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a culture of service...
January, 2011
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For Rapid Strep Grouping
StrepPRO
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Brainteasers
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New TB Vaccine
Being Tested
Virus based vaccine showing promising results
A
new study in South Africa has shown promising results for a tuberculosis vaccine. This novel vaccine is a "booster shot" given to those that have already had the traditional, but often ineffective, BCG vaccine.
TB remains one of the world's most deadly infectious diseases, with a death count of 1.7 million people annually. Over 2 billion people are infected.
This new TB vaccine utilizes an innovative approach by combining antigens from the
M. tuberculosis
cell with a weakened adenovirus. The non-disease producing virus, known as Adenovirus-35, with the TB antigens inserted into its structure, produces an immune response in the recipient that has been shown to protect against TB infection.
This response includes activation of both CD4 and CD8 T-cells, which has never been accomplished before. The new recombinant vaccine, known as AERAS-402, will be entering phase II studies with up to 4,000 BCG-vaccinated babies.
AERAS is a non-profit organization based in both Rockville, Maryland and Cape Town, South Africa. It has six vaccine possibilities that are being aggressively researched. The organization endeavors to release a TB vaccine for widespread use by the year 2020.
See
Hardy's complete catalog
of products for the detection of tuberculosis.
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Getting Real
Can you match the real names
to the following celebrity
stage names?
1. Marilyn Monroe
2. Pat Benatar
3. Patsy Cline
4. Tina Turner
5. Twiggy
A. Annie Mae Bullock
B. Leslie Hornby
C. Virginia Patterson Hensley
D. Norma Jean Mortenson (Baker)
E. Patricia Andrejewski
Answers
1.D; 2. E; 3. C; 4. A; 5. B
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Think about it...
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If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?
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If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
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If WalMart is lowering prices daily, how come nothing in the store is free yet?
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Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
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Famous
Snarky
Remarks
Benjamin Disraeli
Prime Minister of England
from 1874 to 1880
A Member of Parliament to Disraeli
: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease."
Disraeli
: "That depends, Sir, whether I embrace your policies or your mistress."
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Foot in Mouth Disease
"Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is
ridiculous fiction."
~ Pierre Pachet
Professor of Physiology at
Toulouse, France 1872
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QUICK LINKS...
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Want to receive the MicroBytes
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at home?
CLICK HERE
Want to review past issues
of MicroBytes?
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Did you know?
Hardy Diagnostics...
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Is celebrating its 30th year of serving microbiologists?
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Manufactures over
3,000 products
for microbiology for you to choose from.
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Maintains seven distribution centers in the U.S. for faster turn around time to your lab.
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Is
ISO 13485
certified for the manufacture of medical devices to give you confidence in our products.
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Offers you its technical manual,
HUGO
, which contains over 4,500 pages of information regarding microbiology.
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Maintains a worldwide network of over 30 distributors.
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Micro Musings..
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Seeing is Believing?
Is one building leaning more than the other?
Actually the photos are identical.
________
"Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear."
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Hardy introduces...
Pre-Reduced Media
for Anaerobes
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Pre-reduced culture media packaged in oxygen-free, gas flushed foil pouches.
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Packaging contains an oxygen scavenger sachet and a moisture absorbing desiccant packet.
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Foil pouches have an easy-to-open, pre-scored notch.
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Wide variety of packaging combinations available: monoplates, biplates, and primary set-up combinations.
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Tubes feature a screw-cap design with rubber septum, Hungate caps.
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Quality Control tested for reliable and reproducible results.
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Superior growth and performance characteristics compared to other leading brands.
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Manufactured in an ISO 13485 certified facility.
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Competitive pricing, quality products, with exceptional service and support.
More
Information.
View
a comparative matrix.
See
the complete catalog of anaerobic supplies.
Get
the cross-reference chart.
Request
a free sample pack and pricing.
Hardy now offers a
complete selection
of pre-reduced media along with gas generators, indicators, jars, pouches, etc.
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"Flu Factories"
in the Barnyard?
P
igs and birds are the most likely sources to host new pandemic flu viruses. Pig farms have been called "flu factories" according to researchers at Harvard University. The CDC has initiated a pig surveillance program with the hopes of heading off a new pandemic.
The problem is that there are nearly one billion domesticated pigs around the world, and getting the cooperation of the pig farmers is a monumental, if not impossible, task. Nearly half of the world's pigs are in China.
Many pig farmers fear government meddling and the possible quarantine of their stock if there is a suspected problem.
Last year's H1N1 flu virus was made up of a combination of two pig genes along with bird and human genes.
It is hoped that surveillance and early detection will help in controlling infection and the creation of effective vaccines.
See Hardy's
Influenza brochure
for a complete listing of products related to the detection of this virus.
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From the
Microbiology
Hall of Fame . . .
Paul Ehrlich
German chemist, immunologist, microbiologist, and Nobel Prize laureate.
In 1910, he developed Salvarsan, a less toxic mercury compound to combat syphilis. It became the most widely prescribed drug in the world until penicillin came into use in the 1940's. He nicknamed his amazingly effective drug "The Magic Bullet."
"Success in research needs four G's: Glück, Geduld, Geschick und Geld. Luck, patience, skill and money."
~ Paul Ehrlich
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Wisdom to ponder...
Jonas Salk
The developer of the
first safe and effective polio vaccine
1914 ~ 1995
"The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more."
"Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality."
"I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I have conquered my nightmares because of my dreams."
"Intuition will tell the thinking mind where to look next."
"It is always with excitement that I wake up in the morning wondering what my intuition will toss up to me, like gifts from the sea. I work with it and rely on it. It's my partner."
"Nothing happens quite by chance. It's a question of accretion of information and experience."
________________
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RUBES
Find more
of Leigh Rubin's cartoon humor.
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Advice from the Founders...
"Old minds are like old horses;
you must exercise them if you wish
to keep them in working order."
John Adams
The second president of the United States
1735 ~ 1826
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"I have a new philosophy...
I'm only going to dread
one day at a time."
Charles Shultz, creator of "Peanuts"
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Should the new health-care reform act
be repealed?
Tell us your opinion!
Let your thoughts be known! The results of this survey will be published in next month's MicroBytes, along with selected comments that we receive (without names unless requested).
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Signs of our times....
Creative Pan Handling
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