Opening General Session, Welcome and Keynote Talk by William Fenical, University of California-San Diego/Scripps Inst. of Oceanography, "Microbial Defenses: Lessons from the Sea"
Sunday, October 9, 2016: 10:00 AM-11:30 AM
Control of microbial contamination and disease resistance is one of the most pressing problems facing industry and medicine. As time passes, science is slowly understanding the interactions of microorganisms and their hosts. Recent studies of the “Human Microbiome”, for example, have underscored the amazing complexity of microbial symbiosis and its impact on human health. Interestingly, much of what we now know has been repeatedly illustrated in natural phenomena. In contrast to terrestrial life, marine organisms exist in a liquid medium that fosters rapid transport and distribution of pathogens that pose significant challenges to survival. A major adaptation in marine life is the production of antimicrobial agents that effectively solve this problem. Examples of these adaptations, and what we can learn from Nature provide the content of this lecture.
