Microbiology News and Research

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New guidelines on clinical use of life-saving antibiotics

An international panel of the foremost researchers on infectious disease and antimicrobials has formed new guidelines on the use of polymyxins, a class of antibiotics employed as a last resort to treat deadly, drug-resistant bacteria.

11 Mar 2019

Viruses behave altruistically to avoid the immune system, study shows

Pilar Domingo, Ernesto Segredo, María Durán and Rafael Sanjuán, from the Institute of Integrated Systems Biology, a mixed center of the University of Valencia and the Spanish National Research Council, have shown that viruses behave altruistically to avoid the immune system.

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

Study reveals hidden risks of diarrheal disease in children

A rapidly evolving new subspecies of the cryptosporidium parasite – a leading cause of diarrheal disease in children worldwide – has been revealed by scientists at the University of East Anglia.

5 Mar 2019

Isolating Bacterial Pathogen DNA from Food Samples

Isolating bacterial pathogen DNA is important and often seen as QA ensure that the food manufactured or the ingredients used do not contain food-borne bacteria.

From Promega Corporation 5 Mar 2019

Predicting global spread of mosquitoes

Outbreaks of mosquito-borne illnesses like yellow fever, dengue, Zika and chikungunya are rising around the world. Climate change has created conditions favorable to mosquitoes' spread, but so have human travel and migration and accelerating urbanization, creating new mini-habitats for mosquitoes.

5 Mar 2019

Researchers find how common oral bacteria accelerates growth of colon cancer

Researchers at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine have determined how F. nucleatum -- a common oral bacteria often implicated in tooth decay -- accelerates the growth of colon cancer. The study was published online in the journal EMBO Reports.

4 Mar 2019

Research shows presence of yeasts and fungi in breast milk of healthy mothers

Investigators have now shown that the breast milk microbiome contains fungi. Multiple previous studies had found bacteria in breast milk. Certain fungi and bacteria have been shown to be important probiotics for infant health.

4 Mar 2019

Research identifies super-enhancers as novel target for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Differential H3K27AC marks were identified at enhancer regions of genes including c-MYC, MED1, OCT-4, NANOG, and SOX2 that can act as super-enhancers (SE), cluster of genes in non-cancerous, cancerous and metastatic PDAC cell lines.

1 Mar 2019

Research shows how common fungus gets the flexibility to live in different host environments

The fungus Candida albicans is found in the gastrointestinal tract of about half of healthy adults with little if any effect, yet it also causes an oft-fatal blood infection among patients with compromised immune systems, including those with HIV/AIDS.

1 Mar 2019

Study uncovers mechanism that controls immune reactions against gut microbiota

Researchers from the Cluster of Excellence "Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation" in Kiel and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin have uncovered a critical mechanism that controls immune reactions against microorganisms in the intestine.

27 Feb 2019

Researchers find how bats remain immune to various infections

An international research team led by Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, has identified molecular and genetic mechanisms that allow bats to stay healthy while hosting viruses that kill other animals, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Microbiology.

27 Feb 2019

New protein 'switch' could stop progression of blood-poisoning and increase chances of survival

Scientists at the University of British Columbia have discovered a new protein "switch" that could stop the progression of blood-poisoning, or sepsis, and increase the chances of surviving the life-threatening disease.

26 Feb 2019

Immunologists uncover the immune system's unknown messenger

A novel messenger which alarms nearby cells when the immune system recognizes infections has been uncovered by immunologists from Aarhus University, Denmark. This knowledge will help fighting infections and autoimmune diseases.

26 Feb 2019

Specific gene variation associated with ADHD could be tied to substance addiction

Some variations in the gene LPHN3 -associated with the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in kids and adults- could favor likelihood to smoke, consume alcohol, cannabis and other addictive substances, according to an article published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, from the Nature Publishing Group.

25 Feb 2019

Frog-skin bacteria more diverse in cold and variable temperature regions, finds study

Amphibians are victims of lethal skin-disease epidemics. In the first global-scale study, researchers from 31 universities and research centers, including the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), collected skin bacteria from more than 2,300 healthy frogs and salamanders from 12 countries to describe microbes on a wide range of host animals to improve knowledge of the distribution of frog-skin bacteria, known to be important in maintaining amphibian health.

22 Feb 2019

Thousands with chronic UTIs are not receiving the treatment they need

Many women may not be receiving the treatment they need because the gold-standard tests for UTIs fail to detect a significant proportion of bacteria.

21 Feb 2019

Cervical microbiome may influence HPV infection more than previously thought

Infections with a Human Papillomavirus cause 99 percent of cervical cancer cases, and the disease's first sign is often the appearance of precancerous lesions on a woman's cervix. But bacteria may play an important role, too.

19 Feb 2019

Antimicrobial reusable coffee cups are less likely to become contaminated with bacteria, study shows

Antimicrobial reusable coffee cups are safer to use than ordinary plastic reusable cups, according to independent research undertaken by microbiologists at Aston University in Birmingham.

19 Feb 2019

Researchers identify suicide toxin in the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis

The bacteria responsible for tuberculosis can be killed by a toxin they produce unless it is neutralized by an antidote protein. The European team of scientists behind this discovery is coordinated by researchers from the Institute of Pharmacology and Structural Biology and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory.

18 Feb 2019