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Shigella dysenteriae pathogen probably originated in Europe, genetic study reveals

The largest genetic study on the bacterium responsible for epidemic dysentery has revealed that the Shigella dysenteriae pathogen, which remains a real scourge in Africa and Asia, probably originated in Europe.

22 Mar 2016

Researchers disprove previously assumed behavior of macrophage immune cells

What happens when macrophage immune cells are activated in the course of an inflammation to combat pathogens such as bacteria or viruses? Researchers of the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine of the University of Luxembourg pursued this very question. The researchers discovered that the immune cells behave differently from what was previously assumed. Their metabolism upholds the production of antimicrobial substances and fatty acids during activation. In this way, they deliver important resources for the immune responses they trigger.

21 Mar 2016

Advanced genomic sequencing tracks deadly blood infection in cancer patients

The Translational Genomics Research Institute, working with international investigators, have discovered the source of a potential deadly blood infection in more than 50 South American cancer patients.

21 Mar 2016

Researchers reveal link between necrotizing enterocolitis and uropathogenic E. coli

Necrotizing enterocolitis is an intestinal disease that afflicts about one in 10 extremely premature infants and is fatal in nearly one-third of cases. The premature infant gut is believed to react to colonizing bacteria, causing damage to the intestinal walls and severe infection.

21 Mar 2016

UCMR researchers discover compounds that can attenuate virulence of Listeria monocytogenes

Scientists at Umea Centre for Microbial Research have discovered chemical compounds which are able to attenuate the virulence of the bacterial human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. Their findings are published today in the high impact journal Cell Chemical Biology.

19 Mar 2016

Scientists sort out mechanism of Alzheimer's disease development

A group of the Lomonosov Moscow State University scientists, together with their colleagues from the Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences and the King's College London, succeeded in sorting out the mechanism of Alzheimer's disease development and possibly distinguished its key trigger.

11 Mar 2016

New, regenerative medicine approach developed to remove congenital cataracts in infants

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Shiley Eye Institute, with colleagues in China, have developed a new, regenerative medicine approach to remove congenital cataracts in infants, permitting remaining stem cells to regrow functional lenses.

10 Mar 2016

MGH researchers identify how Shigella injects proteins into target host cells

Researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital Division of Infectious Diseases are investigating the mechanism by which several important pathogenic species of bacteria deliver proteins into the cells of the organisms they are infecting.

10 Mar 2016

Bonn scientists identify immune factor partially responsible for chronic viral infection

Many viral diseases tend to become chronic - including infections with the HI virus. In persons affected, the immune response is not sufficient to eliminate the virus permanently.

8 Mar 2016

Researchers discover how E. coli bacteria adhere to urinary tract

Almost every second woman suffers from a bladder infection at some point in her life. Also men are affected by cystitis, though less frequently. In eighty percent of the cases, it is caused by the intestinal bacterium E. coli.

8 Mar 2016

Research could change the way people look at gene expression, immune response

Research from the Single-Cell Genomics Centre on the Wellcome Genome Campus could change the way we look at gene expression and immune response. Published in Nature Methods, the new method, TraCeR, provides a powerful tool for research into immune response, vaccination, cancer and autoimmunity.

8 Mar 2016

Highbush blueberry cultivars show resistance to soilborne pathogen

Phytophthora cinnamomi is a soilborne pathogen associated with root rot in many woody perennial plants. An extensive study from researchers in Oregon has identified a number of highbush blueberry cultivars that show resistance to the disease, as well as those varieties that are susceptible.

3 Mar 2016

Novel way proposed for developing infectious disease models to uncover hidden patterns of transmission

Ebola. Chikungunya. Zika. Once rare and exotic pathogens keep popping up and turning into household names. It's the new reality as the climate warms, humans expand more into wildlife habitats and air travel shrinks the distances across the globe.

27 Feb 2016

Researchers identify, isolate and characterize two Ebola virus neutralizing monoclonal antibodies

The Institute for Research in Biomedicine, affiliated to the Università della Svizzera italiana, and Humabs BioMed SA, a Swiss antibody therapeutics company, have identified, isolated and characterized two Ebola virus neutralizing monoclonal antibodies from the blood of a survivor of an Ebola infection.

27 Feb 2016

P. gingivalis could be a novel risk factor for esophageal cancer

University of Louisville School of Dentistry researchers have found a bacterial species responsible for gum disease, Porphyromonas gingivalis, is present in 61 percent of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

27 Feb 2016

Cryo-electron microscopy helps analyze infection mechanisms of coronaviruses in detail

High-resolution cryo-electron microscopy and supercomputing have now made it possible to analyze in detail the infection mechanisms of coronaviruses. These viruses are notorious for attacking the respiratory tract of humans and animals.

27 Feb 2016

Genome sequencing shows association between STIs and Trachoma

For the first time, genome sequencing has been carried out on Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis), a bacteria responsible for the disease Trachoma - the world's leading infectious cause of blindness, according to a study in Nature Communications.

26 Feb 2016

Intestinal microbiota necessary for optimum postnatal growth

The intestinal microbiota is necessary to ensure optimum postnatal growth and contributes to determining the size of adult individuals, notably in the event of undernutrition.

22 Feb 2016

Specialised white blood cell in birds can destroy fatal fungal infection

Scientists have discovered that a specialised white blood cell found in birds can destroy a potentially fatal fungal infection which affects more than one million people every year.

18 Feb 2016

FDA issues new guidance to reduce risk of Zika blood transmission

As a safety measure against the emerging Zika virus outbreak, today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a new guidance recommending the deferral of individuals from donating blood if they have been to areas with active Zika virus transmission, potentially have been exposed to the virus, or have had a confirmed Zika virus infection.

18 Feb 2016

Pathogen News and Research

Shigella dysenteriae pathogen probably originated in Europe, genetic study reveals

Researchers disprove previously assumed behavior of macrophage immune cells

Advanced genomic sequencing tracks deadly blood infection in cancer patients

Researchers reveal link between necrotizing enterocolitis and uropathogenic E. coli

UCMR researchers discover compounds that can attenuate virulence of Listeria monocytogenes

Scientists sort out mechanism of Alzheimer's disease development

New, regenerative medicine approach developed to remove congenital cataracts in infants

MGH researchers identify how Shigella injects proteins into target host cells

Bonn scientists identify immune factor partially responsible for chronic viral infection

Researchers discover how E. coli bacteria adhere to urinary tract

Research could change the way people look at gene expression, immune response

Highbush blueberry cultivars show resistance to soilborne pathogen

Novel way proposed for developing infectious disease models to uncover hidden patterns of transmission

Researchers identify, isolate and characterize two Ebola virus neutralizing monoclonal antibodies

P. gingivalis could be a novel risk factor for esophageal cancer

Cryo-electron microscopy helps analyze infection mechanisms of coronaviruses in detail

Genome sequencing shows association between STIs and Trachoma

Intestinal microbiota necessary for optimum postnatal growth

Specialised white blood cell in birds can destroy fatal fungal infection

FDA issues new guidance to reduce risk of Zika blood transmission

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Why use light scattering to analyze proteins and viral vectors?

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