Microbiology News and Research

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Study reveals new mechanism that controls the causes of stomach disease

Infectious diseases triggered by bacteria and other microbes are the most frequent cause of human mortality across the globe.

8 Jan 2020

Intravenous BCG vaccine provides greater protection against tuberculosis

Researchers have found that the BCG vaccine is more efficacious in the prevention of TB when administered intravenously.

2 Jan 2020

Intravenous administration boosts protective power of TB vaccine

Worldwide, more people die from tuberculosis than any other infectious disease, even though the vast majority were vaccinated.

2 Jan 2020

Bile acids help norovirus to infect cells of the small intestine

A new study led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that human noroviruses, the leading viral cause of foodborne illness and acute diarrhea around the world, infect cells of the small intestine by piggybacking on a normal cellular process called endocytosis that cells use to acquire materials from their environment.

31 Dec 2019

Certain bacteria can override programmed cell death

Certain bacteria can override a defense mechanism of the immune system, so called programmed cell death, through inhibition of death effector molecules by their outer membranes components.

26 Dec 2019

Plant-rich diet protects against foodborne pathogens, mice study shows

Mice fed a plant-rich diet are less susceptible to gastrointestinal infection from a pathogen such as the one currently under investigation for a widespread E. coli outbreak tied to romaine lettuce, UT Southwestern researchers report.

23 Dec 2019

New research could lead to an improved vaccine to protect against meningococcal infections

New research from experts at the University of Nottingham could lead to an improved vaccine to protect against the bacterium, Neisseria meningitides that causes sepsis and meningitis.

22 Dec 2019

NIAID to fund VTEU program and its companion leadership group

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health, today announced the establishment of the Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium, a clinical trials network that will encompass the Institute's long-standing Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units (VTEUs) and create a new consortium leadership group

20 Dec 2019

High-fat meal can silence gut's communication with the body, study shows

A high-fat meal can silence communication between the intestine and the rest of the body, according to a new Duke University study in zebrafish.

17 Dec 2019

Combination of two antibiotics eradicates latent tuberculosis in macaques

A major goal of tuberculosis (TB) research is to find a way to treat people with the latent (or inactive) form of the disease to keep them from developing symptomatic TB.

17 Dec 2019

The sympathetic nervous system can modulate action of defense cells in autoimmune disease

The results of a study conducted in Brazil suggest that the sympathetic nervous system - the part of the autonomous nervous system that controls responses to danger or stress - can modulate the action of defense cells in patients with autoimmune diseases.

16 Dec 2019

UAB seminar on the extraordinary science of the immune system

"The human immune system makes my head explode," Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Matt Richtel recently told a University of Alabama at Birmingham freshman seminar on immunology. "This is by far the hardest subject I have ever had to explore."

15 Dec 2019

Harvard scientists demonstrate possible strategy for achieving herpes virus control

The herpes simplex virus, commonly known as the cold sore virus, is a devious microbe.

12 Dec 2019

New method reveals how microbial communities function in our bodies

In the last decade, scientists have made tremendous progress in understanding that groups of bacteria and viruses that naturally coexist throughout the human body play an important role in some vital functions like digestion, metabolism and even fighting off diseases. But understanding just how they do it remains a question.

11 Dec 2019

Cherwell appoints Thomas Parkhill as new Microbiology Sales Specialist

Cherwell Laboratories, specialists in cleanroom microbiology solutions, are pleased to announce the appointment of Thomas Parkhill as Microbiology Sales Specialist.

From Cherwell Laboratories 11 Dec 2019

Yeasts derived from food can reduce multi-drug resistant fungal infections

A study by researchers in the United States and India has shown that probiotic yeasts derived from food are able to reduce the virulence of, and even prevent infections by, several types of fungi that are responsible for life-threatening infections in hospitalized and immune-compromised individuals, including the multi-drug resistant Candida auris, which was recently listed as an urgent threat by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in its 2019 Antibiotic Resistance Threats report.

10 Dec 2019

UA physician-scientist to study how common stressors affect the aging process

The human body gets stressed every single day. Whether we contract a minor infection or even argue with a loved one, these small stressors impact our immune system.

10 Dec 2019

Researchers discover a widespread method used by phages to hide from bacterial defenses

University of Otago researchers have discovered how viruses that specifically kill bacteria can outwit bacteria by hiding from their defenses, findings which are important for the development of new antimicrobials based on viruses and provide a significant advance in biological knowledge.

10 Dec 2019

'Achilles' heel' of deadly superbug identified

A deadly superbug that infects an estimated 54,500 Americans a year has a secret weapon, a protein, that allows it to defy antibiotic treatment and immune system attacks.

9 Dec 2019

Some phages employ new strategy to avoid becoming the next casualty of DNA-dicing enzymes

Bacteria and the viruses that infect them are engaged in a molecular arms race as ancient as life itself. Evolution has equipped bacteria with an arsenal of immune enzymes, including CRISPR-Cas systems, that target and destroy viral DNA. But bacteria-killing viruses, also known as phages, have devised their own tools to help them outmaneuver even the most formidable of these bacterial defenses.

9 Dec 2019