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Researchers explore how toxic protein clusters linked to Parkinson's disrupt brain cells

Researchers have glimpsed how the toxic protein clusters that are associated with Parkinson's Disease disrupt the membranes of healthy brain cells, creating defects in the cell walls and eventually causing a series of events that induce neuronal death.

15 Dec 2017

Tailor-made protein combats several kinds of pathogenic bacteria

As resistance to existing antibiotics increases, new approaches to serious bacterial infections are needed. Now researchers at Lund University in Sweden, together with colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in the US, have investigated one such alternative.

13 Dec 2017

Scientists take major step forward in research efforts to develop TB vaccine

A team of scientists led by the University of Southampton has taken an important step forward in research efforts that could one day lead to an effective vaccine against the world's deadliest infectious disease.

25 Nov 2017

Leaf-eating ability of beetle largely due to bacteria inside the insect

A leaf-eating beetle has evolved a symbiotic relationship with bacteria that allows the insect to break down pectin -- part of a plant's cell wall that is indigestible to most animals.

17 Nov 2017

UCR-led research discovers that human protein could be used to treat sepsis

A research team led by a biomedical scientist at the University of California, Riverside has discovered that the human protein resistin could be used to treat sepsis, the body's extreme and uncontrolled immune response to an infection.

14 Nov 2017

Uncovering Bacterial Cell Wall Secrets To Combat Antibiotic Resistance

Cell walls -- the jacket-like structures that surround all known bacteria -- may turn out to be bacteria's undoing, holding the key to developing new drugs that target it for destruction.

6 Nov 2017

New study shows how staph cells evade the body's immune system

For years, medical investigators have tried and failed to develop vaccines for a type of staph bacteria associated with the deadly superbug MRSA. But a new study by Cedars-Sinai investigators shows how staph cells evade the body's immune system, offering a clearer picture of how a successful vaccine would work.

21 Sep 2017

Small-molecule immunotherapeutics could steer immune defense against fungal pathogens

Fungal infections represent an increasing health crisis, especially for immune-deficient patients. American scientists now report in the journal Angewandte Chemie that specific help could be provided by small-molecule immunotherapeutics with novel mechanism of action.

21 Sep 2017

Researchers identify potential gonorrhea vaccine candidates

Researchers at Oregon State University have identified a pair of proteins that show promise as the basis for a gonorrhea vaccine.

19 Sep 2017

Protein distribution channel may be new target for combating pathogenic bacterium

A bacterium that attacks people suffering from chronic lung disease and compromised immune systems could be halted by disrupting the distribution channels the organism uses to access the nutrient-rich cytoplasm of its host cell.

31 Aug 2017

Study reveals new opportunities for treatment of Type 2 diabetes

Bacteria may be responsible for more than we suspect. Especially when it comes to inflammatory diseases such as Type 2 diabetes.

29 Aug 2017

Two new discoveries provide better understanding of how bacteria resist antibiotics

Two new discoveries from Edward Yu's Iowa State University laboratory are adding to the scientific understanding of how bacteria resist antibiotics.

1 Aug 2017

Research reveals how bacteria may use mechanical cues to keep their shape

Bacteria come in all shapes and sizes -- some are straight as a rod, others twist like a corkscrew. Shape plays an important role in how bacteria infiltrate and attack cells in the body.

26 Jul 2017

Methicillin use not to blame for MRSA, say researchers

The introduction of methicillin into clinical practice is not what caused the emergence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), report researchers. According to a collaborative study by the University of St Andrews, University of Dundee and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, MRSA existed long before clinicians started using the antibiotic.

20 Jul 2017

Penn study points to novel therapeutic strategy for preventing severe tooth decay in toddlers

Though most tooth decay can be blamed on bacteria, such as Streptococcus mutans, the fungus Candida albicans may be a joint culprit in an alarmingly common form of severe tooth decay affecting toddlers known as early childhood caries.

20 Jun 2017

Cornell researchers unravel E. coli bacteria's defense secret

By tagging a cell's proteins with fluorescent beacons, Cornell researchers have found out how E. coli bacteria defend themselves against antibiotics and other poisons. Probably not good news for the bacteria.

13 Jun 2017

University of Redlands researchers discover critical process in pharmaceutical drug development

A faculty-student research team in the chemistry lab at the University of Redlands has advanced a new approach to a critical process in pharmaceutical drug development that could reduce the time and cost of bringing a drug from concept to market.

2 Jun 2017

TSRI scientists give new superpowers to lifesaving antibiotic

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have given new superpowers to a lifesaving antibiotic called vancomycin, an advance that could eliminate the threat of antibiotic-resistant infections for years to come.

30 May 2017

Researchers link intestinal fungi to increased risk of death in patients with alcoholic liver disease

Liver cirrhosis is the 12th leading cause of mortality worldwide and approximately half of those deaths are due to alcohol abuse.

23 May 2017

Study shows how probiotic improves integrity of the GI epithelial cell wall in HIV patients

A newly released study published in the Journal of Immunity, Inflammation and Disease and conducted by the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, found a multi-strain, high concentration, probiotic formulation that helped reconstitute the physical and immunological integrity of the gastrointestinal lining in HIV-1-positive patients on antiretroviral therapy.

3 May 2017