Latest news with #microbiology
Washington Post
22-07-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Carolyn Hax: Family disappointed in daughter for choosing science PhD over law
Adapted from an online discussion. Dear Carolyn: My dad, uncle and grandfather are all lawyers, and I always thought I wanted to be one, too. Until I realized in college I was much more interested in science. I switched my major to microbiology and graduated with honors. Now I'm in my last year of my PhD program, but according to my dad, I'm a huge failure and a disappointment. My younger cousin graduated from law school and joined the family law firm, and it's all he can talk about. My mom said I shouldn't have gotten his hopes up all those years I said I wanted to be a lawyer. They also are still complaining that my switching majors cost them extra tuition. It's not like I pulled a deliberate bait-and-switch; I changed my mind. When my dad asked what my plans were and I told him I'd be looking for a postdoc position, he said I was going to waste my life in academia and never make any real money. I think most parents would be overjoyed their daughter is getting a doctorate, but mine act like I'm a dropout and a failure. There's no way to make your parents supportive or proud of you, though, is there? — Changed My Mind Changed My Mind: Not having these parents' support sounds like a compliment. I'm sorry. Your dad's ego is bad enough, but the flights of absurdity your mom undertook to normalize it were a thing to behold. A Blue Angel of enablers. Sweet deity. You can't make them stop complaining about your PhD (!), but you can take your ears somewhere blissfully free of their strain of narcissistic jerkery at its onset. First whisper thereof. Every time. Except when your dad asks about your work. Then say, always, verbatim, 'Wasting my life in academia and not making any real money.' I realize trashing your parents is complicated; no doubt there's love there, plus parental approval carries special weight. (Like a third doughnut.) But there's nothing defensible in their behavior — except perhaps in its power to motivate you to go all in on backing yourself. If détente is what you want, then don't underestimate the power of your father's vanity as a pathway back in: 'Pop, take some credit for the intellectual variety of the gene pool.' And since apparently it has occurred to no one in that pool to say this: Congratulations. Re: PhD: My parents don't understand my PhD, either. Mine is in studying fire. My mother literally referred to me as a 'pyro' throughout grad school and my postdoc. Now that I have a rather prestigious full-time position, I have been upgraded to 'scientist.' I can't help bring your parents around — they either will or won't on their own — but I can say there are jobs out there they can't even imagine. All they know of, probably, are the terribly paid and exploited adjunct professor positions in the news. They are worried about you and showing it in the worst way possible. Hopefully. — Scientist Scientist: Thanks. Not bad for a pyro. For PhD: If it makes you feel any better, my father said 'I hope this is not the end of your academic career' during my law school graduation. Why, yes, he has a PhD. — Lawyer Lawyer: Can we get the two dads together? (And then run?) Re: PhD: Please stop going to a well that is dry. You are asking for approval, acceptance, even an 'I'm happy for you,' and neither of your parents has it to give. Cultivate other relationships that are genuinely supportive. — Anonymous Re: Pyro: Now, now. That is Dr. Pyro to you. — Dr. Pyro Dr. Pyro: Right. My bad.
News.com.au
15-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Big pharma takes notice as Novo Nordisk puts Clever Culture's APAS to the test
Novo Nordisk kicks off APAS test drive Clever Culture eyes global rollout The company's pharma pipeline is swelling It's a big moment for any Australian company when a global pharmaceutical giant comes knocking. But for Adelaide-based Clever Culture Systems (ASX:CC5), this wasn't just a knock; it was a deliberate move by a global heavyweight in drug manufacturing, Novo Nordisk. On Monday, Clever Culture confirmed that it had received a purchase order from Novo for its flagship APAS Independence instrument. The machine will be delivered to Novo's central team in Denmark, where it will undergo a full-scale evaluation to assess its suitability for deployment across Novo's global manufacturing network. The Danish giant will be comparing Clever's automated plate reading technology against its existing manual microbiology workflows. The evaluation will cover both standard 90mm 'settle plates' and the more nuanced 55mm 'contact plates' – the two staples of pharmaceutical environmental monitoring. Why this matters Novo Nordisk is a global leader in diabetes and obesity treatment. The company currently pumps billions into its manufacturing footprint to keep up with global demand for its blockbuster drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy. Its facilities are massive, complex, and stringently sterile; and that's exactly where Clever's APAS technology enters the frame. The APAS Independence uses AI technology to automate one of the most time-consuming parts of microbiology – analysing agar plates for contamination. It can assess hundreds of plates per hour, filtering out the negatives, and flagging anything that might require closer inspection by human microbiologists. That's a big deal in an industry where even minor contamination can derail production, trigger recalls, and in extreme cases, harm patients. APAS essentially transforms a manual, repetitive process into a standardised digital workflow, creating a clean audit trail. Novo will now test APAS across both plate types, aiming to validate its ability as a complete solution. The fact that Novo is doing this at its central 'centre of excellence' site is no small detail; it suggests potentially broader applicability for APAS across Novo's global network. The long-term strategy For Clever Culture, this sale is a key milestone in a long-term strategy to focus on top-tier pharmaceutical manufacturers. CEO Brent Barnes, who's been leading the company's shift toward applications in pharmaceutical manufacturing, said the adoption by these top-tier pharma firms helps establish credibility across the entire industry. 