The Search for Our Own Alien Life

By William B. Miller, Jr. M.D.

Everybody has an opinion about the possibility of alien life. In the movies, contact commonly starts with a violent encounter. Sometimes, the story includes alien life emerging from a spaceship, speaking precise English in a synthetic voice, and saying something like, “Take me to your leader.” In Hollywood's terms, alien life even generally looks vaguely like us: a humanoid shape, two expressive eyes, and capacities that exceed human know-how. Sometimes, just for the sake of commercial variety, a gruesome lizard with its own technological talents is substituted.

Of course, it's not just Hollywood that cares. Great scientists have thought about this issue, too, typically placing it in different terms. Stephen Hawking, the renowned physicist, put it this way, “To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational. The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like.”

 

In fact, as a society, we spend lots of money on alien life and not just on movie theater tickets. SETI, or the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, is a well-funded world-wid  platform using  radio telescopes and other technologies to search the cosmos explicitly for that purpose. Yet, few are aware that alien life as strange as any extraterrestrial that we might eventually encounter lives right at home with us,  and quite actually in us and on us. This alien life is intelligent, reacts to stimuli, and communicates abundantly. It is invisible to our eyes and unintelligible to our normal sensibilities but is, nonetheless, our intimate partner. In fact, our own survival is absolutely dependent on it. Yet despite this deep reciprocal relationship, we have no current means of communicating with it. This hidden alien presence is the trillions of microbes that are our crucial planetary companions, collaborators, competitors, and also essential parts of our bodies.

Based on our understanding that microbial communication is pervasive and highly sophisticated, a colleague and I made a radical proposal in a recent article in the International Journal of Astrobiology: Let's devote resources to attempting to devise a means of communication with our ubiquitous microbial companions as one directed effort towards learning how to  communicate with extraterrestrial life.

To date, our search for extraterrestrial life has been partially based on an assessment of probabilities formulated in 1961 by Frank Drake, a prominent astronomer.  His Drake Equation is a systematic approach to the entire range of factors that scientists consider when attempting to communicate with a technologically adept extraterrestrial civilization. It incorporates estimates of the number of stars and planets, the probability of intelligent life, and the likelihood of the development of technology that could reveal their existence. Of all these many factors, it is generally acknowledged that the single most important variable is the length of time any intelligent life has released detectable signals into space.

 

On our planet, there is a life form that deeply satisfies this length requirement of the Drake equation in its own unique manner and has done so for over 3.5 billion years. This is the omnipresent microbial realm. While it is true that this life does not use the type of technological communication that we humans have attained or are currently seeking in our present search, the earth is a cellular realm and microbes dominate it. Microbes use their own capacities to endure and flourish in all environments. Further yet, through their collective action, they even substantially change planetary environments. And they also use their substantial communication skills to partner with us.  According to their scale, they use their own form of technology and tools - biologic substrates and all the varied physical phenomena and energy sources on our planet. If their languages are still indecipherable to us, these might be made accessible if we only made the specific attempt.  Yet, what antennae or radio wave has been directed towards them instead of the cosmos?

There is a further imperative for trying to learn to communicate with this vital fraction.  The science of metagenomics utilizes new genetic techniques to better uncover a full extent of the microbial realm. We have now learned that our prior assessment of that expanse has been critically underestimated. It turns out that the vaunted clean rooms of NASA were not very tidy. In fact, unintended microbial life was inside and on the spaceships that we sent into outer space. Surprising too, we have found that these previously hidden microbes not only made it out into space but survived space conditions and even reentry to earth. The consequences are profound. Inadvertently, we have been seeding space with earthly microbial life. As such, we become an agency of panspermia, one of the theories of the origin of life. That theory supposes that life began on earth after having been seeded here from elsewhere. In our turn, and without any deep consideration, we are now performing that function ourselves by sending life outward. Should we be doing so without a better understanding of it?

