Biofilms News and Research

RSS

Small army of tiny robots can remove dental plaque

A visit to the dentist typically involves time-consuming and sometimes unpleasant scraping with mechanical tools to remove plaque from teeth.

25 Apr 2019

Patent-pending probiotic could help patients with gastrointestinal diseases avoid harmful biofilms

Probiotics typically aim to rebalance bacteria populations in the gut, but new research suggests they may also help break apart stubborn biofilms. Biofilms are living microbial communities--they provide a haven for microbes and are often resistant to antibiotics.

4 Apr 2019

Coating medical implant surfaces with microgel flecks could help reduce infection rates

Joint replacements are among the most common elective surgeries -- but around one in 100 patients suffer post-surgical infections, turning a routine procedure into an expensive and dangerous ordeal.

27 Mar 2019

Research opens up opportunities to unravel the complexity of microbial communities

"Microbial communities run the world," says Jo Handelsman, director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

11 Mar 2019

New antibacterial coating for intravascular catheters could help prevent infections

Brown University researchers have developed a new antibacterial coating for intravascular catheters that could one day help to prevent catheter-related bloodstream infections, the most common type of hospital-acquired infection.

8 Mar 2019

Electroceutical bandages can help heal wounds faster

Bandages infused with electricity can help heal wounds faster than typical bandages or antibiotics--but for years, researchers have not really understood why.

7 Mar 2019

Bacteria-killing glass offers hope to combat deadliest hospital infections

Scientists at Aston University have discovered a technique similar to medieval stained glass-making that can completely eradicate the deadliest hospital infections within hours.

5 Mar 2019

Microbes causing cystic fibrosis change rapidly within 2-3 years after first infection

A new study, recently published in Nature Communications, has looked at infections in Danish youth with CF over a period of 10 years. This is the largest longitudinal study to date of the evolution - both involving traits and genes - of the disease-causing microbes that persistently infect young CF-patients.

5 Mar 2019

Sinks next to toilets in hospital may be reservoirs for Klebsiella pneumonia carbapenemase

Sinks situated next to patient toilets in hospital rooms may be reservoirs for Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase, increasing the risk of dangerous germ transmission, according to new research published in the American Journal of Infection Control, the journal of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

4 Feb 2019

Peptide isolated from soil fungi has antitumor and antibacterial properties

A team of scientists from I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University together with their colleagues isolated a peptide named emericellipsin A from soil fungi.

22 Jan 2019

National Biofilms Innovation Centre award grant to Neem Biotech for novel anti-biofilm drug development

Neem Biotech, Welsh Wound Innovation Centre and Sheffield Collaboratorium for Antimicrobial Resistance and Biofilms Awarded NBIC Grant to Advance Development of Neem’s First-in-Class Treatments for Wound Infections.

From Neem Biotech 17 Dec 2018

Super bugs “supercharging” on the International Space Station

Researchers and microbiologists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory NASA, had found that there were five different types of Enterobacter present in the toilets and exercise areas on the ISS.

29 Nov 2018

Microbiologists uncover how antibiotics help spread resistance

Bacteria can become insensitive to antibiotics by picking up resistance genes from the environment. Unfortunately for patients, the stress response induced by antibiotics activates competence, the ability of cells to take up and integrate foreign DNA, in microorganisms.

27 Nov 2018

Slime in showerheads could harbour dangerous lung bacteria finds study

A study has shown that the showerheads contain slime that can be home to potentially dangerous bacteria which lead to severe lung disease. Mycobacterial bacteria are responsible for lung diseases explain experts.

4 Nov 2018

Exploring potential health risks of microplastic particles for humans

The Austrian Federal Environment Agency and the Medical University of Vienna have presented the first preliminary results of a pilot study on microplastics (microplastic particles) in humans.

1 Nov 2018

Researchers develop new way to detect hidden urinary tract infections

Researchers in infection biology have developed a new way to detect hidden urinary tract infections. The research was led by Professor Agneta Richter-Dahlfors, head of the Swedish Medical Nanoscience Center at Karolinska Institutet and published in NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes.

26 Oct 2018

New tool may shed light on how to grow replacement tissues and organs for implants

From "Fantastic Voyage" to "Despicable Me," shrink rays have been a science-fiction staple on screen. Now chemists at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a real shrink ray that can change the size and shape of a block of gel-like material while human or bacterial cells grow on it.

24 Oct 2018

Probiotic/antibiotic combination could eradicate drug-resistant bacteria

In the fight against drug-resistant bacteria, MIT researchers have enlisted the help of beneficial bacteria known as probiotics.

17 Oct 2018

Synspira’s abstracts accepted for presentation at the 32nd Annual NACFC

Synspira, a privately held company developing a new class of inhaled glycopolymer-based therapeutics for the treatment of pulmonary disease, today announced that three abstracts have been accepted for presentation at the 32nd Annual North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference, occurring October 18-20 in Denver, CO.

12 Oct 2018

Researchers identify molecule that plays key role in bacterial communication, infection

Carnegie Mellon University researchers have identified a molecule that plays a key role in bacterial communication and infection.