Antibiotic News and Research

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Antibiotics are drugs used to treat infections caused by bacteria and other microorganisms.

CARB-X awards $2.86M to develop novel oral antibiotic to treat drug-resistant gonorrhea

Up to $2.86M has been awarded to a research team including Penn State scientists to develop a new oral antibiotic to treat multidrug-resistant gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted disease caused by bacteria that have developed resistance to all but one existing antibiotic.

20 Mar 2020

G-FET based biosensors for selective identification of deadly bacteria strains

Using a single atom-thick sheet of graphene to track the electronic signals inherent in biological structures, a team led by Boston College researchers has developed a platform to selectively identify deadly strains of bacteria, an advance that could lead to more accurate targeting of infections with appropriate antibiotics, the team reported in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics.

19 Mar 2020

Lopinavir and ritonavir drug combo tested in severe COVID-19

Researchers from China and the United Kingdom have collaborated to conduct a clinical trial looking at the efficacy of a combination of two anti-HIV drugs lopinavir and ritonavir to combat severe cases of COVID-19. Their study titled, “A Trial of Lopinavir–Ritonavir in Adults Hospitalized with Severe COVID-19,” was published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

19 Mar 2020

Consistent guidelines for treating urinary tract infections

They are among the most common ailments for those residing at post-acute and long-term care (PALTC) centers, yet diagnosing and managing urinary tract infections (UTIs) remains a challenging prospect for caregivers at these facilities.

19 Mar 2020

Bacterial extracellular vesicles could combat antibiotic resistance

Children's National Hospital researchers for the first time have isolated bacterial extracellular vesicles from the blood of healthy donors, a critical step to better understanding the way gut bacteria communicate with the rest of the body via the bloodstream.

18 Mar 2020

Key antibiotic used for treating drug-resistant TB does not work as expected

Crick and Imperial researchers have found that a key antibiotic widely used to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis does not work as expected - a finding which could be used to develop new drugs.

16 Mar 2020

Researchers solve the riddle of superbug toxin damage to gut

A powerful Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) collaboration has revealed that a bacterial superbug can prevent stem cells in the gut from carrying out their vital role of regenerating the inner lining of the intestine.

16 Mar 2020

New, rubber-like material could act as replacement for human tissue

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have created a new, rubber-like material with a unique set of properties, which could act as a replacement for human tissue in medical procedures.

16 Mar 2020

New nano strategy for 'trapping and zapping' antibiotic resistant genes

It's not enough to take antibiotic-resistant bacteria out of wastewater to eliminate the risks they pose to society. The bits they leave behind have to be destroyed as well.

12 Mar 2020

City dwellers, children and seniors take more antibiotics

City dwellers take more antibiotics than people in rural areas; children and the elderly use them more often than middle-aged people; the use of antibiotics decreases as education increases, but only in rich countries: These are three of the more striking trends identified by researchers of the NRW Forschungskolleg "One Health and Urban Transformation" at the University of Bonn in a recent study.

11 Mar 2020

CRISPR-Cas system can be used to effectively target colitis pathogen

Research at North Carolina State University shows that the CRISPR-Cas system can be used to effectively target and eliminate specific gut bacteria, in this case Clostridioides difficile, the pathogen that causes colitis - a chronic, degenerative disease of the colon.

10 Mar 2020

Routine childhood vaccination linked to long-term schooling attainment among adults in India

Vaccines have reduced the global burden of disease by preventing an estimated 2 to 3 million deaths worldwide each year. In India, the reduction in annual under-five deaths, from 3.4 to 1.2 million between 1990 and 2015, was largely due to expansions in coverage of routine childhood vaccination.

10 Mar 2020

Gut bacteria can boost effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy, mice study suggests

Could the response to cancer immunotherapy depend on bacteria that originate in the gut and travel to the tumor?

7 Mar 2020

Microbiome research uncovers new form of antibiotic tolerance

Antibiotics can make easy work of infections. But how do they affect the complex ecosystems of friendly bacteria that make up our microbiome?

5 Mar 2020

New NGS technique offers quick, accurate diagnosis of sepsis

A report in the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, published by Elsevier, describes a new technique that uses real-time next-generation sequencing to analyze tiny amounts of microbial cell-free DNA in the plasma of patients with sepsis, offering the possibility of accurate diagnosis of sepsis-causing agents within a few hours of drawing blood.

5 Mar 2020

Novel compounds show promise as potent new treatment for malaria

A novel class of antimalarial compounds that can effectively kill malaria parasites has been developed by Australian and US researchers.

4 Mar 2020

Novel drug to arrest antibiotic resistance by preventing micro-evolution

Desperate times need desperate measures. Accordingly, scientists, today published a new study in the journal Cell Host and Microbe in March 2020, showing that drugs that prevent the acquisition of DNA-borne antibiotic resistance traits from their surroundings by bacteria can stop mice from becoming resistant to the action of the antibiotics.

3 Mar 2020

Maternal psychological distress during pregnancy influences child's gut immunity

A woman's mental health during pregnancy has a direct influence on the development of her child's immune system, according to a new study from pediatric researchers at the University of Alberta.

3 Mar 2020

Link discovered between number of antibiotic prescriptions and higher risk of hospital admissions

Epidemiologists at The University of Manchester have discovered an association between the number of prescriptions for antibiotics and a higher risk of hospital admissions.

2 Mar 2020

New immunotherapeutic strategy shows promise to fight off infectious biofilms

The same way baking soda breaks down grease and grime, making surfaces easier to clean, researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University now show that a new therapeutic molecule can break apart communities of harmful bacteria, opening the way for bacteria-killing antibiotics to more effectively clear out infections.

27 Feb 2020