Dr Alan Cann

Join us on Google+ http://plus.google.com/ - Dr Alan Cann from Bookmarklet

Do you not think both opinions should be taught in schools, to provide a well rounded education? - Lindsey Freeman

If you want an invitation to Google+ which has replaced friendfeed, email me. - Dr Alan Cann from Bookmarklet

"Leicester lab learns from locust limbs — University of Leicester" - Dr Alan Cann from Bookmarklet

Gene Network in Fruit Flies Guides Nervous System Repair - Dr Alan Cann from Bookmarklet

"Universities have been warned not to assume that “digital native” students will embrace all e-learning initiatives, or indeed prefer them to traditional forms of education." What about you? - Dr Alan Cann from Bookmarklet

"Proteins involved in two biological processes are tightly co-regulated, as are their corresponding transcripts. Remarkably, the proteins do not seem to care about what the transcripts are doing and form networks according to their own rules." - Dr Alan Cann from Bookmarklet

"In my time as a microbiology student, the nitrogen cycle was a staple of introductory microbiology classes (as it still is), and we all learned that nitrification, the process of converting harmful ammonia into less toxic nitrate was carried out by Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter and that kept our goldfish alive. Whaddya know? 30 years later I find out that - like many of the things we thought we knew back then - that was wrong..." - Dr Alan Cann from Bookmarklet

If you want an invitation to Google+, email me. - Dr Alan Cann

Join us on Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/1133359... - Dr Alan Cann

Could Wolbachia bacteria tell us interesting things about membrane biogenesis? - Dr Alan Cann

Will it ever be possible to predict virus evolution? - Dr Alan Cann

The new version of Principles of Molecular Virology is being printed right now :-) - Dr Alan Cann

I find that there’s still a lot of confusion around the ideas behind open educational resources, so I wrote a short piece for Microbiology Today about the OeRBITAL project: - Dr Alan Cann

For a long time bacteria were considered insensitive to light, with the exception of phototrophs that use sunlight as an energy source. In these organisms, photoreceptors control production of the photosynthetic apparatus, coordinate composition of light-absorbing antennas to better capture available light, and trigger phototaxis responses. Recent studies have established that pathogenic bacteria rely on light as one of the means to assess their location and increase virulence in preparation for entering a new host. - Dr Alan Cann

RNA silencing in plants and insects can function as a defence mechanism against invading viruses. - Dr Alan Cann

Staphylococcus aureus is an important human pathogen that is found in the nasal passages of approximately 1/3 of the population. The nose serves as a reservoir for spread of this pathogen and predisposes the host to potential infection. Factors contributing to S. aureus nasal colonization are only beginning to be understood. - Dr Alan Cann

"Many people can identify a turning point in their career or life, perhaps determined by a chance meeting or a favourable situation. For Michael Mosley the driving force behind his change of direction was not the subtle cogs of fate but a conscious decision to leap, almost blindly, from a promising medical career into the world of media." - Dr Alan Cann from Bookmarklet

Noroviruses are a major cause of epidemic acute gastroenteritis affecting millions of people worldwide. Infection by these viruses relies on recognition of human histo-blood group antigens as receptors for attachment, an early infection event that most likely controls host susceptibility and resistance. - Dr Alan Cann

The evolution of one of the most devastating human pathogens, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, has captivated researchers since its discovery in 1882. But where did it come from? - Dr Alan Cann

"One of Bitesize Bio’s regular readers asked me to interview people in jobs that don’t necessarily require a PhD. So, today I’m talking to Angela Briski who’s a research technician and currently working in stem cell research. Hope you enjoy the interview…" - Dr Alan Cann from Bookmarklet

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are the subject of enormous interest. They are small non-coding RNAs that play a regulatory role in numerous and diverse cellular processes such as immune function, apoptosis and tumorigenesis. This review focuses on a few viral miRNAs with well-defined functions and uses these examples to extrapolate general themes of viral miRNA activities including autoregulation of viral gene expression, avoidance of host defenses, and a likely important role in maintaining latent and persistent infections. - Dr Alan Cann

Papillomaviruses replicate exclusively in the terminally differentiating epidermal cells of skin and mucosa in a strictly species-specific manner. Their strict dependence on terminally differentiating keratinocytes for completion of their replication cycle initially made the study of entry processes difficult. This mini-review summarizes recent advances in our understanding of papillomavirus interactions with the host cell cytoskeletal elements. - Dr Alan Cann

A novel virus that spread through a California New World monkey colony has been shown to have also infected a human researcher and a household family member, in a documented example of an adenovirus “jumping” from one species to another and remaining contagious after the jump. - Dr Alan Cann

A new study has confirmed the existence of a “trial effect” in clinical trials for treatment of HIV - a term for the benefit experienced by study participants simply by virtue of their participating in a trial. - Dr Alan Cann

"He may have only just finished his first year but Jonathan Frost is already doing all he can to prepare himself for the job market. He explains why he's putting his CV ahead of his studies" Journalist exaggeration - putting your CV ahead of your studies is dumb. Alongside, maybe. - Dr Alan Cann from Bookmarklet