American Society For Microbiology 108th General Meeting June 1-5, 2008 In Boston, Massachusetts

Main Category: Conferences
Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 10 Apr 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) will hold its 108th General Meeting June 1-5, 2008 in Boston, Massachusetts. The meeting will feature over 3,000 individual scientific presentations spanning the breadth of microbiology, and has an expected attendance of 12,000.

Microbiologists study living organisms and infectious agents, and their work is critical to health, agriculture, the environment and biotechnology. Many accomplishments in the microbiological sciences have significantly affected our lives, such as the development of treatments for infectious diseases, the prevention of food spoilage, the use of microorganisms to clean up pollutants and basic knowledge of the nature of all living things.

Among the topics to be presented are:

* The effects of climate change on human health
* New developments in MRSA: Nasal carriage in healthy people and MRSA pneumonia
* The role of normal human flora (native bacteria) on human disease: Has modern medicine ignored them?
* Bats as a source of many emerging diseases
* The vital role bacteria play in the development of new fuels and energy sources
* The effect of globalization on food safety

The opening session of the meeting will examine the role of microbiology in the 21st century, featuring Timothy Donahue of the University of Wisconsin presenting on the use of photosynthetic bacteria to harness the power of the sun for renewable energy and Rino Rappuoli of Novartis Vaccine and Diagnostics examining pan-genomic approaches to the development of new vaccines and antibiotics. The session will conclude with a keynote by Lucy Shapiro of Stanford University entitled "The Bacterial Cell Cycle: A Regulatory Circuit under Temporal and Spatial Control."

More detailed information, including programs and abstract, will be available in early May. Preliminary programs and press registration materials are currently available and can be obtained by calling the ASM Office of Communications or online at http://gm.asm.org/newsroom.asp.

PLEASE NOTE: The housing deadline is April 25, 2008. While media will be allowed to register for the meeting after that date, they will be responsible for arranging hotel accommodations on their own.

Comprehensive media facilities will be available and meeting registration is complimentary for the media.

The ASM General Meeting Press Center will be located in the new Boston Convention and Exhibition Center and will be open starting at 12:00 noon on Sunday, June 1. Programs, abstracts, news releases and information about daily press conferences will be available.

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The ASM, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the oldest and largest single biological membership organization with approximately 44,000 members worldwide. Members work in different organizations, including education (research institutions, undergraduate and graduate institutions, and medical dental and veterinary schools), industry (pharmaceutical, food and agriculture, biotechnology, environmental, and pollution control companies and hospitals), and federal and state governments (research laboratories and public health).

Source:
Jim Sliwa
American Society for Microbiology

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