology options. Biological, physical and chemical treatment processes are addressed, as well as physical and biological water quality testing, including testing for bacteria such as E. coli.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Mitochondrial stress is a key trigger of innate immune responses. Sources of stress include environmental changes, genetic mutations, and pathogenic infection. Mitochondria respond by releasing mitochondrial DAMPs and cytochrome c into the cytosol that induce inflammation and apoptosis through activating inflammasomes, cGAS and apoptotic caspases. One way cells manage mitochondrial stress is by eliminating dysfunctional mitochondria, a process known as “mitophagy.” Mitophagy regulatory pathways are classified as ubiquitin (Ub)-dependent or Ub-independent (receptor-dependent). Growing evidence shows that mitophagy can be induced by certain bacteria and viruses. Co-opting the mitophagy process enables these pathogens to evade hosts’ immune defense. Much remains to be learned about the mechanisms that pathogens employ to hijack host mitophagy. Understanding these mechanisms could point to new therapeutic strategies for fighting infection and related diseases..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Behind every plant is a community of microbes that support its growth, development, and evolution. Currently, these communities are in danger. Overpopulation, overconsumption, and intensive agriculture are seriously altering the plant microbiome. Signature changes include community imbalance and loss of resilience among plant microbes, and increased resistance to antibiotics, which could result in the emergence of new plant as well as human pathogens. Curbing these effects will require increased effort among microbiome scientists to understand the drivers of systemic shifts and among citizens to acknowledge and reduce their footprint on the planet..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

How can you tell if harmful bacteria are growing in your food? Students learn to culture bacteria in order to examine ground meat and bagged salad samples, looking for common foodborne bacteria such as E. coli or salmonella. After 2-7 days of incubation, they observe and identify the resulting bacteria. Based on their first-hand experiences conducting this conventional biological culturing process, they consider its suitability in meeting society's need for ongoing detection of harmful bacteria in its food supply, leading them to see the need for bioengineering inventions for rapid response bio-detection systems.