The latest Business updates from the science industry


by Heather Hobbs Imaging Method reveals whether Antibiotics reach Bacteria hiding in Tissues


During bacterial infections such as tuberculosis, bacteria enter human cells posing a challenge for treatment, as antibiotics must reach and enter all infected cells in order to be effective. If researchers could select for or develop more effective antibiotics based on where they reach, this may reduce the length of treatment needed, which in turn could reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance developing.


Scientists at the Francis Crick Institute and the University of Western Australia have developed a new imaging method to see where in the infected tissues and in the cells, an antibiotic given to treat tuberculosis had reached the bacteria. The scientists are continuing to work on the method, adapting it for other types of antibiotic and to image multiple antibiotics at the same time.


Max Gutierrez, author and group leader of the Host-Pathogen Interactions in Tuberculosis Laboratory at the Crick, said: “In the case of tuberculosis, people need to be treated with at least three different antibiotics over six months. We don’t yet fully understand why this extended treatment is needed. We hope that being able to more clearly see where antibiotics are going, will help us better understand this process and fi nd ways to improve it.”


Mycobacterium tuberculosis infected mouse lung (Credit The Francis Crick Institute)


The imaging method, correlative light, electron and ion microscopy in tissue (CLEIMiT) was used to analyse lung tissue from mice infected with tuberculosis and treated with the antibiotic bedaquiline.


A combination of other imaging methods, including confocal laser scanning microscopy, 3D fl uorescence microscopy, electron microscopy and nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry, were also used to to develop the new approach.


Using this method, they found that bedaquiline had not reached all infected cells in the lung tissue and also had not entered all infected areas within infected cells.


They also found this antibiotic was collecting in macrophages and in polymorphonuclear cells, both types of immune cell. This was a surprise as these cells have different environments and it wasn’t thought that one antibiotic would be able to enter both.


Tony Fearns, author and senior laboratory research scientist in the Host-Pathogen Interactions in Tuberculosis Laboratory at the Crick, said: “Our approach could be used to help develop new antibiotics or to re-assess current antibiotics to judge how effectively they reach their targets. The more we learn about how drugs behave in the body, for example where they collect, the better we will be able to treat bacterial diseases like tuberculosis.”


Published in PLoS Biology 54132pr@reply-direct.com


Dramatic Process and Beautiful Symmetry Capture Grand Image Awards


over the stigma of an aster fl ower (Symphyotrichum Tradescantii). Vallourec is a steel mill that produces seamless pipes, and the company uses the JSM-6360 SEM for quality control and imaging of metallic materials.


Flávio said: “In the case of this particular image, my purpose was really just because of my curiosity and because I really love to work with SEM images. I would give a brief lecture on SEM for some colleagues; I wanted to obtain an image that could refl ect the capabilities of the instrument, revealing how beautiful and surprising can be the nature in its details, just nearby us. So, I caught this very simple fl ower that was in the lab’s garden and started to analyze it on the SEM! In fact, I could say that the main drive for this image was just curiosity and beauty.


The Screamer by Lita Duraine. (Credit JEOL)


Winners of Jeol’s 2020 Electron Microscopy Image Contest were revealed as the company also launched its competition for this year. The Grand Prize Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) Image award was given to Lita Duraine, a certifi ed electron microscopist at Baylor College of Medicine in Baylor, Texas. ‘The Screamer 2020’ resembles a screaming cartoon character (possibly a good depiction of how many felt about 2020), but is actually a detailed, high magnifi cation image showing fi ring between boutons in a Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fl y) sample. It was imaged on the Jeol JEM-1400Plus TEM as part of a bouton study on muscle weakness. “Manipulating Drosophila melanogaster is a bit challenging from an electron microscopy point of view, but is so indispensable for genomic research in Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s and other debilitating diseases,” Lita said. The common fruit fl y serves as a model organism for studying genetics and other fi elds of research.


The Grand Prize Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Image award was given to Flávio Loureiro, an engineer working in the laboratories of a Vallourec Group’s plant located in Brazil. His image “Seeds in the Cradle” is both artistic and detailed, showing Pollen grains


New Microscope set to Advance Understanding of Bio-molecules


RAL Octopus Laser System (Credit: CLF/STFC)


A new design for a cheaper, more fl exible microscope that will give microbiologists a greater insight into how single bio-molecules such as nucleic acids and proteins behave has been developed by scientists using the UK’s Central Laser Facility (CLF). Called the smfBox, the microscope allows scientists to look at one molecule at a time rather than generating an average result from bulk samples. Reported to work as well as commercially available instruments, but at a fraction of the cost, the prospect of more readily available equipment will offer more opportunities for improved drug discovery for diseases such as cancer, HIV-AIDS and COVID-19.


Building on the original smfBox concept developed by a team of academics and undergraduate students at the University of Sheffi eld, the current researchers hope to expand the use of single molecule imaging by giving the wider scientifi c community detailed build instructions and open-source software to operate the easy-to-use microscope without the need to invest in expensive infrastructure.


The project was a collaboration between the University of Sheffi eld and the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Octopus laser system at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire.


‘Seeds in the cradle’ by Flávio Loureiro. (Credit JEOL)


The Jeol Image Contest began in 2014 and all entries and winning images are available for viewing along with more information online: ilmt.co/PL/gpq4


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The simplicity of the microscope design is intended to allow scientists unfamiliar with the technique to use the equipment without extensive training. The open-source software means that its applications can be adapted easily for different purposes. smfBox was developed using CLF expertise in designing the optics and computing hardware.


More information online: ilmt.co/PL/PaVe 54142pr@reply-direct.com


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