How then might we best search for alien life? Surely we can continue to look outward, but our greater effort should be right here at home. When we properly understand our own alien companions, upon whom we actually depend and who communicate with us as living beings in their own fashion, then we will be better equipped to search for life outside our planet. The benefits would be substantial. What wonders about our true nature would be revealed?  Even if we fail to devise a means of direct communication, what valuable secrets might we divine about their inner life and purposes that impact our understanding of their deep interrelationships with our metabolism and immune systems?  What health benefits would accrue? And through that inner search, might we not promote our own imaginations about the truer circumstances of alien intelligence? As the astronomer and physicist, Sir Arthur Eddington, famously opined, “ Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.”

 Dr. Bill Miller has been a physician in academic and private practice for over 30 years. He is the author of The Microcosm Within: Evolution and Extinction in the Hologenome. He currently serves as a scientific advisor to OmniBiome Therapeutics, a pioneering company in discovering and developing solutions to problems in human fertility and health through management of the human microbiome. For more information, www.themicrocosmwithin.com

Lighting Up Disease Carrying Mosquitoes

A scientist has devised a simple technique for detecting genetic material from West Nile and chikungunya virus in samples, taken from mosquitoes.

To help in the battle against disease carrying mosquitoes, Dr. Robert Meagher, of Sandia National Laboratories, has devised a new method for simultaneously detecting a range of mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria. To do this effectively requires a robust assay.

The method developed is based on a nucleic acid amplification technique that differs from the traditional PCR (polymerase chain reaction). The newly invented method is based on fluorescent labelling. Here sample mosquitoes can be captured, samples extracted and tested.

With the method, by fluorescently labeling a primer (that is DNA fragment sequences extracted from the mosquito), glow as they are produced. If the primer does not detect the viral RNA, there is no glow. This allows for a rapid and simple detection.

It is hoped that the method can be adapted and used as rapid test in the field to help track down patterns of viral spread. The method will not currently work for the detection of Zika virus.

The research is published in the journal Analytical Chemistry. The paper is titled: "Quenching of unincorporated amplification signal reporters (QUASR) in RT-LAMP enables bright, single-step, closed-tube and multiplexed detection of RNA viruses."



Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle

Previously unknown virus linked to fish deaths

A new type of virus has been linked with a die-off of largemouth bass in Pine Lake, Wisconsin, U.S. This forms part of an investigation into a series of unexplained fish deaths last year.

The previously unknown virus was detected at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's La Crosse Fish Health Center. The virus was isolated from dead fish that were collected and sent for analysis. During May 2015 a series of unexplained fish deaths occurred and the results of the analysis, centered on the discovery of the new virus, have been reported.

The new virus was detected by Professor by Tony Goldberg, who works out of the Pathobiological Sciences unit at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Veterinary Medicine. The virus was detected through the use of advanced genetic sequencing methods. These involved sequencing millions of molecules from single samples. The outcome of this laboratory exercise was compared against known viral sequences. Here the fish-killing virus did not match a new type of virus was declared.

The new virus has initially been called “largemouth bass reovirus.” The virus has some similarity to other types of viruses known to be capable of killing fish. The major fish killing virus in recent years has been hemorrhagic septicemia virus. This virus has been found in lakes Michigan, Winnebago and Superior, and it affects musky, pike, bass, panfish and trout.

Initially it was assumed the bass had been killed by the hemorrhagic septicemia virus; the new analysis, however, suggests this is not the case. Here Professor Goldberg notes:  This family of viruses are emerging pathogens that infect all sorts of animals. They cause kills in marine and freshwater fisheries, including in wild and farmed populations."

Whether the new virus is solely responsible for the fish deaths remains to be seen, and further examination swill be required. Whatever the outcome, the discovery is certain to add to the complications of fish stock management and, if it is spreading, it will add to the burden to the aquaculture economy. The Great Lakes combined have a commercial fishery of some $23 million per year.

While the new virus appears fatal to bass, and perhaps other fish, there is no indication it poses any risk to human health.

The research has been published in the Journal of General Virology. The research paper is headed “Novel reovirus associated with epidemic mortality in wild Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides).”

Has a drug causing birth defects been concealed?

