Pathogen News and Research

RSS

Ceres' petition regarding corn traits receives positive response from USDA

Ceres, Inc., an agricultural biotechnology company focused on forage and feed crops, announced that its petition to have a number of its traits for corn deemed non-regulated has been successful.

17 Feb 2016

New UNC School of Medicine study shows how some bacteria can spread throughout the body

Bacteria have evolved thousands of clever tactics for invading our bodies while evading our natural defenses. Now, UNC School of Medicine scientists studying one of the world's most virulent pathogens and a separate very common bacterium have discovered a new way that some bacteria can spread rapidly throughout the body - by hitchhiking on our own immune cells.

16 Feb 2016

Researchers identify how Toxoplasma parasite crosses blood-brain barrier

An estimated 30 percent of the world's population is chronically infected with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Most people live with the infection without noticeable effect, but it can be life-threatening for people with suppressed immune systems, such as people on cancer therapies or who have HIV/AIDS.

16 Feb 2016

Scientists modify plants' defense system to confer resistance to virus

Scientists at Indiana University have modified a plant gene that normally fights bacterial infection to confer resistance to a virus.

15 Feb 2016

New technique could help detect harmful PAMP molecules in certain processed foods

Our favourite foods could be made healthier thanks to a new technique developed by the University of Leicester which has identified harmful bacterial molecules in certain processed foods such as burgers and ready meals.

11 Feb 2016

Researchers sequence genetic blueprint of Lyme-disease-spreading tick

Researchers have sequenced the genetic blueprint of one of the most prolific pathogen-transmitting agents on the planet - the Lyme-disease-spreading tick (Ixodes scapularis) that bites humans. The findings could lead to advances in not only disrupting the tick's capacity to spread diseases but also in eradicating the pest.

10 Feb 2016

Rockefeller University study shows how herpes virus causes traffic jam in immune system pathway

With over half the U.S. population infected, most people are familiar with the pesky cold sore outbreaks caused by the herpes virus. The virus outsmarts the immune system by interfering with the process that normally allows immune cells to recognize and destroy foreign invaders. How exactly the herpes simplex 1 virus pulls off its nifty scheme has long been elusive to scientists.

4 Feb 2016

CosmosID announces $6M in Series B funding round

CosmosID, the leading genomic big data company focused on microbiome research, outbreak investigations, and infectious disease diagnostics, using next-generation DNA sequencing, announced $6M in Series B funding.

28 Jan 2016

UAB discovery may offer new therapeutic approaches to asthma

University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers have found a previously unknown step in the pathway that leads to asthma, a discovery that may offer new therapeutic approaches to this incurable disease. Asthma affects more than 25 million people in the United States, including about 7 million children.

27 Jan 2016

Neurons protect intestinal tissue from over-inflammation

The immune system exercises constant vigilance to protect the body from external threats--including what we eat and drink. A careful balancing act plays out as digested food travels through the intestine. Immune cells must remain alert to protect against harmful pathogens like Salmonella, but their activity also needs to be tempered since an overreaction can lead to too much inflammation and permanent tissue damage.

25 Jan 2016

New machine-learning technique could be used to uncover previously unknown features of organisms

A powerful new machine-learning technique can be applied to large datasets in the biological sciences to uncover previously unknown features of organisms and their genes, according to a team led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

22 Jan 2016

New technique may accelerate development of novel vaccines

An interdisciplinary team of Oxford University researchers has devised a new technique to speed up the development of novel vaccines.

20 Jan 2016

Rice scientists develop new tool to analyze thermal behaviors of DNA and RNA strands

Rice University scientists have developed a tool to speed the design of molecular diagnostics that depend on the specific recognition of pathogen DNA and RNA.

20 Jan 2016

Profectus begins Phase 1 clinical study of VesiculoVax-vectored Ebola virus vaccine

Profectus BioSciences, Inc., a clinical-stage vaccine company developing novel vaccines for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and the treatment of cancer, announced today the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical study of Profectus' VesiculoVax-vectored Ebola virus vaccine.

19 Jan 2016

Antivirulence antibiotics could evade resistance longer than traditional antibiotics

We've all seen the headlines. "Man found to be shedding virulent strain of polio"; "Virulent flu strain in Europe hits the economy"; "Most virulent strain of E. coli ever seen contains DNA sequences from plague bacteria."

19 Jan 2016

Researchers engineer antibodies that could potently neutralize two deadliest strains of Ebola virus

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases have engineered the first antibodies that can potently neutralize the two deadliest strains of the virus that causes Ebola hemorrhagic fever.

13 Jan 2016

Researcher seeks to identify probiotic mixes to treat Clostridium difficile infections

Antibiotics that fight infection can adversely affect the digestive tract and give destructive bacteria a chance to flourish, said assistant professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences Joy Scaria of South Dakota State University. His research seeks to identify probiotic mixes to treat intestinal infections, such as Clostridium difficile.

12 Jan 2016