Plague News and Research

RSS

Barefoot activities can improve balance and posture, prevent common injuries

As your cold-weather footwear makes the seasonal migration from the back of your closet to replace summer's flip flops and bare feet, don't underestimate the benefits of padding around naked from the ankles down.

18 Nov 2015

Plague endemic in man since early Bronze Age, but has not always been flea-borne

A recent analysis of ancient DNA has revealed that the plaque had been endemic in humans for at least 3000 years before the first global outbreak on record (the Plague of Justinian in 541 AD). Furthermore, the disease was not always transmitted by fleas, with mutation to the bubonic form only occurring around the start of the 1st millennium BC.

23 Oct 2015

Cancer-causing parasitic worm may help patients recover from wounds, say JCU scientists

It's short, ugly and deadly. But James Cook University scientists have found a cancer-causing, parasitic worm could help patients recover from their wounds.

22 Oct 2015

RE.WORK showcases future technology and innovations in deep learning software

The future of technological innovation is a broad topic with endless opportunities in every scientific field. RE.WORK’s two most recent concurrent conferences ‘RE.WORK: Future Technology’ and ‘RE.WORK: Deep Learning’, in part focussed on putting healthcare in the context of the wider technological revolution.

13 Oct 2015

Online course offered in October on zoonotic disease

Recent outbreaks of plague, tularemia and increasing incidents of rabies exposure highlight the importance of zoonotic disease education for physicians and public health professionals.

11 Sep 2015

Johns Hopkins study advances scientific understanding of how DNA segments move among bacteria

Scientists at Johns Hopkins report they have deciphered the structure and unusual shape of a bacterial protein that prepares segments of DNA for the insertion of so-called jumping genes.

21 Aug 2015

Researchers decode molecular mechanism of fish toxin that has potential to treat cancer

Pathogenic bacteria develop killer machines that work very specifically and highly efficiently. Scientists from the University of Freiburg have solved the molecular mechanism of a fish toxin that could be used in the future as a medication to treat cancer. The scientists have now published their research in the journal Nature Communications.

25 Jul 2015

Regulatory T cells critical for the immune system's ability to fight off future pathogen attacks

Just as militaries need to have trained, experienced soldiers ready for future wars, making sure that the immune system has enough battle-ready T cells on hand is important for fast-acting, more effective vaccines, according to Penn State researchers.

17 Jun 2015

Researchers receive $10 million grant for citrus greening research project

To help develop a therapeutic treatment for citrus greening disease, a bacterial infection that threatens the future of the U.S. citrus industry, the United States Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Research Initiative has awarded a diverse group of researchers a $10 million grant.

9 Jun 2015

Pneumonic plague transmission from dog to man

Pneumonic plague is a rare but life-threatening condition caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. Y pestis is usually carried by rodents and can be transmitted to humans through a bite from an infected rodent or rodent flea or inhalation of infectious droplets...

1 May 2015

Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute sets new national standard for most adult heart transplants

The Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute completed 120 adult heart transplants and two adult heart-lung transplants in 2014, setting a new national standard for the most adult heart transplants performed in a single year.

9 Apr 2015

Scientists sequence genome of hookworm

In an advance that may potentially lead to new treatments for parasitic hookworms, scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Cornell University have sequenced the genome of the hookworm, Ancylostoma ceylanicum.

3 Mar 2015

Discovery offers much needed information about how virulent insect-borne diseases cause infection

For decades, scientists have thought the bacteria that cause the bubonic plague hijack host cells at the site of a fleabite and are then taken to the lymph nodes, where the bacteria multiply and trigger severe disease. But UNC School of Medicine researchers discovered that this accepted theory is off base. The bacteria do not use host cells; they traffic to lymph nodes on their own and not in great numbers.

16 Feb 2015

TUSM researchers awarded $7.4 million to study brain impairment in patients infected with HIV

Researchers at Temple University School of Medicine have been awarded a $7.4 million, five-year grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to determine how cocaine and HIV-1 interact to cause brain impairment in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus.

11 Feb 2015

Research finding could help predict the next outbreak of plague

Biologists at the University of Oslo, Norway, are now making a giant effort to identify the relationship between climate change, rat infestations, and the many major plague epidemics throughout history. The knowledge may be used to predict the next plague outbreak.

9 Feb 2015

Investigators develop microbiome map of New York City subway system

The microbes that call the New York City subway system home are mostly harmless, but include samples of disease-causing bacteria that are resistant to drugs -- and even DNA fragments associated with anthrax and Bubonic plague -- according to a citywide microbiome map published today by Weill Cornell Medical College investigators.

9 Feb 2015

New report explores measures to address shortages of lifesaving medicines

As shortages of lifesaving medicines, including antibiotics, chemotherapy, and cardiovascular drugs continue to plague the United States, a group of health care organizations released a report exploring measures that should be considered to address this ongoing issue. The report summarizes manufacturing, regulatory, and economic issues related to drug shortages, as well as potential solutions that were considered at a 2014 Summit attended by 22 stakeholder groups, including health care professionals and other non-profit organizations, industry, public interest, and government agencies.

6 Feb 2015

Drug proves effective at inhibiting growth of drug-resistant bacteria

A treatment pioneered at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research is far more effective than traditional antibiotics at inhibiting the growth of drug-resistant bacteria, including so-called "superbugs" resistant to almost all existing antibiotics, which plague hospitals and nursing homes.

10 Dec 2014

Viewpoints: 'Blunders' on Ebola; McConnell's strange logic on Obamacare; temporary victory for Texas women

The point of this is not to flog Presbyterian, though a few lashes might help snap [Daniel] Varga and other administrators back to reality.

17 Oct 2014

State highlights: Fla. toughens drug compounding laws; Conn. hospitals leave largest insurer

A selection of health policy stories from Florida, Connecticut, New York, Michigan, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Arkansas.

1 Oct 2014