Aarush I

@HenryClay24 I liked your American System.

Adding on, atherosclerosis is EXTREMELY common as half the people aged 45 to 84 have it according to the NIH. It is caused by damage to the endothelium (arterial lining). Eating healthy and reducing LDL cholesterol intake are good measures to take.

#DiseaseOfTheDay 3 Atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is the build up of a fats, cholesterol, and other substances on arterial walls. This build up is called plaque and causes arteries to narrow, restricting blood flow. Atherosclerosis can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

@danielyanggg I love bacteriophages

When infected by a bacteriophage, it begins to produce an endotoxin that damages tissue. Image: photomicrograph

#BacteriaOfTheDay 112 Corynebacterium diphtheriae C. diphtheriae is a species of Gram-positive bacteria. It is the causative agent behind diphtheria, which is easily preventible with a vaccine, but may cause serious complications if left untreated, including myocarditis.

Low levels of dopamine is perhaps the biggest cause of Parkinson’s. Levodopa (L-dopa) is the main therapy used and it works by stimulating nerve cells to produce dopamine. The effects of L-dopa diminish as the disease progresses and it gets less and less useful.

#DiseaseOfTheDay 2 Parkinson’s Disease Parkinson’s disease is a chronic degenerative disease of the nervous system. It causes paralysis and rigid movement due to the aggregation of Lewy Bodies (proteins) in the basal ganglia (part of the brain).

Epilepsy can be passed down genetically AND can be acquired (as a result of a stroke or trauma). Surgery is an option and may reduce the likelihood of seizures as well as AEDs. In some studies, a ketogenic diet has also shown to help the condition.

#DiseaseOfTheDay 1 Epilepsy Epilepsy is a common seizure disorder that affects 1 out of every 26 people according to the Mayo Clinic. Epilepsy is diagnosed as at least 2 unprovoked seizures at least 24 hours apart. It can be thought of as an electrical storm in the brain.

@danielyanggg Also, have you done Bacillus cereus yet? It produces cereulide, a super interesting toxin!

#BacteriaOfTheDay 110 Rhodococcus equi R. equi is a species of Gram-positive bacteria. It is capable of causing pneumonia in horses, but it is also capable of causing disease in immunocompromised humans. HIV/AIDS patients and transplant patients are most at risk

@danielyanggg Interesting! Is this bacterium zoonotic?

@danielyanggg 100!!!!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳

gene of B. burgdorferi and realized that there was an inconsistency. Thank you for joining me every day for Bacteria of the Day as we hit day 100! 🥳 Image: SEM

#BacteriaOfTheDay 100 Borrelia mayonii B. mayonii is a species of Gram-negative bacteria that can cause Lyme disease. B. mayonii is spiral/corkscrew shaped. This bacteria is named after the Mayo Clinic, where it was first discovered when researchers were analyzing the oppA1

50 VOTD’s! Hope you liked my little joke and learned something! Thanks!

#VirusOfTheDay 50 ILOVEYOU This dangerous virus infected over 10 million Windows computers in 2000. It spread as an email message with subject line ILOVEYOU and when clicked on it overwrote various files, causing damage. It was able to spread itself through email very quickly.

#VirusOfTheDay 49 Rhinovirus Rhinovirus is the most common virus in humans and is the cause of the common cold. Reproduction occurs via the lytic cycle and affects children 6-12 times per year. You can prevent rhinovirus infection by washing your hands for at least 20 seconds!

#VirusOfTheDay 48 Hepatitis C Hep C is a liver infection just like the other Hep viruses. It is spread through blood and can be cured (in some cases) within 8-12 weeks. There is currently no vaccine, so the best way to prevent it is to avoid sharing needles and mixing blood.

Shoutout to @danielyanggg for helping me pick the virus of the day. Go follow him to learn about interesting bacteria!

#VirusOfTheDay 47 Tanapox Tanapox was first seen on the Tana River flood plain in Kenya. Symptoms include growth and swelling of epithelial cells followed by lesions and a fever. Being a pox virus, Tanapox is similar to viruses like monkey pox. Credit: @danielyanggg

#VirusOfTheDay 46 Human parainfluenza virus HPIV typically causes upper and lower respiratory illness in newborns, the elderly, and the immunocompromised. Parainfluenza is not the same as H5N1 (influenza) as they are caused by different viruses although they are common as well

#VirusOfTheDay 45 Duvenhage virus Duvenhage virus is a member genus Lyssavirus, which also contains the rabies virus. Microbats are believed to be the natural reservoir and the virus is transmitted by scratches and was first seen in South Africa. Symptoms include encephalitis.

#VirusOfTheDay 44 Nipah virus NiV virus is spread by fruit bats and is known to affect humans and pigs. NiV Infection is associated with encephalitis and can cause mild to severe symptoms and possibly death. Outbreaks occur almost annually in India and Bangladesh. Source: CDC