Category Archives: Animal Microbiology

Using animals in biomedical research: Why education holds the key

Posted on June 13, 2018 by

Animal (or in vivo) experiments play an important role in biomedical research. They are essential to support the development of innovative medicines which can ultimately improve human and animal health. But for these studies to be scientifically valid, laboratory animals … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Microbiology, Clinical and Medical Microbiology | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Protecting penguins from avian malaria

Posted on September 5, 2017 by

In 2016, a colony of penguins living in Exmoor Zoo in the UK suddenly died after an outbreak of avian malaria, a parasitic disease spread by the bites of infected mosquitoes. Sadly, this isn’t the only time that avian malaria … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Microbiology, Parasitology, Video | Tagged , | 3 Comments

A killer snake fungus has been found in wild British snakes for the first time

Posted on July 20, 2017 by

Back in April 2016, we wrote about an emerging disease that’s been killing wild snake populations in North America. Snake fungal disease, or SFD, is an infection that leads to blisters and lesions on snakes’ skin, turning scales yellow and … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Microbiology, Emerging Diseases | Tagged | 3 Comments

Researchers are hunting for viruses that could cause the next pandemic

Posted on July 13, 2017 by

Scientists around the world are looking for the next SARS or MERS virus in wildlife from disease emergence ‘hotspots’. giulia/Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 In late 2002, a new kind of lung infection began to emerge in the Guandong province of southern … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Microbiology, Emerging Diseases, On the Horizon, Virology | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

The fungus that makes ‘zombie ants’ could use biological clocks to control their minds

Posted on May 24, 2017 by

The world of parasites can sometimes be extremely gruesome. Take, for example, the charming female jewel wasp, which uses a cockroach as a living incubator for its larvae. The wasp stings the roach in the brain, and leads the much bigger … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Microbiology, Mycology | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Investigating Lyme disease on the South Downs

Posted on April 6, 2017 by

The South Downs National Park is an area that stretches for 140 km along the South Coast of England, and is home to a huge diversity of plants and animals. Some of the smaller inhabitants of the park are ticks: … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Microbiology, Clinical and Medical Microbiology, Emerging Diseases | Tagged | 3 Comments

Koalas have a virus that might protect them from chlamydia

Posted on April 4, 2017 by

In 2016, the koala was upgraded from ‘Least Concern’ to ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The cuddly-looking marsupial is not only threatened by habitat loss, but also by disease – most notably chlamydia infections. Different species … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Microbiology, Events, Virology | 3 Comments