Microbiology News and Research

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Analyzing potential TB vaccine

When results from a landmark tuberculosis vaccine trial in Cape Town, South Africa were published in The Lancet in February 2013, the headlines were grim, despite hopes that the trial would point toward a successful way to thwart one of the globe's biggest public health threats.

13 Nov 2015

Research may offer new treatments for patients suffering from severe diarrhea

Everyone has suffered from it. It's ranged from mild to severe. It's a condition that's most-often described in a whisper.

11 Nov 2015

Paratek initiates Omadacycline phase 3 clinical study in community acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP)

Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced the dosing of the first patient in its Phase 3 clinical study of its lead drug candidate, omadacycline, for the treatment of Community Acquired Bacterial Pneumonia (CABP). This global Phase 3 study will assess the efficacy and safety of omadacycline compared with moxifloxacin in subjects with CABP.

9 Nov 2015

Scientists discover small molecule that can block growth of BRCA-deficient cancer cells

Cancer cells with mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, which serve a vital role in preserving the integrity of the genetic code, are key targets for cancer therapeutics. Yet, few agents can selectively eliminate cells deficient in BRCA, and none can do so without the risk of inducing drug resistance.

6 Nov 2015

Researchers successfully test new method for rapid diagnosis of Ebola in Guinea

An international team of researchers, including Ahmed Abd El Wahed, scientist at the University of Göttingen and the German Primate Center, has tested a new method for rapid diagnosis of Ebola in a field trial in Guinea. The test procedure was carried out using a portable suitcase laboratory. The mobile suitcase lab is operated with solar power and enables simple on-site diagnostics in remote areas without the need of an equipped laboratory.

6 Nov 2015

Loyola presents Scientist of the Year awards

Susan Baker, PhD, a leading researcher of a class of viruses that includes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), has been named Senior Scientist of the Year at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Wei Qiu, PhD, who is researching the molecular mechanisms of liver cancer, has been named Junior Scientist of the Year.

6 Nov 2015

Researchers team up to evaluate biological and genetic differences of GI cancers in race, ethnicity

Americans of African descent are at a significantly higher risk for developing and dying from Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, which include colorectal and pancreatic cancers, compared to individuals who are of Caucasian descent.

5 Nov 2015

ESCMID, ESWI call for increased flu vaccination coverage amongst healthcare professionals

The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (ESCMID) – an organization that explores risk assessment, knowledge sharing and best practices in the fight against infectious disease – is calling on the healthcare industry to lead by example and implement universal flu vaccination for healthcare workers.

5 Nov 2015

Researchers track re-emergence of scarlet fever-causing bacteria

An international study led by University of Queensland researchers has tracked the re-emergence of a childhood disease which had largely disappeared over the past 100 years.

4 Nov 2015

Microbiome researcher Martin J. Blaser earns GUMC's Cura Personalis Award

Georgetown University Medical Center will bestow its highest honor, the Cura Personalis Award, upon Martin J. Blaser, MD, a world-renowned microbiome researcher and clinician.

3 Nov 2015

Just one junk food snack is enough to trigger signs of metabolic disease

We hate to ruin Thanksgiving, but a new report appearing in the Nov. 2015 issue of The FASEB Journal suggests that for some people, overindulgence at the dinner table or at snack time is enough to trigger signs of metabolic disease.

3 Nov 2015

Patients with Down syndrome face additional challenge of early-onset dementia

Individuals with Down syndrome who survive into adulthood face the additional challenge of early-onset dementia, in which toxic amyloid plaques build up in the brain. The condition is strikingly similar to Alzheimer's disease, and as new work led by researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University shows, dementia in Down syndrome involves defects in a regulatory enzyme known as γ-secretase activating protein (GSAP), which also happens to malfunction in Alzheimer's disease.

3 Nov 2015

Columbia University to lead NSF-funded project for Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub

Columbia University will lead a $1.25 million project funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to share data, tools and ideas for tackling some of the big challenges facing the northeastern United States.

