April 15 2026 Breakfast Meeting Notes
Our guests today were Deb Kirschner and Ari Roy.
Dan Won the 50/50.
Greg won the chance to try for the ace of spades but was unsuccessful.
Rotary weekly highlights: Four of us attended Omer’s services on Saturday.
Mike Carrier noted that all 4 of our RYLA students have been identified, and their applications sent in.
Sharon just picked up 45 scholarship applications from the high school; she will be scanning them and sending them to the committee. Committee members so far are Lora, Ken W, Marybeth, Cari, and Sharon. If anyone else would like to volunteer, see Sharon.
Tony’s presented his famous NH Trivia, Public Transportation edition.
Mike Carrier announced that there will be many topics covered at Lyndonville this weekend, including special club initiatives, leadership planning, and youth involvement. Speak to Denise or Mike if you are interested in attending.
Mike Son was our speaker this morning. He told us about his microbiology work at PSU. He has an active research program and also teaches to PSU students and nursing students. Microbiology is the study of living things that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Many microbes cause food borne illnesses, particularly those found on lettuce, melons, and prepared meals. Covid, Ebola, and other bacterial or rickettsial diseases can be spread by vectors. Measles is undergoing a resurgence. Cheese can be contaminated with listeria, E coli and other microbial illnesses. He noted that there is a new vaccine being developed for Lyme disease. There is even a gene from a T rex that was isolated, grown by microbes, and used to grow leather to make a handbag ($663,000 starting price at auction), in case you are looking for a unique Mother’s Day gift.
Microbes are critical for fermented products like cheese, bread, and beer, as well as for the health of garden soil; they are crucial to breaking down waste products for composting. They also cause disease; for example, in cystic fibrosis, there is production of excess mucous, and this allows the overgrowth of bacteria that may be fatal.
Cholera research at PSU (iCRAP) is what he does now. Diarrheal diseases such as cholera are a major cause of death in the world (one of the top 10). The world has experienced 7 major cholera pandemics in the modern era. The most recent involves outbreaks in Yemen. Developed nations also have import cases from other countries. Haiti had a major outbreak in 2010 that was brought in by Nepali aid workers after the hurricane; the disease is now endemic there.
Cholera is a diarrheal disease, called by Vibrio cholerae. It infects the small intestine, causing vomiting and “rice water” stool. The infections causes explosive diarrheal events, resulting in severe dehydration and death. Treatment is by oral rehydration therapy and antibiotics. There is a vaccine, but it is only 60-70% effective. The infection cycle fro cholera is as follows: Cholera is an aquatic organism that originates in brackish water but bleeds into fresh water. People who are bathing, washing clothes and food in the streams become infected if the water is contaminated. The infection can enter the body by being carried on tiny organisms called copepods. Each copepod carries 10,000-100,000 cholera organisms on its surface, so even ingesting a few of these can cause a serious infection. The copepods are killed in the stomach but the cholera survives and goes on to the small intestine where it causes infection. Once in the small intestine, the organism causes a release of salts into the intestinal lumen and these draw water out of the cells, causing profuse, explosive diarrhea and severe dehydration, leading to death.
Since the 2000s there are frightening new mutations occurring in the vibrio. Certain mutations allow them to set up infection a lot faster and cause more severe symptoms. The original infections caused death in 72 hours; the super virulent strains can kill within 12 hours. Mike is trying to figure out the molecular method by which this happens. There are 4 different mutations that have been identified and each impacts multiple pathways. He has multiple projects in his lab, so he is also looking at copepods to determine how the bacteria attach. He’s also looked at bobtail squid and a related species of vibrio to see if this can offer any useful information for combatting cholera.
Recently Mike has been looking at ticks and their genetic diversity and how they are able to survive in different climate zones. They are also looking at 3 Mile Island in Winnipesaukee and its microbiome to determine how human activity is affecting the microbiome there.
Mike Carrier announced that Kyle Reed at the high school is looking for time to talk here.
Tony reminded us that the board will be meeting this Friday morning at 7 on Zoom.
Happy dollars were shared by Sharon, Lora, Mike, Denise, and Tony.
Respectfully submitted,
Lora Miller, secretary