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle

Better water system maintenance needed to prevent Legionnaires' disease outbreaks

More effective water management might have prevented most of the Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks CDC investigated from 2000 through 2014, according to today’s CDC Vital Signs report.

Problems identified in these building-associated outbreaks included inadequate disinfectant levels, human error, and equipment breakdowns that led to growth of Legionella bacteria in water systems. CDC is releasing a new toolkit today to help building owner and managers prevent these problems.

Legionnaires’ disease is on the rise. In the last year, about 5,000 people were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease and more than 20 outbreaks were reported to CDC. Legionnaires’ disease is a serious type of lung infection (pneumonia) that people can get by breathing in small droplets of water contaminated with Legionella. Most people who get sick need hospital care and make a full recovery—but about 1 in 10 people will die from the infection.

The Vital Signs report examined 27 building-associated Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks investigated by CDC across 24 states and territories, Mexico, and Canada. For each outbreak, CDC researchers recorded the location, source of exposure, and deficiencies in environmental control of Legionella.

The most common source of building-associated Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks was drinkable water (56 percent), such as water used for showering, followed by cooling towers (22 percent), and hot tubs (7 percent). Other sources included industrial equipment (4 percent) and a decorative fountain/water feature (4 percent). In two outbreaks, the source was never identified.

Twenty-three of the investigations included descriptions of failures that contributed to the outbreak. In nearly half, more than one type of failure was identified.

Explore CDC’s new Vital Signs on preventing Legionnaires’ disease, including a practical guide for developing a Legionella water management program, infographic fact sheet, and more.

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle

Retrieval of live pathogens from clinical samples

Scientists have outlined a method which enables the rapid isolation and concentration of infectious bacteria from complex clinical samples to help speed up bacterial identification.

FcMBL is a recombinant form of the human blood protein, Mannose Binding Lectin (MBL), fused to a portion of the antibody Fc domain. The engineered protein can bind to more than 90 different microbial pathogens and toxins, ranging from fungi to bacteria, viruses and parasites and it even binds antibiotic-resistant organisms.

For detail see: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard.

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle

Cells From a Sponge Can Treat MRSA Infections

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is an infection that has wreaked havoc in hospitals and nursing homes. Due to its resistance to antibiotics and antivirals, it’s also become a problem in gyms and schools as well. Researchers at the University of South of Florida may have an answer however. A sponge that is found near Palmer Station in Antarctica, the dendrite membranosa, was synthesized by USF scientists. An extract from it, darwinolide, could be effective against MRSA.

The problem with MRSA resistance is that it forms a biofilm over tissue that drugs cannot penetrate. The extract from the sponge found in the Arctic was able to break down this biofilm in 98% of the cells after being exposed to it. Getting through this barrier is a key development in being able to kill the bacteria in MRSA and prevent the devastating damage it does.

For further details see: Laboratory Roots

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle

New insight into antimicrobial resistance

It is thought that antibiotic resistance is associated with a fitness cost, meaning that bacteria that develop antibiotic resistance must sacrifice something in order to do so. Because of this, proper use of antibiotics should result in susceptible strains eventually replacing resistant ones.

According to recent research, though, it appears that this paradigm might not be as solid as previously thought. In fact, antibiotic-resistant strains might also be fitter and more virulent, which may have profound impacts on the control and treatment of bacterial infections.

"Recent findings revealed a complicated love story between antibiotic resistance and bacterial virulence. There was an ancient paradigm about the 'fitness cost of antibiotic resistance,' but the emergence of the new technologies of high-throughput sequencing has changed the field, allowing researchers to study bacterial pathogenesis at the genome scale," said Dr. David Skurnik, senior author of a new Bioessays article. "This new, unbiased approached has revealed that unfortunately the worst case scenario of antibiotic resistant bacteria being more fit and virulent was not uncommon, particularly during infection."

