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Dr. Jian-Dong Li receives $1.6 million to develop novel therapeutic targets to treat middle-ear infections

Dr. Jian-Dong Li, a professor and director of the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Inflammation and Immunity, has received a five-year, $1.6 million federal grant to develop novel anti-inflammatory therapeutics against middle-ear infections.

2 Jul 2015

Kalorama Information: NGS diagnostics can detect any number of genetic variants

Next generation sequencing may be able to bypass some of the downside of molecular testing and in doing so earn its place in clinical testing, according to Kalorama Information.

30 Jun 2015

SLU's Center for Vaccine Development receives $2.9 million to study new vaccine to combat TB

Saint Louis University's Center for Vaccine Development has received a $2.9 million award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study a new tuberculosis vaccine.

30 Jun 2015

Synthetic Biologics announces initiation of SYN-010 Phase 2 clinical trial for treatment of IBS-C

Synthetic Biologics, Inc., a clinical-stage company focused on developing therapeutics to protect the microbiome while targeting pathogen-specific diseases, reported the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial of its proprietary SYN-010 for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C).

29 Jun 2015

Basilea announces UK launch of broad-spectrum Cephalosporin Zevtera for first-line treatment of pneumonia

Basilea Pharmaceutica AG today announces the UK launch of its broad-spectrum Cephalosporin Zevtera (Ceftobiprole medocaril) for the first-line treatment of serious bacterial pneumonia.

25 Jun 2015

Researchers develop protective vaccine against chlamydia infections

Chlamydiae are the most common, sexually transmitted, bacterial pathogens in the world. Every year around 100 million people contract Chlamydia infections, which are one of the main causes of female infertility and ectopic pregnancies and can also lead to blindness - especially in developing countries.

25 Jun 2015

Discovery provides basis for new pertussis treatments

The worldwide spreading of the whooping cough, also known as pertussis, has substantially increased since 2010. Researchers from the Biozentrum, University of Basel, have investigated structure and function of an important membrane protein of the bacterium causing pertussis. They discovered that the protein structure differs from a previously postulated model.

24 Jun 2015

UW microbiologist receives 2015 Shaw Prize in life science and medicine

UW microbiologist Peter Greenberg has long been fascinated with how bacteria in cells communicate for cooperative activities, including the spread of infection. He started exploring the subject in 1977, thinking the implications could be far-reaching.

18 Jun 2015

Regulatory T cells critical for the immune system's ability to fight off future pathogen attacks

Just as militaries need to have trained, experienced soldiers ready for future wars, making sure that the immune system has enough battle-ready T cells on hand is important for fast-acting, more effective vaccines, according to Penn State researchers.

17 Jun 2015

Researchers reveal that Helicobacter pylori infection can lead to gastric cancer

Around half of the global population is chronically infected with the stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori, almost 1 percent of whom go on to develop gastric adenocarcinoma, one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Usually it takes many decades for the cancer to develop, making it difficult to pinpoint exactly how it is linked to an infection.

17 Jun 2015

Researchers uncover how Gram-negative bacteria can trigger immune system reaction

Researchers at the University of Toronto have uncovered how Gram-negative bacteria -- a broad class of bugs that cause diseases ranging from gonorrhea to diarrhea and pneumonia -- can trigger a reaction from our immune system. This discovery could lead to new therapies and treatments that use the immune system to fight infections instead of antibiotics.

12 Jun 2015

OSU microbiologists discover new type of dairy or food thickener with probiotic characteristics

Microbiologists at Oregon State University have discovered and helped patent and commercialize a new type of dairy or food thickener, which may add probiotic characteristics to the products in which it's used.

10 Jun 2015

Enhancing body's gut defense system can reverse bloodstream infections

An upset in the body's natural balance of gut bacteria that may lead to life-threatening bloodstream infections can be reversed by enhancing a specific immune defense response, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

9 Jun 2015

Scientists identify new agent to combat tuberculosis

According to figures of the World Health Organization, some 8.7 million people contracted tuberculosis in 2012 and this disease is fatal for approximately 1.3 million people throughout the world each year. One of the main problems is that the tuberculosis pathogens have become resistant to the antibiotics used to fight them.

5 Jun 2015

Pediatric Sepsis diagnosed in three to five hours versus two to six days data at ASM

The data presented today demonstrate that in each of the 15 confirmed candidemia pediatric patient samples in the study, T2Candida was able to accurately identify the Candida species in three to five hours compared to two to six days for blood culture...

4 Jun 2015

Simple pre-surgical intervention can reduce S aureus surgical site infections

Implementation of a pre-surgical intervention that included screening for the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, treating patients who were positive for this bacteria, and the administration of antibiotics based on these culture results was associated with a modest reduction in S aureus surgical site infections, according to a study in the June 2 issue of JAMA.

3 Jun 2015

New finding may lead to development of immunity-based therapies for tuberculosis

A study by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center has identified how an enzyme involved in protecting the body from pathogens senses Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB), a bacterial pathogen that infects millions of people worldwide and causes about 1.5 million deaths annually.

2 Jun 2015

Northeastern University researchers report two approaches to eradicate Lyme disease

Northeastern University researchers have found that the bacterium that causes Lyme disease forms dormant persister cells, which are known to evade antibiotics. This significant finding, they said, could help explain why it's so difficult to treat the infection in some patients.

2 Jun 2015

Vaccines - a needle-free future? An interview with Thomas Johnston and Dr. Kees Leenhouts, Mucosis

Scientists recognize that 90% of pathogens actually enter the body through the mucosa and secondly, we have evolved a mucosal defense system that can be used to defend against disease...

1 Jun 2015

NYU researchers identify root cause of eye infections among contact lens wearers

Using high-precision genetic tests to differentiate the thousands of bacteria that make up the human microbiome, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center suggest that they have found a possible — and potentially surprising — root cause of the increased frequency of certain eye infections among contact lens wearers.