GAINESVILLE, Fla., Feb. 1, 2023 — In a new study, scientists with the University of Florida found that a combination of silver nanoparticles and antibiotics was effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Highlights

• For centuries, silver has been known to have antimicrobial properties. New research investigated whether silver nanoparticles could amplify the effects of antibiotics on antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
• The study found that small amounts of silver nanoparticles combined with a low dose of a common antibiotic inhibited the growth of resistant bacteria.
• The scientists hope to use these findings to develop a treatment for some types of antibiotic-resistant infections. 

The researchers hope to turn this discovery into viable treatment for some types of antibiotic-resistant infections. Antibiotic-resistant infections kill more than a million people globally each year.

For centuries, silver has been known to have antimicrobial properties. However, silver nanoparticles — microscopic spheres of silver small enough to operate at the cellular level — represent a new frontier in using the precious metal to fight bacteria.

In this study, the research team tested whether commercially available silver nanoparticles boost the power of antibiotics and enable these drugs to counter the very bacteria that have evolved to withstand them.

“We found that the silver nanoparticles and a common class of broad-spectrum antibiotics called aminoglycosides work together synergistically,” said Daniel Czyż, senior author of the study and an assistant professor in the UF/IFAS department of microbiology and cell science.

“When combined with a small amount of silver nanoparticles, the amount of antibiotic needed to inhibit the bacteria decreased 22-fold, which tells us that the nanoparticles make the drug much more potent,” Czyż explained. “In addition, aminoglycosides can have negative side effects, so using silver nanoparticles could allow for a lower dose of antibiotic, reducing those side effects.”

The findings were both surprising and exciting, said Autumn Dove, first author of the study and a doctoral candidate studying microbiology and cell science in the UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

“When I first saw the result, my first thoughts were, ‘Wow, this works!’” said Dove.

Over the last several decades, overuse of antibiotics had led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and a decline in the effectiveness of traditional antibiotic drugs, the researchers said. The study’s findings indicate that silver nanoparticles have the potential to renew the effectiveness of some of these drugs.  

“Let’s say you get a bad burn on your hand, and it gets infected with one of these resistant strains of bacteria,” Dove said. “It’s possible that dressing that burn with a combination of silver nanoparticles and antibiotics could both clear that infection and prevent those resistant bacteria from spreading elsewhere.”

Though antibiotics mainly target bacteria, they can also damage human and animal cells. Using a microscopic worm called C. elegans, the researchers confirmed that the silver nanoparticles did not also make the antibiotic more toxic to non-bacterial cells.

Building off the study’s promising findings, the scientists next plan to seek FDA authorization for clinical trials and work with UF Innovate to patent an antimicrobial product that uses silver nanoparticles.

The silver nanoparticles used in the study were manufactured by the Natural Immunogenics Corporation, which helped fund the study through the UF Industry Partnerships Matching Grant Program. This program pairs UF researchers with Florida-based technology and energy companies to research and develop new products.

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Photo by TAYLOR ZEGLAM

GAINESVILLE ‒ The internal signal to migrate sends birds on marathon journeys that can cross continents and oceans. Many of the birds that fill our yards and woods with song throughout the summer – vireos, tanagers, warblers, and flycatchers - will wing their way to Central and South America in September to winter in habitats replete with insects, berries, seeds and other food items necessary to sustain them for half of their annual life cycle. Even the ruby-throated hummingbirds that sipped nectar from flower blossoms and feeders vacate Florida and zoom southward to distant environs.

After many of our summer breeding birds depart in September, the true snowbirds slowly filter in and join the year-rounders such as Carolina wrens, tufted titmice, and Carolina chickadees. Flocks of tiny birds, some dazzling shades of yellow, others nondescript brown, many hyperactively pumping their tails up and down, and still others flashing yellow rumps as they flush to another feeding spot, replace our winter migrants. These are the true snowbirds from Maine, New York, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and other northern reaches that have departed their snowy habitat for Florida’s mild and more hospitable winter.

Many Floridians mark winter by the sight of the most notorious of snowbirds – sandhill cranes and American robins. And those who stock their bird feeders will marvel at the abundance of local birds as well as the snowbirds that visit your yard. If you place a heaping tablespoon of grape jelly in a dish suspended from your bird feeder, and wait patiently, you may be gifted with the sight of the most spectacularly plumaged snowbird of all, the Baltimore oriole. Or another winter treasure, a painted bunting, may sneak to the feeder to dine on the smorgasbord of seed.

What are some strategies for spotting the avian snowbirds? Groups of warblers – palm, pine, and yellow-rumped – form conspicuous flocks as they forage for seeds in grassy fields and road edges. Eastern phoebes are also quite easy to discern. Look for a cardinal-sized bird with a smudgy dark head, tail pumping up and down, and perched prominently on a fence post or exposed branch waiting to swoop out and nab an aerial insect. Two snowbird woodpeckers grace us with their winter presence – Northern flicker and yellow-bellied sapsucker. The tell-tale call of the flicker’s high, piercing, and clear keew or the sapsucker’s mewing neeah will reveal their whereabouts.