For further details see:

Thomas Guillard, Stéphanie Pons, Damien Roux, Gerald B. Pier and David Skurnik. Antibiotic resistance and virulence: Understanding the link and its consequences for prophylaxis and therapy. Bioessays, June 2016 DOI: 10.1002/bies.201500180

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle

Gut Bacteria Linked To Mental Health Issues

New evidence has emerged that the human microbiome of the gut (the totality of all the microorganisms in a given community) can affect, in certain circumstances, mental health and well-being. This has come about, based on information presented at a meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, whereby subjects were administered with a probiotic. The cocktail of bacteria, over a two week period, is said to have led to the subjects feeling better.

The study examined 22 subjects, who were given a probiotic pill containing a bacterium called Bifidobacterium longum.

This small-scale study follows on from other work where alterations to the microbial flora have led to anxious mice becoming ‘bolder’ and shy mice becoming more ‘social.’ These effects are thought to occur because gut bacteria can make the specific chemicals that are similar to the types used by brain cells use to communicate. It has been established that signals between the gut and the brain travel along the vagus nerve.

In relation to this, other studies have found that mice born without bacteria, and held in sterile condition to prevent their guts from becoming populated with bacteria, often behave in strange ways, such as exhibiting antisocial tendencies.

It is unclear whether the same effects are seen with people, although there is some support for such theories.

The problem is with finding the exact combination of microorganisms needed and the added complication that this probably varies between person-to-person.

While the results are interesting, further studies are required. In addition, there is a darker element to consider – could certain combinations of microorganisms be used to make someone more anxious and depressed? A study published in the journal Neurogastroenterology and Motility makes the case for so-called “melancholic microbes.”

In a paper headed “Melancholic microbes: a link between gut microbiota and depression?”, the researchers state:

“THERE IS A DISTINCT PERTURBATION OF THE COMPOSITION OF GUT MICROBIOTA IN ANIMAL MODELS OF DEPRESSION AND CHRONIC STRESS. THIS HAS DIRECT IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOBIOTIC-BASED THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES FOR PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS.”

Further studies are needed to confirm this, but it does make for a disturbing possibility.

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle

Hewlett Packard apologizes after selling laptops for $2

Staff at Hewlett Packard in the U.K. were left embarrassed after accidentally selling laptops with a value of over $3,000 for around $2 (£1.58) via its website.

Hewlett Packard has issued an apology for taking its website down in the U.K. for the last weekend in July 2016. This was after an error on its website was detected. A mistake with product pricing allowed shoppers to purchase expensive laptops for less than $2 (£1.58). The laptops had a previous retail price of around $3,100 (£2,378.) Through a processing error the laptops were reduced in price and consumers were allowed to acquire the premium computers for next-to-nothing.

In a statement, the company said: "We apologize sincerely to impacted customers for any inconvenience caused" (as reported by the Daily Mirror.)

To add to the embarrassment, Hewlett Packard was alerted to the error not by the vigilance of its own staff or realizing that the takings were not adding up; instead the alert was sounded after those lucky enough to spot the error posted about their low-cost purchases on social media.

In the event, not many people were lucky since has cancelled all unprocessed on-line orders. Under British trading law, retailers are able to cancel online orders if they have made a "genuine and honest mistake on their part that you should have noticed." Hewlett Packard has said all buyers affected by the reversal will be refunded (in other words, they will get their $2 back and a feeling of disappointment.)

On realizing the error, Hewlett Packard took their website down on Saturday July 30, in order to stop any further sales and to make corrections. The website is now back up and running. The issue affected the ".co.uk" HP web-store only.



Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle

Pharmig News #64

The latest edition of the newsletter from the Pharmaceutical Microbiology Interest Group (Pharmig) has been issued.

In edition 64:

• An article on best practices for microbiological qualification and monitoring of environmental contaminants,
• Review of the JPAG meeting on sterile medicines;
• Latest on the EU GMP Annex 1 update;
• PDA Distinguished Author Award;
• Latest regulatory news
• And more….