3 Nov 2015

Researchers use genomic techniques to show why different strains of Salmonella infect particular animal species

It's called bird flu for a reason. Particular characteristics about the influenza virus known as H5N1 allow it to primarily affect avifauna, though in some worrying cases the disease has been passed to humans.

3 Nov 2015

Coating implants with tissue plasminogen activator can prevent biofilm-related infections

Biofilms--mats of bacteria similar to the plaque that grows on teeth--frequently coat the surfaces of catheters, and of various medical implants and prostheses, where they can threaten lives or lead to failure of the implants. Antibiotics are impotent against biofilms.

31 Oct 2015

Scientists one step closer to developing new treatment for inflammatory bowel disease

For patients with inflammatory bowel disease, the possibility of taking a single pill to bring long-lasting relief might seem too good to be true. Scientists at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University are on the brink of making that happen, thanks to a recent proof-of-concept study, in which the severity of a form of inflammatory bowel disease in mice was dramatically reduced with one oral dose of a protein isolated from a bacterial biofilm.

30 Oct 2015

Scientists call for coordinated effort to drive cutting edge microbiome research

A consortium of 48 scientists from 50 institutions in the United States - including Pamela Silver, Ph.D., a Core Faculty member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University - are calling for a Unified Microbiome Initiative that would span national cross-institutional and cross-governmental agency support.

29 Oct 2015

New studies raise important questions about impact of statin therapy on effectiveness of flu vaccines

A new pair of studies suggests that statins, drugs widely used to reduce cholesterol, may have a detrimental effect on the immune response to influenza vaccine and the vaccine's effectiveness at preventing serious illness in older adults. Published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, the findings, if confirmed by additional research, may have implications for flu vaccine recommendations, guidelines for statin use around the time of vaccination, and future vaccine clinical trials in seniors.

29 Oct 2015

Australian researchers find a way to boost cross-protective capabilities of influenza A vaccine

Australian researchers have found a way to boost the effectiveness and cross-protective capabilities of an influenza A vaccine by adding a simple component. Published this week in mBio, an online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, the research in mice could lead to better seasonal flu vaccines for humans, and also vaccines that could provide community protection in the early stages of an outbreak of a novel flu virus strain.

28 Oct 2015

Phage shows strong anti-microbial activity against C. sakazakii bacterium

A phage showed strong anti-microbial activity against a type of food-borne bacterium that often kills infants after infecting them via infant formula. Phages are viruses that infect only bacteria. The research is published Oct. 23 online in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

24 Oct 2015

Microbiology News and Research

Analyzing potential TB vaccine

Research may offer new treatments for patients suffering from severe diarrhea

Paratek initiates Omadacycline phase 3 clinical study in community acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP)

Scientists discover small molecule that can block growth of BRCA-deficient cancer cells

Researchers successfully test new method for rapid diagnosis of Ebola in Guinea

Loyola presents Scientist of the Year awards

Researchers team up to evaluate biological and genetic differences of GI cancers in race, ethnicity

ESCMID, ESWI call for increased flu vaccination coverage amongst healthcare professionals

Researchers track re-emergence of scarlet fever-causing bacteria

Microbiome researcher Martin J. Blaser earns GUMC's Cura Personalis Award

Just one junk food snack is enough to trigger signs of metabolic disease

Patients with Down syndrome face additional challenge of early-onset dementia

Columbia University to lead NSF-funded project for Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub

Researchers use genomic techniques to show why different strains of Salmonella infect particular animal species

Coating implants with tissue plasminogen activator can prevent biofilm-related infections

Scientists one step closer to developing new treatment for inflammatory bowel disease

Scientists call for coordinated effort to drive cutting edge microbiome research

New studies raise important questions about impact of statin therapy on effectiveness of flu vaccines

Australian researchers find a way to boost cross-protective capabilities of influenza A vaccine

Phage shows strong anti-microbial activity against C. sakazakii bacterium

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