One technique that savvy birdwatchers employ to locate hard-to-find snowbirds (or migrants that pass through during fall and spring migration) is to closely scrutinize flocks of local birds, the tufted titmice and Carolina chickadees. These year-round residents are the most knowledgeable at finding local food sources, detecting neighborhood predators such as outdoor cats, and sounding the alarm when the resident Cooper’s hawk arrives. The snowbirds often use the knowledge of the locals by following along and forming mixed flocks with the year-round residents.

If you would like to learn more about attracting birds to your yard – both winter snowbirds and year-round locals – consider attending the Alachua Audubon Society-sponsored Backyard Birding Tour on Saturday, Feb. 18 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Explore some of Gainesville’s premier backyard birding habitats on a self-guided tour of five to six yards and learn how to attract birds to your own yard. Tickets are $12 each and available for purchase at Wild Birds Unlimited, 4121 N.W. 16^th Blvd. Educational displays and bird experts will be present at each tour stop.

This winter spread your wings by learning to create a bird-friendly yard and discover chipping sparrows, orange-crowned warblers, gray catbirds, and others that have heeded their internal signal to flee their frosty habitats and spend the winter with us in sunny Florida.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Given that hot soup on a cold winter day is always a popular dish, the GFWC New Century Woman’s Club took the idea further and created a January charitable event of homemade soup. But to give the event a distinct spin, it was not the members of the Woman’s Club who made the soup, but rather, 14 men who volunteered to make their own special soup recipes for the event.

The High Springs New Century Woman’s Club has a long history of community involvement and charitable causes. The club was organized in 1899 by 12 women and it was federated with the national organization in 1900. The first president was Mrs. L.C. Gracy. In 1912, financed by Club president Mrs. James Paul and her husband, the building for the club was built on donated land and has been home to the group ever since.

They are also one of the oldest Woman’s Clubs in Florida, founded only nine years after the National Organization was founded. Today, there are over 60,000 members nationwide

The goal of all the chapters is to “transform lives each day, not simply with monetary donations, but with hands-on tangible projects that provide immediate impact through educational, literary, scientific, and charitable endeavors.”

The High Springs club focuses on major issues that affect communities daily such as supporting women’s health, preserving natural resources, promoting literacy and equality, citizen advocacy, and encouraging volunteer service. The High Springs Club motto is “Not for ourselves alone, but for others.” With that motto in mind, the club, which has about 100 members, organizes at least one large charitable event per month to raise money for various groups and projects.

January’s “Real Men Make Soup” charitable event had local men rolling up their sleeves and creating a diverse assortment of steaming homemade soup. Some participants made ethnic soups like Gumbo, Taco Soup, Tortellini and Italian Wedding soup. Others went with seafood and made clam chowder while still others brought their own favorite variations to the ever-popular chicken soup. Yet other men opted for heartier stick-to-your rib choices like lasagna soup, cheesy potato and bacon, chicken pot pie and meat stew.

Tickets to the sold-out event went for $15. And for people purchasing the $15 tickets—they had the enviable opportunity to sample all 14 soup varieties—as many times as they wanted. And members of the Woman’s Club served up a captivating array of homemade desserts. All profits from the event were donated to the High Springs Community School's Athletic Program.

Next month the club will feature a Spaghetti to Go take out dinner complete with a roll, salad and desert for $10. Pick up the dinners on Feb. 6 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the New Century Woman’s Club, 23674 West U.S. Highway 27 in High Springs. The money from the upcoming Spaghetti to Go fundraiser will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. ‒ Have you experienced prejudice or discrimination in your life? Those moments can be hard to talk about and hard to share with other people.

Connect with a collection of people who are willing to discuss openly their personal accounts of discrimination at the Human Library event on Feb. 5, 2023, in Gainesville. The event will be held at 2 p.m. in Santa Fe College’s Blount Hall located at 530 West University Avenue.

During the event, volunteers, known as “human books,” will represent different groups in our society that are commonly discriminated against. According to the Human Library, there are a total of 13 groups that make up the “Pillars of Prejudice.” The pillars are mental health, addictions, gender, religion, lifestyle, family relations, ethnicity, disabilities, health, occupation, sexual orientation, social status, and victims.

The human books will share their stories of prejudice and members of the audience, known as “readers,” will have an opportunity to ask questions. The intent is to spark a conversation, challenge stereotypes, and create dialogue between the readers and human books that can bridge social divides.

There will be a range of sensitive topics discussed during the event. Some of the topics could be triggering to certain individuals. Please be aware that anyone attending the event will be involved in frank discussions about discrimination, prejudice, and bigotry. Parental discretion is advised

Last year, the Human Library was held at the Cone Park Branch of the Alachua County Library District. This year, Santa Fe College will provide a larger venue for the event. With more space and more human books, this year’s event will be an even more impactful experience for all who attend.

The Human Library Organization, which created this event, is a non-profit learning platform developed in Copenhagen. The organization partners with groups around the world to put on events designed to create a safe space for dialogue. At these events, traumatic experiences with prejudice and discrimination are openly discussed in a respectful manner.

This event is sponsored by Altrusa International of Gainesville in partnership with the Alachua County Library District, Santa Fe College, and the International Human Library Organization.

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