This edition of Select highlights recent papers that explore some of the ever-evolving strategies that are used by microbes to subvert eukaryotic immune systems, and by host cells to fight off bacterial and viral pathogens. A number of intracellular pathogens, including Shigella flexneri, the causative agent of dysentery, co-opt the cytoskeletal elements of their host cells. These bacterial pat...

Aerial plant surfaces harbor large numbers of microbes, some of which are deleterious to plants whereas others are benign or beneficial. Commercial formulations of bacteria antagonistic to plant pathogenic microbes and ice nucleation active bacteria have been utilized as an environmentally safe method to manage plant disease and to prevent frost damage. Molecular genetic tools, microscopic exam...

One strength for all potential readers of the book is that patient positioning and the requirements for a technically adequate study are presented, as well as inherent limitations to certain techniques (e.g., supine portable chest x-rays as opposed to upright, posterior to anterior , films). All physicians would do well to read and understand these sections when requesting, interpreting, or sug...

THIS manageable volume draws together the current information on double-contrast G.I. radiology in a very readable form. It describes and comments on the techniques necessary (and the re-orientation of the examiner) and provides beautiful and profuse illustrations of what can be achieved. Its description and illustration of normal and abnormal variants is particularly useful for those trying ou...

The interactions between virus proteins and host cells are intricate and impact diverse processes. Recent papers explored in this issue's Microbiology Select reveal unexpected mechanisms by which viruses interact with host cells to facilitate infection, promote replication of their genomes, and foster horizontal gene transfer. The Tat (transactivator of transcription) protein of the human immun...

A pathologist deals with the causes and nature of disease and contributes to diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment through knowledge gained by the laboratory application of the biologic, chemical, and physical sciences. A pathologist uses information gathered from the microscopic examination of tissue specimens, cells, and body fluids, and from clinical laboratory tests on body fluids and secreti...

This issue's Microbiology Select describes recent insights into the mechanisms and consequences of viral infections, including a functional genomics screen that reports an array of previously unknown host factors required for HIV-1 infection of cultured human cells. New work also defines host factors that restrain the release of HIV-1 from cells and reveals how a class of antimicrobial peptides...