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Neutrophils kill invading microorganisms, starve microbes to death

The most frequent immune cells in the human blood, so-called neutrophils, efficiently kill invading microorganisms and slowly starve microbes to death by removing crucial trace elements. This is shown by researchers from Umeå University in Sweden in a study published in a special issue of Metallomics.

15 Oct 2015

Drug interactions in placenta may increase risk of birth defects or stunting fetal growth

To date, studies in pregnant women examining transport of drugs across the placenta are rare and inadequate, said Tomo Nabekura, PhD. Such knowledge could be vital to preserving fetal health. In a new laboratory study, Nabekura and colleagues have illuminated a piece of this puzzle, and the results hint that mothers taking new anti-hepatitis C and/or anti-HIV drugs along with anti-hypertensives or non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) could be raising the risk of birth defects or stunting fetal growth, respectively.

15 Oct 2015

Malaria protein could one day help stop cancer

Scientists at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Coastal Health and the BC Cancer Agency have discovered a protein from malaria that could one day help stop cancer in its tracks.

13 Oct 2015

Danish researchers face possible breakthrough in fight against cancer

The hunt for a vaccine against malaria in pregnant women has provided an unexpected side benefit for Danish researchers, namely what appears to be an effective weapon against cancer. The scientists behind the vaccine aim for tests on humans within four years.

13 Oct 2015

Researchers reveal 3-D structure of biologically active DNA

Using a multidisciplinary approach, researchers, led by those at Baylor College of Medicine, revealed in unprecedented detail the three-dimensional structure of biologically active DNA. A report on their work appears online in the journal Nature Communications.

12 Oct 2015

UNC researchers identify a type of vaginal bacteria that can protect women from HIV

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have identified a type of vaginal bacteria within the mucus of the female reproductive system that can protect women from HIV as well as other sexually transmitted infections.

9 Oct 2015

Cervicovaginal mucus effectively traps HIV particles

HIV particles are effectively trapped by the cervicovaginal mucus from women who harbor a particular vaginal bacteria species, Lactobacillus crispatus. The findings, published this week in mBio, an online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, could lead to new ways to reduce or block vaginal transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

7 Oct 2015

Rabbit virus can be paired with existing drug to deliver more potent punch to brain tumor cells

A rabbit virus currently being developed for cancer therapy can be paired with one of several existing drugs to deliver a more potent punch to a deadly type of brain tumor cell, researchers have found.

7 Oct 2015

Mycobacterium could be more effective in treating superficial bladder cancer, study finds

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona researchers have found a mycobacterium that is more effective in treating superficial bladder cancer and does not cause infections, unlike those used up to now.

6 Oct 2015

Plymouth University and Ingenza partner to develop efficient, scalable microbial production system for epidermicin

Ingenza is collaborating with researchers at Plymouth University to develop an efficient, scalable microbial production system for epidermicin, an exciting new antibiotic that rapidly kills methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and other harmful bacteria.

1 Oct 2015

Four types of gut bacteria can protect infants from asthma

New research by scientists at UBC and BC Children's Hospital finds that infants can be protected from getting asthma if they acquire four types of gut bacteria by three months of age.

1 Oct 2015

Unlocking the genes behind antibiotic resistance: an interview with Professor Romesberg

Bacteria are very, very diverse. This is why their susceptibility to different antibiotics can be very different. It also makes the tools they have to evolve resistance in many cases different.

30 Sep 2015

Saint Louis University receives NIH grant to investigate development of new drugs to treat bone diseases

David Griggs, Ph.D., director of biology at Saint Louis University's Center for World Health & Medicine, has received a $1 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate the development of what could be a new class of drugs to treat bone diseases.

30 Sep 2015

Duke Medicine scientists use transparent fish to show how Cryptococcal meningitis takes over the brain

Scientists at Duke Medicine are using transparent fish to watch in real time as Cryptococcal meningitis takes over the brain. The resulting images are worthy of a sci-fi movie teaser, but could be valuable in disrupting the real, crippling brain infection that kills more than 600,000 people worldwide each year.

29 Sep 2015

Unique molecule can bind HIV-infected cells to killer T cells

A unique molecule developed at Duke Medicine, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and MacroGenics, Inc., is able to bind HIV-infected cells to the immune system's killer T cells. It could become a key part of a shock-and-kill strategy being developed in the hope of one day clearing HIV infection.

29 Sep 2015

Scientists develop new molecular toolkit to investigate protein assemblies in human disease

A photograph may reveal how something looks, but direct observation can divulge how the objects behave. The difference can mean life or death, especially when it comes to fighting human disease.

29 Sep 2015

Specialized proteins can inhibit HIV

There is little doubt that the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, is devastating. More than 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV and more than 47,000 people are diagnosed annually. Now, University of Missouri researchers have made a discovery in how specialized proteins can inhibit the virus, opening the door for progress in the fight against HIV and for the production of advanced therapeutics to combat the disease.

29 Sep 2015

CUMC's Laboratory of Personalized Genomic Medicine granted approval for Columbia Combined Cancer Panel

The Laboratory of Personalized Genomic Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center has been granted full approval by the New York State Department of Health for the Columbia Combined Cancer Panel, (CCCP). This panel queries 467 cancer-related genes and was designed in collaboration with Columbia University Medical Center oncologists.

25 Sep 2015

BD Life Sciences announces FDA clearance for BD MAX Enteric Parasite Panel

BD Life Sciences, a segment of global medical technology company BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), today announced the availability of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared BD MAX Enteric Parasite Panel for use on the BD MAX System.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 24 Sep 2015

Stanford researchers successfully defeat C. difficile bacteria

Stanford University School of Medicine scientists successfully defeated a dangerous intestinal pathogen, Clostridium difficile, with a drug targeting its toxins rather than its life.

24 Sep 2015

Microbiology News and Research

Neutrophils kill invading microorganisms, starve microbes to death

Drug interactions in placenta may increase risk of birth defects or stunting fetal growth

Malaria protein could one day help stop cancer

Danish researchers face possible breakthrough in fight against cancer

Researchers reveal 3-D structure of biologically active DNA

UNC researchers identify a type of vaginal bacteria that can protect women from HIV

Cervicovaginal mucus effectively traps HIV particles

Rabbit virus can be paired with existing drug to deliver more potent punch to brain tumor cells

Mycobacterium could be more effective in treating superficial bladder cancer, study finds

Plymouth University and Ingenza partner to develop efficient, scalable microbial production system for epidermicin

Four types of gut bacteria can protect infants from asthma

Unlocking the genes behind antibiotic resistance: an interview with Professor Romesberg

Saint Louis University receives NIH grant to investigate development of new drugs to treat bone diseases

Duke Medicine scientists use transparent fish to show how Cryptococcal meningitis takes over the brain

Unique molecule can bind HIV-infected cells to killer T cells

Scientists develop new molecular toolkit to investigate protein assemblies in human disease

Specialized proteins can inhibit HIV

CUMC's Laboratory of Personalized Genomic Medicine granted approval for Columbia Combined Cancer Panel

BD Life Sciences announces FDA clearance for BD MAX Enteric Parasite Panel

Stanford researchers successfully defeat C. difficile bacteria

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