Microbiology News and Research

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Scientists uncover link between backup pathogen-fighting system and mutations in Crohn's patients

Genes that regulate a cellular recycling system called autophagy are commonly mutated in Crohn's disease patients, though the link between biological housekeeping and inflammatory bowel disease remained a mystery. Now, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered an intriguing clue.

28 Jul 2017

New approach may improve translation of immunological research findings

Mouse models have advanced our understanding of immune function and disease in many ways but they have failed to account for the natural diversity in human immune responses.

27 Jul 2017

Research reveals how bacteria may use mechanical cues to keep their shape

Bacteria come in all shapes and sizes -- some are straight as a rod, others twist like a corkscrew. Shape plays an important role in how bacteria infiltrate and attack cells in the body.

26 Jul 2017

New way of producing flu vaccine could provide better protection against infection

A new way of producing the seasonal flu vaccine could speed up the process and provide better protection against infection.

24 Jul 2017

UNC receives $5.6 million from NIH to test therapeutic HIV vaccine

A multidisciplinary research team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been awarded more than $5.6 million from the National Institutes of Health to test a therapeutic vaccine in people living with HIV.

24 Jul 2017

Diagnosing prostate cancer through a £225 urine test

This test, which we have branded SelectMDx for Prostate Cancer, came with the acquisition of a company in the Netherlands called NovioGendix. They developed a prototype assay, so they did most of the heavy lifting in terms of discovering the two specific biomarkers that are currently in the product. These biomarkers are tuned towards the detection of what I call clinically significant prostate cancer.

24 Jul 2017

Genetic variation linked to greater tuberculosis susceptibility

Researchers have shown that a single nucleotide change in a gene that affects production of hepcidin--a peptide involved in inflammation, immunity, and control of iron levels--is associated with greater susceptibility to extrapulmonary tuberculosis.

21 Jul 2017

New mathematical model could serve as guide to halt spread of mosquito-borne viruses

Upstate Medical University researcher Anna Stewart Ibarra, Ph.D., M.P.A., and her colleagues have created a mathematical model that can serve as a guide to make monthly predictions on when people are at greatest risk for contracting mosquito-borne viruses, such as dengue, Zika, and chikungunya, due to climate conditions.

21 Jul 2017

Wastewater may become key ally in the fight against antibiotic-resistant microorganisms

Municipal wastewater may become a key ally in the fight against antibiotic-resistant disease-causing bacteria and fungi, a new study at Stellenbosch University found.

20 Jul 2017

Kent State professor offers reliable information about vaccine safety, urges to promote immunization

The center of a public health debate is whether parents should have their children vaccinated. Tara Smith, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology at Kent State University's College of Public Health, challenges statements made by influential individuals who oppose the widespread use of vaccines, and she calls upon her colleagues in the scientific community to speak out to promote vaccination.

19 Jul 2017

Cohabitating couples influence microbial communities on each other's skin

Couples who live together share many things: Bedrooms, bathrooms, food, and even bacteria. After analyzing skin microbiomes from cohabitating couples, microbial ecologists at the University of Waterloo, in Canada, found that people who live together significantly influence the microbial communities on each other's skin.

19 Jul 2017

Unique 'Golden Hour' study details ultra-early immune response to trauma

Scientists from the University of Birmingham are carrying out pioneering research as part of a major £10 million study aimed at improving outcomes for patients who have suffered a traumatic injury.

19 Jul 2017

Healthcare providers rarely perform stethoscope hygiene between patient encounters

You can lead a doctor to disinfection, but how do you get them to clean…or wipe ….or swab a stethoscope?

18 Jul 2017

Large-scale genetic study of E. coli illustrates complexity of drug resistant 'superbugs'

The first large-scale genetic study of Escherichia coli (E. coli) cultured from patients with bloodstream infections in England showed that drug resistant 'superbugs' are not always out-competing other strains.

18 Jul 2017

Scientists reveal key role of excess gut calcium in C. diff infections

It lurks in hospitals and nursing homes, surviving the cleaning crew's attempt to kill it by holing up in a tiny hard shell. It preys upon patients already weak from disease or advanced age.

13 Jul 2017

UIC researchers identify enzyme that triggers corneal inflammation

One of the symptoms of herpes simplex virus-1 infection of the eye is lingering inflammation of the cornea – the clear outer layer of the eyeball.

11 Jul 2017

Tulane University receives $12 million NIH grant to develop drug and vaccine against Lassa fever

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Tulane University more than $12 million to test a promising drug treatment against Lassa fever and develop a vaccine against the deadly disease endemic in parts of West Africa.

11 Jul 2017

Researchers discover basic genetic mechanism that causes congenital myotonic dystrophy

For years, the underlying process that causes a debilitating muscle disorder in infants and young children has been largely unknown.

11 Jul 2017

Intestinal viruses may affect person's chance of developing Type 1 diabetes

Doctors can't predict who will develop Type 1 diabetes, a chronic autoimmune disease in which one's own immune system destroys the cells needed to control blood-sugar levels, requiring daily insulin injections and continual monitoring.

11 Jul 2017

Carbohydrate found in cranberries may aid growth of beneficial gut bacteria, study reports

Many scientists are paying new attention to prebiotics, that is, molecules we eat but cannot digest, because some may promote the growth and health of beneficial microorganisms in our intestines, says nutritional microbiologist David Sela at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

10 Jul 2017

Microbiology News and Research

Scientists uncover link between backup pathogen-fighting system and mutations in Crohn's patients

New approach may improve translation of immunological research findings

Research reveals how bacteria may use mechanical cues to keep their shape

New way of producing flu vaccine could provide better protection against infection

UNC receives $5.6 million from NIH to test therapeutic HIV vaccine

Diagnosing prostate cancer through a £225 urine test

Genetic variation linked to greater tuberculosis susceptibility

New mathematical model could serve as guide to halt spread of mosquito-borne viruses

Wastewater may become key ally in the fight against antibiotic-resistant microorganisms

Kent State professor offers reliable information about vaccine safety, urges to promote immunization

Cohabitating couples influence microbial communities on each other's skin

Unique 'Golden Hour' study details ultra-early immune response to trauma

Healthcare providers rarely perform stethoscope hygiene between patient encounters

Large-scale genetic study of E. coli illustrates complexity of drug resistant 'superbugs'

Scientists reveal key role of excess gut calcium in C. diff infections

UIC researchers identify enzyme that triggers corneal inflammation

Tulane University receives $12 million NIH grant to develop drug and vaccine against Lassa fever

Researchers discover basic genetic mechanism that causes congenital myotonic dystrophy

Intestinal viruses may affect person's chance of developing Type 1 diabetes

Carbohydrate found in cranberries may aid growth of beneficial gut bacteria, study reports

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