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Weill Cornell receives NIH grant to study TB-causing bacteria

In an effort to stop tuberculosis (TB) from becoming progressively less treatable worldwide, the National Institutes of Health has awarded Weill Cornell Medical College more than $6.2 million in first-year funding to support a research collaboration among six institutions in close alliance with voluntary pharmaceutical partners.

19 Feb 2015

First comprehensive maps and analyses of human epigenomes revealed

Two dozen scientific papers published online simultaneously on Feb. 18, 2015 present the first comprehensive maps and analyses of the epigenomes of a wide array of human cell and tissue types. Epigenomes are patterns of chemical annotations to the genome that determine whether, how, and when genes are activated.

18 Feb 2015

POCARED Diagnostics announces closure of another $15M in funding

POCARED Diagnostics Ltd. is an Israeli-based Diagnostics and Pre-analytical technology manufacturer with offices in the United States announced they have closed another $15 Million in funding.

17 Feb 2015

Researchers describe new family of bacteria common in malaria mosquitoes

A new family of bacteria that are common in malaria mosquitoes has been described by researchers at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and Uppsala University in Sweden, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Germany, and the Veterinärmedizinische Universität, Austria.

17 Feb 2015

Discovery offers much needed information about how virulent insect-borne diseases cause infection

For decades, scientists have thought the bacteria that cause the bubonic plague hijack host cells at the site of a fleabite and are then taken to the lymph nodes, where the bacteria multiply and trigger severe disease. But UNC School of Medicine researchers discovered that this accepted theory is off base. The bacteria do not use host cells; they traffic to lymph nodes on their own and not in great numbers.

16 Feb 2015

Researchers report first evidence of Seoul hantavirus in wild rats in the Netherlands

In a paper just published in the peer reviewed journal Infection, Ecology & Epidemiology, researchers report discovering the first evidence of Seoul hantavirus (SEOV) in the wild rat population in the Netherlands. The discovery comes on the heels of similar ones in France, Belgium and the United Kingdom in recent years, and has some researchers concerned about the potential spread of the virus to humans.

16 Feb 2015

Cervarix effective against other common cancer-causing HPVs

According to a multinational clinical trial involving nearly 20,000 young women, the human papilloma virus vaccine, Cervarix, not only has the potential to prevent cervical cancer, but was effective against other common cancer-causing human papillomaviruses, aside from just the two HPV types, 16 and 18, which are responsible for about 70 percent of all cases.

15 Feb 2015

New study indicates that malaria-causing parasite is unlikely to cross from animals to humans

In recent years, public health experts have increasingly explored the idea of eliminating the most dangerous malaria-causing parasite. But they have questioned whether getting rid of this species, called Plasmodium falciparum, would allow other species of the parasite to simply jump into the gap and start infecting humans with malaria.

13 Feb 2015

Experimental Ebola virus medication shows promise in monkeys

An experimental medication that targets a protein in Ebola virus called VP24 protected 75% of a group of monkeys that were studied from Ebola virus infection, according to new research conducted by the U.S. Army, in collaboration with Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc.

10 Feb 2015

CWRU researcher receives $3.9 million grant for HIV research

A researcher at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has been awarded $3.9 million to determine if the combination of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and drug abuse is a double kick in the gut, leading to organ damage throughout the body.

10 Feb 2015

Study highlights the need for more research on trauma and other body-mind therapies

In a Theory and Hypothesis paper titled "Somatic Experiencing: Using Interoception and Proprioception as Core Elements of Trauma Therapy," published today in Frontiers in Psychology, Dartmouth investigators Peter Payne, SEP, and Mardi Crane-Godreau, PhD, note the lack of hypothesized scientific models for the mechanisms of action responsible for outcomes in Somatic Experiencing® (SE) trauma therapy and other body-mind therapies.

9 Feb 2015

MSU graduate student discovers critical molecule that helps combat lung infections

A Montana State University graduate student who wants to reduce the number of people dying from lung infections has discovered a molecule that's critical for immunity.

7 Feb 2015

Three Keck Medicine scientists of USC receive $4.3 million from CIRM for stem cell research

Three scientists from Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California have won grants exceeding $4.3 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine for research that includes creating a temporary liver for transplant patients, finding novel ways to treat immune disorders and blood diseases and developing a new animal model for exploring diseases like heart failure, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases.

5 Feb 2015

Anti-viral immune cells could inhibit bone marrow transplant infections caused by CMV

Bone marrow transplantation is a life-saving therapy for patients with blood cancers like leukemia or lymphoma. However, the depletion of the patient's immune system prior to transplantation can put patients at risk of for an infection by a virus called cytomegalovirus (CMV) that can be life threatening in these immune-compromised individuals.

4 Feb 2015

Environmental factors may affect how infants' gut bacteria mature

Environmental factors like mode of delivery and duration of gestation may affect how infants' gut bacteria mature, and that rate could help predict later body fat, international researchers from the EpiGen consortium have found in collaboration with scientists at Nestlé Research Center in Switzerland.

3 Feb 2015

TAU researchers identify novel proteins capable of stymieing growth in antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Antibiotic-resistant infections are on the rise, foiling efforts to reduce death rates in developing countries where uncontrolled use of antibiotics and poor sanitation run amok. The epidemic of "superbugs," bacteria resistant to antibiotics, knows no borders -- presenting a clear and present danger around the globe.

31 Jan 2015

Synthetic compound shows antibiotic action against MRSA

Microbiologists and chemists at the University of South Florida have developed and patented a synthetic compound that has shown antibiotic action against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, also known as MRSA, which can cause many serious infections and deaths.

30 Jan 2015

Researchers create customized soap bubbles that promote drug and vaccine delivery

When University of Maryland Professors Philip DeShong and Daniel Stein began tagging soap bubbles with biomolecules, they had no idea this technology would one day be poised to change the way drugs and vaccines fight against bacteria, viruses and cancer.

29 Jan 2015

Researchers receive DoD grant to develop new therapy against nerve agent exposure

University of Nebraska Medical Center researchers have received a $1.9 million grant from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a new therapy to protect military members from nerve agent exposure.