Copies have been sent to Pharmig members. If you would like to see a copy or if you are interested in joining Phamig, please email: info@pharmig.org.uk

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle

Use of flow cytometry for the evaluation of disinfectant effectiveness

Flow cytometric analysis is used to evaluate various microorganisms’ susceptibility to antibacterial agents and disinfectants. A new paper describes a study where Candida albicans was used to assess the method against three disinfectants. The disinfectants examined were: 70% - ethanol and two 70%- ethanol based commercial hand disinfectants with smoothing and cleaning additives.

To detect the presence of damaged microbial cells EtBr was used. With the method, a 1 minute sample incubation time showed 36.25% ± 1.45 and 35.0% ±2,0 dead cells present as a result of commercial disinfectants-1 and -2, incubation; and 86.5% ±2.8 after the incubation with 70%- ethanol. With a 3 - minute incubation time, the corresponding results were 43.25% ±3.95; 43.5% ±2.6; 86.5% ±4.3. These were significant in multigroup comparison. With a 5-minute incubation time, C. albicans samples showed an antiseptic activity against the chemicals under investigation of: 85.5% ±2.7; 84.5% ±2.4 and 91.3% ±3.57 respectively. Here there was no significant difference.

The reference of the paper is:

Akhmaltdinova, L.L., Azizov, I., Sandle, T., Gyurka, A.G. and Chessca, A. (2016) Use of flow cytometry for the evaluation of disinfectant effectiveness, Archives of the Balkan Medical Union, 51 (2): 213-215

For a copy please contact Tim Sandle

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle

On Penicillin

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss penicillin, discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928. It is said he noticed some blue-green penicillium mould on an uncovered petri dish at his hospital laboratory, and that this mould had inhibited bacterial growth around it. After further work, Fleming filtered a broth of the mould and called that penicillin, hoping it would be useful as a disinfectant. Howard Florey and Ernst Chain later shared a Nobel Prize in Medicine with Fleming, for their role in developing a way of mass-producing the life-saving drug. Evolutionary theory predicted the risk of resistance from the start and, almost from the beginning of this 'golden age' of antibacterials, scientists have been looking for ways to extend the lifespan of antibiotics.

For further details, see BBC Science.

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle

New survey on microbiological control of tissues

The European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) Commission has decided to elaborate a new general chapter on microbiological control of tissue. The aim of the survey is to gather information from relevant stakeholders to enable the Ph. Eur. experts in charge of the elaboration of this chapter to have a clear vision on the current situation regarding the characteristics of tissue preparations used in Europe and how they are monitored with regard to microbiological control.

To access the survey, see EDQM.

This survey will end on 2nd September 2016.

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle

Bioprocessing & Sterile Manufacturing

Pharmaceutical Technology's new eBook addresses a range of pressing bioprocessing and sterile manufacturing topics.

Features include a report on accelerated scale-up for vaccine production, a review of the new ISO 1464 Parts 1 and 2 standards for air cleanliness classification, aseptic filling advances, a flexible approach to cleanroom design, a science-driven approach for microbial control, removing genotoxic impurities, regulatory enforcement and drug shortages, and qualification and validation of single-use shipping systems.

For details, see: Pharmtech

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle

FDA - Product Design to Minimize Medication Errors

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has produced a new guidance for industry of interest. It is titled “Safety Considerations for Product Design to Minimize Medication Errors.”

The introduction reads:

The recommendations in this guidance apply broadly to the development of drug and biologic products. Accordingly, this guidance is intended for sponsors of investigational new drug applications (INDs); applicants of new drug applications (NDAs), biologics licensing applications (BLAs), abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs); and manufacturers of prescription drugs marketed without an approved application or over-the-counter (OTC) monograph drugs. This guidance provides a set of principles for using a systems approach to minimize medication errors relating to product design and container closure design and thus enhance patient safety.

The recommendations in this guidance document are intended to provide best practices on how to improve the drug product and container closure design for all prescription and non-prescription drugs and biologic products regulated by the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), which are referred to collectively in this guidance as products. The guidance also provides examples of product designs that have resulted in postmarketing medication errors…”

The document can be accessed here: FDA

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle