Pathogen News and Research

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Researchers develop a simple approach to accurately predict disease outbreaks

Infectious diseases have a substantially growing impact on the health of communities around the world and pressure to both predict and prevent such diseases is ever-growing.

8 Jan 2020

Persistent TB infection of macrophages puts the brakes on immune engines, study shows

Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have discovered both how TB puts the brakes on our immune engines and how we can kick-start those engines back into gear - providing hope that improved treatment options could soon be on the horizon.

8 Jan 2020

Extremely low concentrations of acetic acid could alter cellular processes in rice blast fungus

All living organisms respond and adapt to changes in their environment. These responses are sometimes so significant that they cause alterations in the internal metabolic cycles of the organism--a process called "metabolic switching." For example, rice blast fungus--a pathogenic fungal species that causes the "rice blast" infection in rice crops--switches to the "glyoxylate cycle" when the nutrient source starts to deplete.

8 Jan 2020

Researchers uncover a response key to the survival of Mycoplasma genitalium in urogenital tract

A study led by an IBB-UAB research team has managed to identify the mechanisms by which the sexually transmitted bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium (Mge) can persist in conditions with very limited availability of metals, a circumstance it must face when infecting humans.

8 Jan 2020

New nanotech technique fights advanced-stage sepsis

Scientists have found a novel approach using nanotechnology that can fight late-stage sepsis.

8 Jan 2020

Structure of most lethal toxin produced by C. difficile bacteria identified

Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and their colleagues have identified the structure of the most lethal toxin produced by certain strains of Clostridium difficile bacteria, a potentially deadly infection associated with the use of antibiotics. The

2 Jan 2020

Diarrhea in young children linked to La Niña climate conditions

A study in Botswana by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health scientists finds that spikes in cases of life-threatening diarrhea in young children are associated with La Niña climate conditions.

30 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

Antibiotic-resistant shigella strain cases soar in Australia

A drug-resistant strain of a highly contagious sexually-transmitted bowel infection spreads in Victoria, Australia, with a vast majority of cases happening in men who have sex with men.

19 Dec 2019

Severe skin and mucous membrane lesions may occur in children with bacterial pneumonia

Painful inflammatory lesions of the skin and mucous membranes may occur in children who develop bacterial pneumonia.

19 Dec 2019

Scientists extract complete human genome from a thousands-of-years old “chewing gum”

It seems that chewing gum is not a new trend! Researchers have found chewing gum that is 5,700 years old and it has provided clues regarding ancient DNA. A study with the findings was published in the journal Nature Communications. It is titled, “A 5,700-year-old human genome and oral microbiome from chewed birch pitch.”

18 Dec 2019

Higher temperatures and increased rainfall could make RSV epidemics less severe, more common

One of the first studies to examine the effect of climate change on diseases such as influenza that are transmitted directly from person to person has found that higher temperatures and increased rainfall could make outbreaks less severe but more common, particularly in North America.

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

Scientists solve 3D structure of vaccinia virus RNA polymerase

For viruses to multiply, they usually need the support of the cells they infect. In many cases, only in their host's nucleus can they find the machines, enzymes and building blocks with which they can multiply their genetic material before infecting other cells.

12 Dec 2019