Word: germ
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...What it means to have a positive skin test is that you’ve had the TB germ in your body at one point. It doesn’t mean you’re sick or contagious,” she said, noting that roughly one in three individuals worldwide have been exposed to TB at some point in their lives...
Since 9/11, we've worried a lot about al-Qaeda's exporting terrorism to American soil. Call it the germ theory of terrorism--the idea that a foreign agent somehow infects people in America, creating hidden and diseased cells of domestic terrorists. From the Najibullah Zazi case to the Fort Dix Six, we've relentlessly analyzed whether these men are so-called homegrown terrorists. But we've been looking at these cases through the same microscope, always asking the same question: Were these men infected by exotic terrorists from abroad? Which is why the tragic actions of Major Nidal Malik...
Researchers started with mice that were specially bred to be germ-free - with no gut microbiota of their own - and to be able to nurture human gut microbiota. Researchers injected the mice with samples of fresh and frozen human feces, the bacteria from which took hold and colonized in the gut of the mice. If that surprises you, it absolutely stunned the researchers. "We were surprised that so much of the diversity present in human microbial communities could be recaptured in mice," says Gordon, who has been studying gut microbiota for more than five years...
...fact that the human gut flora flourished in the rodents was indeed an experimental coup. Since the mice were genetically engineered to be germ-free, lacking a functioning immune system, the scientists could be certain that any bug colonies that took hold in the mouse guts originated entirely from the human sample, not the mice. Being able to recreate the living human gut environment so faithfully in an animal was a welcome prize. (Read "The Year in Medicine 2008: From...
Will Swine Flu kill sportsmanship as we know it? In order to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus, several sports entities have either actively encouraged or outright ordered that athletes ditch that time-tested, germ-infested ritual, the handshake before or after a game. The Swedish soccer association, Canadian Olympic Committee, Ohio State football team and New England Small College Athletic Conference are among those trying to kibosh the palm-to-palm. "Shaking hands is just a way for us to increase the risk of getting ill," says Bob McCormack, the chief medical officer for the Canadian Olympic team...