Cell Wall News and Research

RSS

Protein discovery with medical implications

It was a transforming moment. Researchers could barely believe their eyes. A molecular blob of a protein reshaped itself into a molecular Pacman in order to free new viruses from the inside of a bacterial cell.

6 Jan 2005

Discovery of compound that renders the MRSA superbug vulnerable to antibiotics

MRSA- methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus- is defined by its ability to resist the antibiotic methicillin. Like penicillin, methicillin works by blocking bacterial enzymes called PBPs, which normally strengthen cell walls by forming cross links.

13 Oct 2004

RiboNovix secures license to novel anti-infective discovery technology from Wayne State University

New biotechnology company, RiboNovix, Inc., is addressing the worsening problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria by developing new anti-infectives that are less susceptible to drug resistance.

5 Oct 2004

Beer possesses the same antioxidant benefits as red wine

Beer drinkers can toast the news that their favourite beverage possesses the same benefits as red wine, the alcohol long celebrated for its antioxidant properties.

16 Sep 2004

New way of killing dangerous bacteria like the ones which cause anthrax and pneumonia

The new bug-smashing technique uses the bacteria’s own natural enemies, tiny viruses called bacteriophages (or phages), which can infect bacterial cells. The phages make thousands of copies of themselves inside infected bacteria, but then need to dissolve the bacteria’s cell wall to get out and infect other bacterial cells.

7 Sep 2004

Scientists discover the body's own defense against H.Pylori, the cause of stomach ulcers and stomach cancer

An international team led by The Burnham Institute's Minoru Fukuda, Ph.D., has discovered that a human glycoprotein inhibits Helicobacter pylori ("H. pylori"), the bacterium that causes stomach ulcers and is linked with 90% of stomach cancers.

13 Aug 2004

Researchers discover a carbohydrate with an unusual structure in the cell walls of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis

Even though we have lost much of our fear of tuberculosis in the industrialized countries, according to the WHO about 2 million people worldwide die each year of this infectious disease.

28 Jul 2004

European funding to study how yeasts such as Candida cause infections among hospital patients

Dr Fritz Mühlschlegel, Reader in Medical Microbiology in the Biosciences Department at Kent and Consultant Medical Microbiologist in the East Kent NHS Trust, and Dr Daniel Poullain from Lille’s Medical School have been awarded 315,106 euros under the EU’s Interreg Programme to study the mechanisms by which fungal pathogens cause disease.

21 Jul 2004

Targeted therapeutics capable of preventing or limiting the metastasis of skin cancer

An international team of scientists has identified an important molecular link involved in the spread – or metastasis – of melanoma to other organs such as the lungs.

15 Jul 2004

Toxoplasma gondii discovery may help fight against malaria

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists have discovered a protein in the cell wall of parasites that’s crucial to the molecular mechanism allowing them to move between cells, survive and cause disease.

25 May 2004

New chink in the cellular armor of tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy

The family of bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy are notoriously sturdy. And although the diseases they cause have been held in check for the past 50 years by antibiotics, some strains are becoming increasingly resistant to existing therapy.

10 May 2004

More useful plants may blossom from gene discoveries

It may be possible to alter plants so they are more nutritious and easier to process without weakening them so much they fall over, according to Purdue University researchers who found a new twist in a plant formation biochemical pathway.

19 Apr 2004

Bad hygiene may be good for you

A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found a connection between poor T cell survival in the body and the development of autoimmunity.

16 Apr 2004