Transmission basics
Bacteria can be transmitted to and from humans via direct or indirect mechanisms. Direct transmission can occur through person-to-person contact, when an infected person touches or exchanges bodily fluids with …
Course: Bacterial Genomes: Disease Outbreaks and Antimicrobial Resistance
How outbreaks are investigated using epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of patterns and trends in disease to understand their causes. In the context of pathogen transmission, epidemiology is often used to analyse the pattern of disease …
Introduction to Week 2
Adam and Josie introduce Week 2 of the course, where we explore the transmission of disease and how genomics can help us understand this process.
Case Study: The E. coli O104:H4 outbreak in Germany
The emergence of a killer outbreak In mid-May 2011, German health authorities reported an outbreak of a rare type of Escherichia coli amongst three patients with haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) …
Summary of week 1
Congratulations on completing week 1 of the course. We hope you enjoyed it. This week you have learnt what bacteria are, how they are classified and that some types of …
Viewing a bacterial genome: How Chlamydia escaped detection
In this video, we show you how genome sequences are visualised using the Artemis software. We give an overview of what a bacterial genome sequences looks like and how resequencing …
Introduction to viewing genomes with Artemis
In this article, we describe how the Artemis genome browser displays genome sequences. A genome browser is a piece of software that allows us to visualise a genome sequence and …
What has reference genome sequencing been useful for?
We have learned a lot from sequencing and examining small numbers of reference genomes. So we have summarised some of the lessons learned for you below with links to research …
Genome reference sequences and resequencing
In the early days of genome sequencing, little was understood about the structure of genomes and it was a very expensive exercise. The first human genome sequence, finished around the …
A primer on genome sequencing
The genome of an organism consists of one or more stretches of DNA, which can be thought of as strings of the letters A, T, G and C. A particular …
What can genomic variation tell us about how bacteria cause disease?
In this video interview, Professor Julian Parkhill explains what bacterial genomes can tell us about how certain bacteria cause disease. After viewing the video, in the Comments area, share one …
How do bacterial genomes change?
There are several different ways in which bacterial genomes can change. Most of the time, these changes will not be important for disease. However, some changes can cause a disease …
Genomes are our guides to understanding how life works
DeoxyriboNucleic Acid (DNA) is a long molecule made up of a repeating string of just four different chemicals (nucleotides or bases). These are adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G) and …
How do researchers use bacterial genome sequences?
Learn more from six researchers who work here at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. Susannah Salter is using genome sequencing to learn how a new species of bacteria could be grown …
Good and bad bacteria
In the media, we often hear about good and bad bacteria. What do we mean by this? We cannot escape bacteria, they are everywhere. While a few species cause disease …
These articles are from the online course:
Bacterial Genomes: Disease Outbreaks and Antimicrobial Resistance
How to write a cover letter
We take a look at everything you need to know about cover letters and how …
Everything you need to know about blended learning
We take a closer look at blended learning, exploring what it is, the different models, …
What is imposter syndrome, and how can you deal with it?
Most people have experienced feeling like an imposter at some point in their lives, so …
Gratitude and happiness: the importance of being grateful
Discover how the simple practise of gratitude can bring a host of different benefits to …