Sick to Your Stomach: Human Bugs and Treatments

Antibiotics have saved millions of lives throughout the decades, but various bacteria have become resistant over time, meaning a few antibiotics no longer work on some bacterial species. We will revisit the history of antibiotics in a pub-quiz style format and briefly discuss resistance, its effects on everyday life and the approaches we can take to reduce the spread.

The infectious disease listeriosis is caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, which is transmitted to humans through the consumption of contaminated food, leading to gastroenteritis, meningoencephalitis, and abortion. Listeria can grow at refrigeration temperatures and resist multiple environmental stresses, including the rigorous food safety control measures. In our lab we investigate how some Listeria successfully adapt to food production environments, while others go extinct.

Viruses are the most abundant biological entities on earth. They have incredible diversity, and most of us know that they can cause all kinds of problems for our health. I investigate the viruses that can be found in the gut of myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) patients. Viruses have been associated with this condition for ages, but there’s still little know about their role. But what is a virus? What are they doing in our gut? And how do they affect our health (and could there even be benefits)? Learn more about this in this talk!