Monday, September 23, 2013

This is a repeat post, but since we talked about it in class I thought I would show it again:

Death by Fungi



This is an article about the author, Nicholas Evans, I mentioned who nearly killed members and friends by accidently picking the wrong fungi and cooking it. He was somewhat experienced at picking wild mushrooms but along with whoever was picking with him, made a near fatal mistake.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1308997/The-deadly-dish-poisoned-lives-How-The-Horse-Whisperers-Nicholas-Evans-killed-family-wild-mushrooms.html

From a quick web search I couldn't find anything more recent than 2011, at which time they were still waiting on transplants (though Evans did get one from his daughter). Here is his official website:

http://www.nicholasevans.com/

If you google his name and search videos you will find some interviews.

Fungi: good and evil.

Prof. Burke

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Bacteria, evolution, disease, biofilms: welcome to the world of microbes!

It's the start of another school year! Topics for the first couple of days include the scope of microbiology and evolution of life. This article touches on these topics and others to come. It's also a good example that one can always find a current event on microbes. Students: Read the article and make a list of things you don't understand and tuck it away in your notebook. I'll try to remind you to take it out at the end of the term and take another look at the article--what did you learn? I encourage you to post comments too!

Watching Bacteria Evolve

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Cartoon of the day

DAILY CARTOONclick to enlarge
ANDERTOONS.COM SCIENCE CARTOONS

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Death by Fungi

This is an article about the author, Nicholas Evans, I mentioned who nearly killed members and friends by accidently picking the wrong fungi and cooking it.  He was somewhat experienced at picking wild mushrooms but along with whoever was picking with him, made a near fatal mistake.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1308997/The-deadly-dish-poisoned-lives-How-The-Horse-Whisperers-Nicholas-Evans-killed-family-wild-mushrooms.html

From a quick web search I couldn't find anything more recent than 2011, at which time they were still waiting on transplants (though Evans did get one from his daughter).  Here is his official website:

http://www.nicholasevans.com/

If you google his name and search videos you will find some interviews. 

Fungi:  good and evil.

Prof.  Burke

Friday, February 1, 2013

Are we human or are we....?

Welcome to Microbiology, spring 2013.  Is microbiology relevant to your life?  I think so, of course.  But do you?  Take a look at this article, and then tell me what you think.  Notice phrases like "100 trillion bacteria".  Or the idea of carrying around 2 pounds of bacteria.  Fat vs. thin.  Heart disease and multiple sclerosis.  Autism.  Are we human, only?

Me, myself, us