Microbiology News and Research

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Three institutions collaborate to develop vaccine to treat pneumonia

The long-observed association between pneumonia and heart failure now has more physical evidence, thanks to research in the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

26 Sep 2014

Ohio State researchers develop novel anticancer peptide vaccines and inhibitors

Researchers have developed two new anticancer peptide vaccines and two peptide inhibitors as part of a larger peptide immunotherapy effort at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

25 Sep 2014

UC Riverside collaborating on NSF-funded project to study ancient lineages of fungi

The University of California, Riverside is one of 11 collaborating institutions that have been funded a total of $2.5 million by the National Science Foundation for a project focused on studying zygomycetes - ancient lineages of fungi that include plant symbionts, animal and human pathogens and decomposers of a wide variety of organic compounds.

24 Sep 2014

DNA sequencing may lead to greater care for patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia

A patient survives life-threatening trauma, is intubated in the intensive care unit (ICU) to support his or her affected vital functions, starts to recover, and then develops pneumonia.

23 Sep 2014

Rutgers awarded $2 million NIH grant to prepare students for academic research careers

Rutgers is one of seven institutions in the country selected by the National Institutes of Health to receive this year's BEST Award - a $2 million grant designed to expose many of the university's most promising biomedical sciences graduate trainees to career opportunities that go beyond the academic path that they have traditionally taken.

23 Sep 2014

New approach to diagnose tuberculosis

Researchers working in the UK and The Gambia, have developed a new approach to the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) that relies on direct sequencing of DNA extracted from sputum (a technique called metagenomics) to detect and characterize the bacteria that cause TB without the need for time-consuming culture of bacteria in the laboratory.

23 Sep 2014

Influenza can cause ear and throat infections

Influenza infection can enhance the ability of the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae to cause ear and throat infections, according to research published ahead of print in the journal Infection and Immunity.

23 Sep 2014

LSU Health researchers reveal how Chop plays crucial role to combat cancer

Research led by Paulo Rodriguez, PhD, an assistant research professor of Microbiology, Immunology & Parasitology at LSU Health New Orleans' Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, has identified the crucial role an inflammatory protein known as Chop plays in the body's ability to fight cancer.

19 Sep 2014

Common type of hospital-associated infections can be prevented with vaccine

The most common type of hospital-associated infection may be preventable with a vaccine, new research in mice suggests.

18 Sep 2014

NIH and West African leaders to discuss current crisis of Ebola outbreak at TJU

Leaders from West African Nations and representatives from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will attend a meeting on September 22nd from 3:00-5:15 pm at Thomas Jefferson University to discuss the current crisis and plan future collaborations.

16 Sep 2014

MSU researchers show how bacterial immune systems fight off viruses

When this week's print issue of the journal Science comes out, a collective cheer will go up from New Mexico, Montana and even the Netherlands, thanks to the type of collaborative effort that is more and more the norm in these connected times. Yes, the research was brilliant, and if we're lucky, it will produce innovations in biology, medicine, biotechnology and agriculture. It could save lives, and it happened because this scientist talked with that one, that one knew another one, and brilliant minds overcame geographic distance to advance human understanding.

16 Sep 2014

More research needed to prevent brains of sportspeople from injury

Two University of Birmingham academics are calling for more research to be carried out looking at how the brains of sportspeople - including children - react when they receive a blow to the head.

11 Sep 2014

Novel virus could be source of severe respiratory disease in ball pythons

Researchers have identified a novel virus that could be the source of a severe, sometimes fatal respiratory disease that has been observed in captive ball pythons since the 1990s. The work is published this week in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

9 Sep 2014

Cholera against cholera: an interview with Dr Bruce Turnbull, University of Leeds

Cholera bacteria, and other types of bacteria that cause diarrheal diseases, infect your intestines where they release AB5 protein toxins – that is they have a single toxic A-subunit that is linked to a pentamer of B-subunits that act as the delivery vehicle to transport the A-subunit into the cells.

8 Sep 2014

Each day of hospitalization increases risk of multidrug-resistant by 1%

If a patient contracts an infection while in the hospital, each day of hospitalization increases by 1% the likelihood that the infection will be multidrug-resistant, according to research presented at the 54th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) an infectious disease meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

8 Sep 2014

Researchers modify protocol to test dangerous form of antibiotic resistance

Researchers from Oregon State Public Health Lab have modified the protocol for a relatively new test for a dangerous form of antibiotic resistance, increasing its specificity to 100 percent.

8 Sep 2014

New antifungal drug effective against invasive mold disease in cancer patients with less adverse effects

A newly developed antifungal, isavuconazole, is as effective as an existing drug, voriconazole, against invasive mold disease in cancer patients with less adverse effects, according to phase 3 clinical data presented at the 54th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, an infectious disease meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

8 Sep 2014

Antibiotic stewardship programs reduce hospital readmissions due to infection

Antibiotic stewardship programs, which promote the appropriate use of antibiotics in hospitals and other healthcare centers, not only lead to reduction in antibiotic use with reduced adverse events, but also lead to significant savings.

8 Sep 2014

Middle ear infections can be triggered by viral infection in nose, say researchers

Middle ear infections, which affect more than 85 percent of children under the age of 3, can be triggered by a viral infection in the nose rather than solely by a bacterial infection, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

6 Sep 2014

Peramivir drug safe, effective at alleviating influenza symptoms

An analysis of phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials shows that a single injected dose of the neuraminidase inhibitor (NAI) peramivir is safe and effective at alleviating influenza symptoms, including fever and viral shedding, when administered within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms.

6 Sep 2014