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Study finds ‘superbug’ in hands or nostrils of patients staying in the hospital

For decades, hospitals have worked to get doctors, nurses and others to wash their hands and prevent the spread of germs.

15 Apr 2019

Children’s ball pits full of pathogenic microbes

A new study has found that the ball pits used by children in physical therapy clinics may be colonized with various microorganisms, some of which are pathogenic.

25 Mar 2019

Ball pits used in children's physical therapy may contribute to germ transmission

Beware the ball pit. Ball pits used in children's physical therapy - similar to those made popular by restaurants catering to families - may contribute to germ transmission between patients, according to new research published in the American Journal of Infection Control, the journal of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, published by Elsevier.

22 Mar 2019

Appropriate doffing of personal protective equipment may reduce healthcare worker contamination

More than one-third of healthcare workers were contaminated with multi-drug resistant organisms after caring for patients colonized or infected with the bacteria, according to a study published today in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

21 Mar 2019

Rice University bioscientists reveal danger of vitamin B12 deficiency

Using roundworms, one of Earth's simplest animals, Rice University bioscientists have found the first direct link between a diet with too little vitamin B12 and an increased risk of infection by two potentially deadly pathogens.

14 Mar 2019

Study shows how gut bacteria affect the treatment of Parkinson's disease

Patients with Parkinson's disease are treated with levodopa, which is converted into dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain. In a study published on 18 January in the journal Nature Communications, scientists from the University of Groningen show that gut bacteria can metabolize levodopa into dopamine.

18 Jan 2019

Irish soil contains bacterial strains effective against antibiotic-resistant superbugs

Researchers analyzing soil from Ireland long thought to have medicinal properties have discovered that it contains a previously unknown strain of bacteria which is effective against four of the top six superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics, including MRSA.

27 Dec 2018

Sewage bacteria found lurking in Hudson River sediments

A new study shows that fecal bacteria from sewage are living in far greater quantities in near-shore sediments of the Hudson River than in the water itself.

14 Dec 2018

Scientists investigate how broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy affects interaction of gut bacteria

The human gut is teeming with billions of beneficial bacteria. Therapies that use antibiotics often destroy most of them.

7 Nov 2018

Notes and coins harbor life threatening bacteria, including MRSA and VRE

A new study has found that the cash and the coins that are in circulation are covered in over 19 types of bacteria that can be potentially deadly.

4 Oct 2018

New spinout company to tackle drug-resistant infections with novel antibiotics

Drug-resistant infections are set to kill more people than cancer by 2050. Now a new University of Plymouth spinout company has been established to help tackle the problem - by developing new antibiotics and bringing them to market.

24 Sep 2018

Scientists develop probiotic 'cocktail' derived from infant feces

Probiotics seem to be everywhere these days - in yogurt, pickles, bread, even dog food. But there's one place that may surprise you: There are probiotics in dirty diapers.

23 Aug 2018

Hand washing practices need to step up after bugs resistant to hand sanitizers emerge

All healthcare facilities and hospitals need to step up their hand washing techniques as well as use of alcohol based hand sanitizers after reports of emergence of hospital super bacteria that are becoming more tolerant to alcohol.

2 Aug 2018

Single course of antibiotics early in childhood may increase risk for Type 1 diabetes

A single course of antibiotics early in childhood may increase risk for Type 1 diabetes. This is the finding of a study in mice led by researchers from NYU Medical School and published online July 24 in the journal eLife.

25 Jul 2018

Novel compound as effective as FDA-approved antibiotics for treating deadly infections

Purdue University researchers have identified a new compound that in preliminary testing has shown itself to be as effective as antibiotics approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat life-threatening infections while also appearing to be less susceptible to bacterial resistance.

18 Jun 2018

Tea towels in the kitchen could be responsible for food poisonings finds study

Repeated use of the tea towels in the kitchen may be putting the families at risk of food poisonings finds study.

12 Jun 2018

New lab-based approach shows how microbes can work with hosts to prevent infection

The benefits of antibiotics to both human and animal health are undisputed. However, as microbes have become increasingly resistant to antimicrobials and other drugs, scientists have become interested in new solutions to the growing superbug crisis, including the use of defensive microbes and faecal transplants.

29 May 2018

Researchers discover new source of botulinum neurotoxin

A new source of the botulinum neurotoxin was discovered by Canadian and American scientists in a strain of animal gut bacteria known as Enterococcus faecium.

27 Jan 2018

Researchers discover new type of botulinum neurotoxin from unexpected source

Researchers from the Quadram Institute have identified genes encoding a previously undiscovered version of the botulinum neurotoxin in bacteria from a cow's gut.

12 Jan 2018

Specific bacteria in the intestines can improve response rate to cancer immunotherapy

In the Jan. 5, 2018 issue of Science, researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine show that specific strains of commensal bacteria – the swarms of microorganisms naturally dwelling in the intestines – can improve the response rate to immunotherapy for patients being treated for advanced melanoma.

5 Jan 2018