'Novo is amongst the largest sterile drug manufacturers globally and have been great to work with, adding significant bench-strength to customer advocacy and the industry with respect to APAS," he said. 'By doing it in this manner, they also have the most to gain from automation and standardisation." From a sales execution perspective, it also means that Clever Culture is working with a centralised point of contact that could then introduce APAS to their global manufacturing sites. These organisations have both the resources and infrastructure to evaluate new technologies centrally and deploy them at scale. 'This is therefore a very targeted and efficient sales process.' How big could it get? The short answer: potentially very. According to Novo Nordisk's own website, the company operates 16 large manufacturing sites around the world. And just like AstraZeneca, which started with one APAS system and now has nine installed, it's likely that multiple units could be required at each facility if the evaluation is successful. But Barnes is careful not to overstate things, saying that the company isn't in a position to put out forecasts at this early stage. 'We have stated that for larger manufacturing sites, multiple APAS instruments may be required, this has been the case for AstraZeneca as an example. 'You could take an external view on what the opportunity could look like based on this information.' Clever Culture now counts five top-tier pharmaceutical customers that are either evaluating or already using APAS: AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Thermo Fisher Pharma Services, an unnamed multinational that recently completed a major settle plate evaluation and, now, Novo Nordisk. Together, these five customers alone represent a potential opportunity of 60–80 APAS instruments, according to Barnes. Stacked pipeline Once evaluations begin, the question becomes: how long before they lead to actual rollout? 'Customers will typically go through an evaluation that could take 4-6 months,' Barnes said. 'During this process, they are evaluating performance of APAS in addition to considering where APAS could be adopted throughout their global sites.' To put this in perspective, in FY25 Clever Culture sold and shipped 9 instruments to AstraZeneca within a 12 month timeframe. That kind of timeline is encouraging for investors, especially when you consider that more than 40 pharmaceutical companies are currently in Clever Culture's active pipeline. Collectively, those opportunities represent about $75 million in potential upfront sales, and another $15 million in recurring annual revenue, said Barnes. For now though, the first APAS unit has landed in Denmark. What happens next depends on performance, process, and plenty of plates. But Clever Culture has the platform, the momentum, and now one more giant evaluating it with serious intent. At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Clever Culture Systems is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Millions of people with a common allergy may not actually be allergic at all, first-of-its-kind trial suggests
Millions of people mistakenly believe they are allergic to penicillin, experts warned today. Around three million Britons are listed on their medical records as having suffered a reaction to penicillin, making it unsafe for them to take it to treat infections, ranging from a dental abscess to a throat infection or meningitis. Yet, British researchers who tested almost 1,000 patients with the allergy, found almost 90 per cent could actually safely use the antibiotic. Instead, many were labelled as allergic after developing borderline allergy-like symptoms—such as vomiting or a rash—when given the drug as a child. Scientists hope the findings could both pave the way for millions more people to benefit from the medication, regarded as one of the most effective antibiotics available, and tackle the threat of antibiotic resistance. Patients who cannot currently take penicillin for infections are instead treated with a different class of medication—broad-spectrum antibiotics, such as doxycycline. As broad-spectrum antibiotics target a wider range of organisms, they increase the risk of antibiotic resistance, and are linked with higher rates of potentially deadly hospital-acquired infection, such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile. Dr Jonathan Sandoe, study lead author and expert in microbiology at the University of Leeds, said: 'Antibiotics have been life-saving drugs since the late 1930s, but we are now in an era where microbes are evolving to resist the effects of current antibiotics. 'The global challenge of antibiotic resistance is causing people to die of common infections, so it is vital to find ways to improve how antibiotics are used. 