E. coli News and Research

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E. coli or Escherichia coli is the name of a type of bacteria that lives in your intestines. Most types of E. coli are harmless. However, some types can make you sick and cause diarrhea. One type causes travelers' diarrhea. The worst type of E. coli causes bloody diarrhea, and can sometimes cause kidney failure and even death. These problems are most likely to occur in children and in adults with weak immune systems. You can get E. coli infections by eating foods containing the bacteria. To help avoid food poisoning and prevent infection, handle food safely. Cook meat well, wash fruits and vegetables before eating or cooking them, and avoid unpasteurized milk and juices. You can also get the infection by swallowing water in a swimming pool contaminated with human waste. Most cases of E. coli infection get better without treatment in 5 to 10 days.

Researchers discover hotspot L205R mutation is closely associated with adrenocortical tumors

Chinese researchers from Rui-Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao-Tong University School of Medicine, BGI, and other institutions have discovered that the activating hotspot L205R mutation in PRKACA gene was closely associated with adrenocortical tumors (ACTs), and the relationship of recurrently mutated DOT1L and CLASP2 with ACTs' other subtypes.

7 Apr 2014

UH Math collaborates with Rice on synthetic gene circuit

A long-standing challenge in synthetic biology has been to create gene circuits that behave in predictable and robust ways. Mathematical modeling experts from the University of Houston (UH) collaborated with experimental biologists at Rice University to create a synthetic genetic clock that keeps accurate time across a range of temperatures.

7 Apr 2014

$New instrument can conduct biological scans in fraction of time and cost of industry standard$

New instrument can conduct biological scans in fraction of time and cost of industry standard

Northeastern University professor of pharmaceutical sciences, Tania Konry, has developed a single instrument that can conduct a wide range of biological scans in a fraction of the time and cost of industry standard equipment. That's because it uses considerably less material and ultra-sensitive detection methods to do the same thing.

29 Mar 2014

Emergence of community-acquired infections due to ESBL-producing bacteria on the rise

The emergence of community-acquired infections, such as urinary tract infections (UTI), due to strains resistant to common antibiotics are on the rise, according to Rhode Island Hospital researchers. The study is published online in the journal Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control.

26 Mar 2014

ASU scientist selected as 2014 recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award

Roy Curtiss III, a scientist at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, has been selected as the 2014 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society for Microbiology.

26 Mar 2014

Researchers use retro approach to produce new drugs

This alternative approach to creating artificial organic molecules, called bioretrosynthesis, was first proposed four years ago by Brian Bachmann, associate professor of chemistry at Vanderbilt University. Now Bachmann and a team of collaborators report that they have succeeded in using the method to produce the HIV drug didanosine.

25 Mar 2014

New high-speed test to identify contamination of drinking water

Every year 300.000 Europeans are falling ill because of contaminated drinking water. A new high-speed test is being developed to identify the contamination of drinking water much faster than today and thus reduce the number of victims considerably.

20 Mar 2014

Preterm babies' guts harbor infectious microbes that can cause late-onset sepsis

Babies born prematurely are surviving in increasing numbers. But many withstand complications of early birth only to suffer late-onset sepsis - life-threatening bloodstream infections that strike after infants reach 72 hours of age.

20 Mar 2014

Many community hospitals prescribe ineffective antibiotics for patients with bloodstream infections

Growing drug resistance, a high prevalence of S. aureus bacteria and ineffective antibiotics prescribed to one in three patients are among the challenges facing community hospitals in treating patients with serious bloodstream infections, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.

19 Mar 2014

Rice University technique able to analyze conformations of complex molecular machines

Open, feed, cut. Such is the humdrum life of a motor molecule, the subject of new research at Rice University, that eats and excretes damaged proteins and turns them into harmless peptides for disposal.

18 Mar 2014

Honey helps fight antibiotic resistance, says study

Honey, that delectable condiment for breads and fruits, could be one sweet solution to the serious, ever-growing problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, researchers said here today.

17 Mar 2014

New research raises hopes of new class of drugs to combat antibiotic resistant infections

New research has found some compounds effective in blocking the proliferation of certain bacteria, raising hopes of a new class of drugs to combat antibiotic resistant infections

13 Mar 2014

Food picked up just few seconds after being dropped is less likely to contain bacteria

Food picked up just a few seconds after being dropped is less likely to contain bacteria than if it is left for longer periods of time, according to the findings of research carried out at Aston University's School of Life and Health Sciences.

11 Mar 2014

Scientists uncover bacterial secretion system that allows sharing of genetic material between bacteria

The system that allows the sharing of genetic material between bacteria - and therefore the spread of antibiotic resistance - has been uncovered by a team of scientists at Birkbeck, University of London and UCL.

10 Mar 2014

Food safety measures taken by hospital minimize risk to food handlers

A new study found more than 80 percent of raw chicken used in hospitals in food for patients and staff was contaminated with a form of antibiotic resistant bacteria called extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing E. coli. While sufficient preparation eliminated the presence of bacteria, poultry meat delivered to hospital kitchens remains a potential point of entry for these dangerous bacteria into the hospital.

10 Mar 2014

Research to identify exact mechanisms behind preterm birth and fetal brain injury

An inflammatory protein that triggers a pregnant mouse's immune response to an infection or other disease appears to cause brain injury in her fetus, but not the premature birth that was long believed to be linked with such neurologic damage in both rodents and humans, new Johns Hopkins-led research suggests.

6 Mar 2014

New PhoneSoap Charger is most effective way to kill bacteria growing on cell phones

Cell phones have become our constant companions, and as a result, they are exposed to many bacteria and viruses. When we open a door, shake hands, use an ATM or dozens of other daily tasks, our hands come in contact with germs, and numerous studies have shown that a significant number of bacteria, such as the flu virus, staph, strep, E. coli, and salmonella, are transferred from our hands to our cell phones every time we pick them up.

5 Mar 2014

Studies indicate that harvested rainwater frequently harbors pathogens

South Africa has been financing domestic rainwater harvesting tanks in informal low-income settlements and rural areas in five of that nation's nine provinces. But pathogens inhabit such harvested rainwater, potentially posing a public health hazard, especially for children and immunocompromised individuals, according to a team from the University of Stellenbosch.

27 Feb 2014

PBL Assay Science, HumanZyme ink licensing agreement to expand reagent offerings

PBL Assay Science announces a licensing agreement with HumanZyme, Inc. (Chicago, USA) to expand reagent offerings. The agreement allows PBL to provide ~50 authentic human cell-expressed (HCE) cytokines and growth factors directly to scientists worldwide.

From PBL Assay Science 20 Feb 2014

University of Liège joins IMI programme to develop new antibiotics against Gram-negative pathogens

More than 30 European universities and companies, led by GlaxoSmithKline, are joining forces in a six-year programme funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) for the sum of EUR 85 millions with the aim of developing new antibiotics against Gram-negative pathogens.

14 Feb 2014