Microbiology News and Research

RSS

Re-trafficking proteins to defend against Salmonella infections

When humans get infected by pathogenic bacteria, the body's immune system tries to eliminate the intruders.

9 Jun 2020

New technique to identify genes implicated in the development of malignant brain tumor

Researchers at Uppsala University have developed a method for identifying functional mutations and their effect on genes relevant to the development of glioblastoma - a malignant brain tumor with a very poor prognosis. The study is published in Genome Biology.

9 Jun 2020

Innovative effort solves health system's shortage of nasopharyngeal swabs

An innovative effort launched in April and led by a fellow in the UCLA Biodesign program has yielded positive results, solving the health system's shortage of nasopharyngeal swabs - a key element in COVID-19 testing - at a time when Southern California is seeing a rise in new cases and new deaths per day.

8 Jun 2020

Old antibiotic may be a powerful new tool against deadly superbug

USC researchers have discovered that an old antibiotic may be a powerful new tool against a deadly superbug, thanks to an innovative screening method that better mimics conditions inside the human body.

8 Jun 2020

SARS-CoV-2 gene deletions may cause milder infections and increase human-to-human transmission

In their recent paper released on the bioRxiv preprint server, a research group from Spain demonstrated how genome changes and deletions in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) could represent a strategy of natural selection used for lessening the impact of infection in order to increase viral transmission potential.

4 Jun 2020

Small protein has a large impact on bacterial gene regulation

Meningococci are bacteria that can cause life-threatening meningitis and sepsis. These pathogens use a small protein with a large impact: The RNA-binding protein ProQ is involved in the activation of more than 250 bacterial genes.

4 Jun 2020

Study sheds new light on how respiratory virus breaks into cells to cause infection

New research from University of Alberta microbiologists has shed new light on how the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)--one of the most common viral infections--breaks into our cells to cause infection.

3 Jun 2020

Showers, toilets and washbasins may act as SARS-CoV-2 reservoirs despite low environmental transmission

In their new research paper currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server, scientists from the University of Bonn in Germany demonstrated that indirect environmental transmission most likely plays only a minor role in the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, certain potentially neglected viral reservoirs have to be taken into account when introducing epidemiological measures.

3 Jun 2020

Hype collides with science as FDA tries to rein in ‘Wild West’ of COVID blood tests

"Save your business while saving lives," reads the website of Because Health, a Seattle tech startup selling two types of tests to employers willing to pay $350 a pop to learn whether their workers have been infected with COVID-19.

3 Jun 2020

Sample inactivation may contribute to false-negative rate of SARS-Cov-2

To protect medical laboratory personnel from infection when testing clinical samples for SARS-CoV-2, most laboratories inactivate the virus before testing.

3 Jun 2020

Bacteria that live in soil and on people have extensive antibiotic-destroying genes

The latest generation of tetracyclines - a class of powerful, first-line antibiotics - was designed to thwart the two most common ways bacteria resist such drugs.

3 Jun 2020

Study maps novel coronavirus infection in cells of nasal cavity, airway and lungs

In a major scientific study published in the journal Cell, scientists at the UNC School of Medicine and the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health have characterized the specific ways in which SARS-CoV-2 – the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 – infects the nasal cavity to a great degree – replicating specific cell types – and infects and replicates progressively less well in cells lower down the respiratory tract, including the lungs.

1 Jun 2020

Reducing inflammation improves stroke recovery, may extend window for therapy

Reperfusion therapy, the gold standard for stroke treatment, helps restore blood flow after a stroke caused by a clot, preventing loss of brain tissue. However, only about 10% of stroke patients qualify, in part because of reperfusion therapy's narrow treatment window.

1 Jun 2020

UMSOM scientists develop experimental rapid diagnostic test for COVID-19

Scientists from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) developed an experimental diagnostic test for COVID-19 that can visually detect the presence of the virus in 10 minutes.

29 May 2020

Changes in gut mucus are linked to brain disorders

Mucus is the first line of defense against bad bacteria in our gut. But could it also be part of our defense against diseases of the brain?

29 May 2020

Researchers use new technique to develop experimental rapid COVID-19 test

Scientists from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) developed an experimental diagnostic test for COVID-19 that can visually detect the presence of the virus in 10 minutes.

29 May 2020

PKU-led team identifies potent neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2

A joint research team led by Sunney Xie, Director of Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics at Peking University has successfully identified multiple highly potent neutralizing antibodies against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the causative virus of the respiratory disease COVID-19, from convalescent plasma by high-throughput single-cell sequencing.

28 May 2020

A key player in hepatitis A virus infection discovered

How hepatitis A virus manages to enter liver cells called hepatocytes and initiate infection had remained a mystery for fifty years until now.

26 May 2020

Researchers collaboratively evaluate mask effectiveness to prevent coronavirus pandemic

In the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, masks were in such short supply they were nearly impossible to find. As a result, people began creating substitute masks out of anything possible - scarves, repurposed old T-shirts, even vacuum bags.

21 May 2020

Bio-Techne and Kantaro Biosciences announce partnership to develop and scale production of COVID-19 serology test

Bio-Techne Corporation and the Mount Sinai Health System in New York, through its commercial affiliate Kantaro Biosciences LLC (Kantaro), today announced a partnership to initiate scaled manufacturing and distribution of testing kits based on the Mount Sinai-developed COVID-19 serology test.

From Bio-Techne 21 May 2020

Microbiology News and Research

Re-trafficking proteins to defend against Salmonella infections

New technique to identify genes implicated in the development of malignant brain tumor

Innovative effort solves health system's shortage of nasopharyngeal swabs

Old antibiotic may be a powerful new tool against deadly superbug

SARS-CoV-2 gene deletions may cause milder infections and increase human-to-human transmission

Small protein has a large impact on bacterial gene regulation

Study sheds new light on how respiratory virus breaks into cells to cause infection

Showers, toilets and washbasins may act as SARS-CoV-2 reservoirs despite low environmental transmission

Hype collides with science as FDA tries to rein in ‘Wild West’ of COVID blood tests

Sample inactivation may contribute to false-negative rate of SARS-Cov-2

Bacteria that live in soil and on people have extensive antibiotic-destroying genes

Study maps novel coronavirus infection in cells of nasal cavity, airway and lungs

Reducing inflammation improves stroke recovery, may extend window for therapy

UMSOM scientists develop experimental rapid diagnostic test for COVID-19

Changes in gut mucus are linked to brain disorders

Researchers use new technique to develop experimental rapid COVID-19 test

PKU-led team identifies potent neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2

A key player in hepatitis A virus infection discovered

Researchers collaboratively evaluate mask effectiveness to prevent coronavirus pandemic

Bio-Techne and Kantaro Biosciences announce partnership to develop and scale production of COVID-19 serology test

Event guide: The 10th Microbiome Movement Summit Europe 2026 eBook

Latest eBooks

Industry Focus eBook - Analytical Chemistry (3rd edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Microbiome (1st edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Cell biology (5th edition)

Advancing degrader and proximity-based drug development

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo