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Neutrophil extracellular traps could cause organ damage in malaria

Malaria is one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases: a small mosquito bite delivers numerous malaria parasites into the bloodstream. The human body defends itself valiantly against the parasite, which usually results in periodic flu-like symptoms and severe fever. Severe cases of the disease are accompanied by tissue damage and result in potentially fatal organ failure.

21 Oct 2019

Researchers identify new TB enzyme target to help fight deadly infection

Researchers have found a crucial enzyme in tuberculosis (TB) to target, allowing the development of new treatments to help fight against the disease's drug resistance.

18 Oct 2019

Scientists report evidence of immune response targeting brain cells in autism

Autism spectrum disorders affect one in 59 American children by age eight. With no known quantitative biological features, autism diagnoses are currently based on expert assessments of behavioral symptoms, including impaired social skills and communication, repetitive behaviors and restricted interests.

17 Oct 2019

Raw pet food a risk for humans and animals

The team wrote, “Feeding pets raw meat-based diets (RMBDs) has become increasingly popular but may constitute a risk due to the contamination with pathogenic and antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria.”

17 Oct 2019

Novel antibiotic-free approach to tackle superbugs

Scientists have uncovered a novel antibiotic-free approach that could help prevent and treat one of the most widespread bacterial pathogens, using nanocapsules made of natural ingredients.

17 Oct 2019

UA researcher focuses on preventing health-care-associated infections

On any given day in the United States, about 1 in 31 hospital patients has at least one health-care-associated infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

16 Oct 2019

NIH awards new contract to integrate pathogen and vector genomics database

A team led by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Georgia provides thousands of researchers around the world with access to the Eukaryotic Pathogen Genomics Database (EuPathDB.org), a collection of resources for analyzing large-scale datasets associated with microbial pathogens.

16 Oct 2019

Researchers predict Tularemia outbreaks as climate changes

Stockholm University researchers have found that the impact of climate change of disease incidence of tularemia could be statistically predicted. In high-latitude regions, where the disease was less common, global warming could lead to increasing number of cases of the disease they wrote.

15 Oct 2019

Glycans in mucus are responsible for microbe-taming, study reveals

More than 200 square meters of our bodies -- including the digestive tract, lungs, and urinary tract -- are lined with mucus. In recent years, scientists have found some evidence that mucus is not just a physical barrier that traps bacteria and viruses, but it can also disarm pathogens and prevent them from causing infections.

14 Oct 2019

New liquid-cell technology provides first 3D view of life’s processes

A new liquid-cell technology allows scientists to see biological materials and systems in three dimensions under an electron microscope (EM), according to researchers at Penn State, Virginia Tech and Protochips Inc.

10 Oct 2019

Fetal gut has more well-developed immune capabilities than previously thought

Most biology textbooks explain that the fetal immune system is largely undeveloped and that it learns after being exposed to the world at birth. New research from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh challenges that paradigm, and provides the first comprehensive look at the immune system of the developing gut.

10 Oct 2019

Scientists show how the immune system reacts to Ebola vaccine

Following the dramatic Ebola epidemic in West Africa from 2013 to 2016, viral infections have spread in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2018. Since then, more than 2,100 deaths have been reported and the number of victims and new infections increases daily.

10 Oct 2019

Researchers discover most virulent representatives of listeriosis pathogen

The bacterium Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a life-threatening infection in animals and humans. Contaminated food is a frequent source of infection. Elderly people, people with a weakened immune system and pregnant women are particularly at risk with a mortality rate of up to 30 per cent.

9 Oct 2019

Cholera pathogen can acquire large stretches of genetic material from neighboring bacteria

In 2015, EPFL researchers led by Melanie Blokesch published a seminal paper in Science showing that the bacterium responsible for cholera, Vibrio cholerae, uses a spring-loaded spear to literally stab neighboring bacteria and steal their DNA.

8 Oct 2019

Health care market fails to support new antibiotics against superbugs, study finds

The health care market is failing to support new antibiotics used to treat some of the world's most dangerous, drug-resistant "superbugs," according to a new analysis by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine infectious disease scientists.

8 Oct 2019

Scientists show how protein Ikaros orchestrates fine balance to control autoimmunity

The immune system relies on B cells and their ability to make antibodies against an extremely broad range of pathogens. This broad responsiveness bears some risk, as B cells can also turn against healthy tissue - a phenomenon called autoimmunity.

8 Oct 2019

Cholera-causing bacteria steal large stretches of intact DNA to become more efficient

A new paper shows that the cholera germ is an inveterate and rapacious gene stealer, robbing other competing bacteria of up to 150 genes (over 150,000 base pairs) in a single attack. To put this in perspective, the cholera pathogen carries only about 4,000 genes altogether.

8 Oct 2019

New test could improve outcomes for patients with sepsis

A new test to determine whether antibiotics will be effective against certain bacterial infections is helping physicians make faster and better prescription treatment choices.

3 Oct 2019

High-resolution imaging shows how HIV spreads between living cells

In order to treat diseases better, we must understand how they arise.

3 Oct 2019

New clinical practice guideline published for adults with community acquired pneumonia

The American Thoracic Society and the Infectious Diseases Society of America have published an official clinical guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of adults with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the ATS's Oct. 1 American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

1 Oct 2019