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What do we know about the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines so far?

A new study surveys what we know so far about SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates from advanced clinical trials.

27 Jan 2021

Certain malaria parasites use a mechanism to cross the blood–brain barrier

Malaria is one of the most common causes of death in children in Africa and is triggered by a small parasite that lives in the blood. When the parasite builds up in the blood vessels of the brain, it develops into one of the most dangerous forms of the disease, cerebral malaria.

27 Jan 2021

Iron-carrying extracellular vesicles promote viral-bacterial co-infection

The mechanism by which acute viral respiratory infections promote secondary bacterial growth and infection in the airways depends on iron-carrying extracellular sacs secreted by the cells lining the host's airways, report researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in a paper published today in Cell Reports.

26 Jan 2021

Pain-free microneedle patch can capture biomarkers from interstitial fluid

Blood draws are no fun. They hurt. Veins can burst, or even roll - like they're trying to avoid the needle too, Oftentimes, doctors use blood samples to check for biomarkers of disease: antibodies that signal a viral or bacterial infection, such as SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, or cytokines indicative of inflammation seen in conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and sepsis.

26 Jan 2021

Neonatal antibiotic exposure linked to reduced weight and height in boys

Exposure to antibiotics in the first days of life is thought to affect various physiological aspects of neonatal development.

26 Jan 2021

Codon frequency optimization shows SARS-CoV-2 antiviral potential

A study conducted by researchers in the US has revealed that optimization of codon for bacterial expression causes the production of an inactive enzyme non-structural protein 12 (Nsp12), a catalytic subunit of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of SARS-CoV-2.

26 Jan 2021

Probiotics as adjuvant therapy for COVID-19 patients

In a recent review published in the Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, Luigi Santacroce and Francesco Inchingolo et al. address the many factors such as dysbiosis (imbalance in the microbiota) that could influence the SARS-CoV-2 infection course.

25 Jan 2021

Study: Vast majority of U.S. infants may be suffering from gut microbiome deficiency

A new peer-reviewed study reveals that the vast majority of U.S. infants may be suffering from a substantial deficiency in an important bacterium key to breast milk utilization and immune system development, as well as protection against gut pathogens linked to common newborn conditions such as colic and diaper rash.

21 Jan 2021

Study examines association between gut mycobiome and Parkinson’s disease

The bacterial gut microbiome is strongly associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), but no studies had previously investigated he role of fungi in the gut.

21 Jan 2021

Researchers use SARS-CoV-2 to bioengineer universal vaccine platform

Using SARS-CoV-2, a team of scientists from the United States has recently developed a bioengineered bacteriophage T4 nanoparticle structure using CRISPR technology that can be used as a universal platform to produce vaccines.

21 Jan 2021

Antibiotic resistance may be more widespread than previously expected

Pathogenic bacteria in humans are developing resistance to antibiotics much faster than expected. Now, computational research at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, shows that one reason could be significant genetic transfer between bacteria in our ecosystems and to humans.

21 Jan 2021

Researchers discover potent antifungal agent from attine ant farms

Attine ants are farmers, and they grow fungus as food. Pseudonocardia and Streptomyces bacteria are their farmhands, producing metabolites that protect the crop from pathogens.

20 Jan 2021

Putatively immature dendritic cells may induce robust immune responses in young children

A study by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich researchers shows that putatively immature dendritic cells found in young children are able to induce robust immune responses. The results could lead to improved vaccination protocols.

20 Jan 2021

Bacteria responsible for seafood-related stomach upsets can go dormant and "wake up"

Scientists have discovered how bacteria commonly responsible for seafood-related stomach upsets can go dormant and then "wake up".

20 Jan 2021

Study shows that single water molecule may cause antibiotic resistance

New high-resolution structures of the bacterial ribosome determined by researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago show that a single water molecule may be the cause - and possible solution - of antibiotic resistance.

20 Jan 2021

Fecal microbiome and metabolome vary in healthy and food-allergic twins, shows study

A new study out of the University of Chicago and Stanford University on pairs of twins with and without food allergies has identified potential microbial players in this condition.

19 Jan 2021

Mapping antibody reactivity in COVID-19 patients by using multi-coronavirus protein microarray

In an exciting, state-of-the-art study currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server, US researchers created a multi-coronavirus protein microarray containing full-length proteins, peptide libraries, and overlapping protein fragments from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as well as four other human coronaviruses.

19 Jan 2021

Carbon-based nanomaterials as potential COVID-19 treatments

An international team of researchers says that carbon-based nanomaterials (CBNs) could represent promising new approaches to treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia that is complicated by a secondary bacterial, viral or fungal infection.

19 Jan 2021

Gene-cutting system may play second role as a genetic dimmer switch

In a series of experiments with laboratory-cultured bacteria, Johns Hopkins scientists have found evidence that there is a second role for the widely used gene-cutting system CRISPR-Cas9 -- as a genetic dimmer switch for CRISPR-Cas9 genes.

19 Jan 2021

Are antibiotic regimens for critical COVID-19 patients with bacterial superinfection unnecessarily high?

A new study by researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, USA, shows that antibiotic regimens for critically ill COVID-19 patients with bacterial superinfections may be promoting an unnecessarily high.

19 Jan 2021