'Assessing people with penicillin allergy labels is one way we can achieve this.' He added: 'This research shows that removing incorrect penicillin allergy labels has the potential to improve patient experiences, reduce health costs and tackle bacterial resistance. 'Now, we need to work together with policymakers and patients to help the NHS to address this issue.' In the trial, researchers tracked more than 300 patients from 51 GP practices in England, all of whom had no history of severe reactions to penicillin. They were tested for a penicillin allergy, with either an oral dose of the antibiotic or a small injection under the skin. If there was no immediate reaction, they were given a three-day course of penicillin to take at home, where they were monitored by the research team. They found 30 patients tested positive for a penicillin allergy, while 335—92 per cent—tested negative. After three months, 276 patients had the allergy removed from their medical records. And after 12 months, allergies were removed from the records of 321 patients—88 per cent of the group that was tested. Writing in the journal Lancet Primary Care, the scientists said 'access to penicillin allergy assessment for patients should be widened'. As part of the study, researchers also analysed the cost-effectiveness of allergy testing based on the NHS model. They said that although results may vary in different countries, the study observed 'tendency towards reducing consultations, days in hospital, and emergency admissions' which 'suggest that the penicillin allergy assessment pathway is cost-effective in the short run and increasingly likely to be so over longer follow-up periods'. Christopher Butler, a professor of primary care at the University of Oxford, said: 'It's this kind of research question that has a huge impact on improving care for individuals, improving cost-effectiveness of what we do as clinicians, and helps us preserve the precious shared resource of of antibiotics to all of us and to future generations.' Penicillin allergy is often self-diagnosed by people who've had symptoms, such as diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, headache or bloating, while being treated with the medication. According to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, being labelled as allergic to penicillin is associated with a higher mortality rate of an extra six deaths per 1,000 patients in the year following treatment for infection. This is because the drug saves lives that other medications can't.
CNA
15-07-2025
- Health
- CNA
CNA938 Rewind - How unhygienic are your kitchen sponges?
CNA's Talking Point sheds light on the horrors of your not-so-innocent kitchen sponge. Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman investigate with Isaac Leong, Senior Microbiologist at Marchwood Laboratory Services.
Gizmodo
14-07-2025
- Health
- Gizmodo
Florida Cat Named Pepper Brings Home Never-Before-Seen Virus—for the Second Time
Last year, Pepper, a pet cat who roams the backyards of Gainesville, Florida, helped a scientist discover a new viral strain. Now, the furry feline is back at it again. In a new study, scientists have once again discovered an exotic virus infecting a dead rodent that had been caught by Pepper. This time around, Pepper's furry hunting trophy helped researchers pinpoint an unidentified strain of orthoreovirus, a type of virus that infects humans and other mammals. The findings, and the virus's complete genome, are published in the journal Microbiology Letters. John Lednicky, Pepper's owner and the lead author of the study, is a microbiologist at the University of Florida and hunts viruses much like Pepper hunts rodents. It was Lednicky who brought Pepper's fresh catch into the lab for testing. His analysis revealed that the rodent, an Everglades short-tailed shew, carried a previously unidentified strain of orthoreovirus. These types of viruses can infect humans and other mammals, but scientists still don't know much about their effects in humans. There have been a few rare cases of encephalitis, meningitis, and gastroenteritis linked to the virus in children, however. The new viral strain is officially known as 'Gainesville shrew mammalian orthoreovirus type 3 strain UF-1.' Orthoreoviruses mutate quickly. Much like the influenza virus, two different types of orthoreovirus can infect a single host cell. This means that the two viral strains blend their genomes within the cell, essentially creating a new virus. 'The bottom line is we need to pay attention to orthoreoviruses, and know how to rapidly detect them,' Lednicky said in a statement. Pepper's last contribution to science was in May 2021, when he brought home a common cotton mouse carrying a type of jeilongvirus never-before-seen in the U.S. Unlike orthoreoviruses, jeilongvirus infects reptiles, fish, and birds in addition to mammals. It can also occasionally cause serious illness in humans. That study was published last year. Since then, Lednicky has also been hard at work identifying other novel viruses. He adds that it's not all too surprising to find a new viral strain, since viruses mutate quickly. 'I'm not the first one to say this, but essentially, if you look, you'll find, and that's why we keep finding all these new viruses,' Lednicky said in a statement. Next, the researchers plan to continue studying the exotic virus to understand if it poses a threat to humans and pets. But the virus posed no threat to Pepper, at least, who has shown no signs of illness and is out conducting fieldwork once again. 'This was an opportunistic study,' Lednicky said in a statement. 'If you come across a dead animal, why not test it instead of just burying it? There is a lot of information that can be gained.'
