Penicillin News and Research

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Penicillin (sometimes abbreviated PCN or pen) is a group of antibiotics derived from ''Penicillium'' fungi. Penicillin antibiotics are historically significant because they are the first drugs that were effective against many previously serious diseases such as syphilis and Staphylococcus infections.

Brunel scientists find way to target hard-to-reach cancers using 'Trojan horse' nanoparticles

Scientists at Brunel University London have found a way of targeting hard-to-reach cancers and degenerative diseases using nanoparticles, but without causing the damaging side effects the treatment normally brings.

12 Dec 2014

Research findings may lead to new ways to thwart drug resistance

Penicillin, the wonder drug discovered in 1928, works in ways that are still mysterious almost a century later. One of the oldest and most widely used antibiotics, it attacks enzymes that build the bacterial cell wall, a mesh that surrounds the bacterial membrane and gives the cells their integrity and shape. Once that wall is breached, bacteria die -- allowing us to recover from infection.

6 Dec 2014

Researchers find way to prevent noise-induced hearing loss

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College and the Gladstone Institutes have found a way to prevent noise-induced hearing loss in a mouse using a simple chemical compound that is a precursor to vitamin B3. This discovery has important implications not only for preventing hearing loss, but also potentially for treating some aging-related conditions that are linked to the same protein.

3 Dec 2014

Renewal wrinkles, high deductibles and decisions for employers: These and other health law implementation issues grab headlines

News outlets report on a range of health law implementation issues that are causing challenges for consumers, employers and Obamacare advocates.

21 Oct 2014

Experts to establish global anti-microbial agenda at 2014 BioInfect Conference

Bionow, a not for profit membership organisation for the biomedical / life-sciences industry, is delighted to be hosting the 2014 BioInfect Conference. A major one day conference looking at the critical issues relating to the development of new anti-infectives and the endemic problem of resistance, will take place at the Alderley Park Conference Centre, Cheshire on the 4th November 2014.

16 Oct 2014

Novel test could revolutionise discovery of new prescription drugs

A new test developed by researchers from the University of Manchester could revolutionise the discovery of new prescription drugs. The test will help determine which drugs are unlikely to work at an early stage, speeding up the time it takes to make safe and effective medicines available.

From The University of Manchester 3 Oct 2014

Antibiotic exposure in infancy linked to childhood obesity

Repeated exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics in the first two years of life is associated with early childhood obesity, say researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in a retrospective study based on data from electronic health records from the extensive CHOP Care Network.

30 Sep 2014

Researchers say that environment plays much stronger role than genetics in eosinophilic esophagitis

Researchers have found that environment has a much stronger role than genetics in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a severe, often painful food allergy that renders children unable to eat a wide variety of foods.

23 Sep 2014

S. pneumoniae drug susceptibility tracked in Japan

A 12-year survey of the antimicrobial susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates in Miyagi Prefecture in Japan has identified important changes, including improved susceptibility to β-lactam antibiotics.

17 Sep 2014

Expert creates new evidence-based guideline for managing sickle cell disease

An expert panel has created a new evidence-based guideline for managing sickle cell disease (SCD), with a strong recommendation for the use of the drug hydroxyurea and transfusion therapy for many individuals with SCD, although high-quality evidence is limited, with few randomized clinical trials conducted for this disease, according to an article in the September 10 issue of JAMA.

10 Sep 2014

Researchers aim to safely and quickly suppress food allergies in human

In mice, the answer appears to be "yes," but making sure the same can happen in humans is a task that Fred Finkelman, MD, professor of medicine and pediatrics in the University of Cincinnati's (UC) College of Medicine and a researcher at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, is attempting to tackle.

9 Sep 2014

People with food allergies have to watch what their fruits and vegetables eat

People with food allergies always have to watch what they eat. Now, they may have to watch what their fruits and vegetables eat, as it seems it's possible to have an allergic reaction to antibiotic residues in food.

4 Sep 2014

Study reveals stem cell therapy as a new potential avenue of treatment for stroke

A stroke therapy using stem cells extracted from patients' bone marrow has shown promising results in the first trial of its kind in humans.

9 Aug 2014

Researchers use safer method to stimulate ovulation in women undergoing IVF treatment

Researchers have successfully used a new and potentially safer method to stimulate ovulation in women undergoing IVF treatment.

21 Jul 2014

Study shows how psychedelic drug alters brain activity to produce unusual psychological effects

New research shows that our brain displays a similar pattern of activity during dreams as it does during a mind-expanding drug trip.

4 Jul 2014

UK's TSB provides £347,000 for project to optimise gene library assembly technology

Today, Monday 30th June, 2014, Isogenica, Cambridge UK and Imperial College London secure funding from the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), the UK's innovation agency, for a £347,000 project to optimise a gene library assembly technology for potential use in synthetic biology.

30 Jun 2014

Modified mosquitoes produce sperm that only creates males

Scientists have modified mosquitoes to produce sperm that will only create males, pioneering a fresh approach to eradicating malaria.

11 Jun 2014

Study results suggest growing support for patient-centered care management

Primary care doctors practicing in a model of coordinated, team-based care that leverages health information technology are more likely to give patients recommended preventive screening and appropriate tests than physicians working in other settings, according to research published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

4 Jun 2014

Growing resistance to antibiotics demands a coordinated global response, say experts

Growing resistance to antibiotics and other drugs demands a coordinated global response on the same scale as efforts to address climate change, experts say.

23 May 2014

Soil bacteria have strategies for fighting antibiotics

Drug-resistant bacteria annually sicken 2 million Americans and kill at least 23,000. A driving force behind this growing public health threat is the ability of bacteria to share genes that provide antibiotic resistance.

22 May 2014