Pathogen News and Research

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New drug targets may fight tuberculosis and other bacterial infections in novel way

Over the course of the 20th Century, doctors waged war against infectious bacterial illness with the best new weapon they had: antibiotics.

28 Dec 2007

Paradigm shift in TB: virulence factors, not antibiotics

Over the course of the 20th Century, doctors waged war against infectious bacterial illness with the best new weapon they had: antibiotics.

27 Dec 2007

Australian researchers tackle antibiotic resistance

The development of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria that are problematic and expensive to treat is a major healthcare problem around the world. The "selective pressure" of antibiotic usage inevitably results in the emergence and proliferation of resistant bacteria.

20 Dec 2007

Zebrafish study shows key enzyme in gut is a peacemaker

University of Oregon scientists, using zebrafish to study the gastrointestinal tract, say that an enzyme long assumed to be involved in digestion instead is a detoxifying traffic cop, maintaining a friendly rapport between resident gut bacteria and cells.

13 Dec 2007

Can interacting pathogens explain disease patterns?

A new study into the way in which parasites interact with each other could help predict when infectious diseases are likely to break out.

13 Dec 2007

Scientists seek to assess the microbial risks in the water we drink

It is a familiar scenario experienced around the world: an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness suddenly emerges in a community, and no one knows where it came from or how to stop it. At the start of the outbreak, only a few people are affected, most often the very old and the very young.

12 Dec 2007

Boost for tick disease research

Roman Ganta, a professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology at Kansas State University, has been awarded a grant of $1,825,000 by the National Institutes of Health to figure out how to stop the tick-borne bacteria, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, from making animals and people sick.

10 Dec 2007

University of Rhode Island, Pakistan researchers address growing tick problem

Researchers from the University of Rhode Island's Center for Vector-Borne Disease are teaming with colleagues from Pakistan to help the south Asian nation address its growing tick problem.

4 Dec 2007

Purified bacterial extract sprayed into lungs ramps up innate immune system

A purified extract prepared from a common microbe and delivered to the lungs of laboratory mice in a spray set off a healthy immune response and provided powerful protection against all four major classes of pathogens including those responsible for anthrax and bubonic plague, according to a presentation at the American Society for Cell Biology's 47th Annual Meeting.

4 Dec 2007

Inhaled immune system stimulant launches immune response in lungs to wipe out lethal infections

An inhaled immune system stimulant protects mice against lethal pneumococcal pneumonia and other deadly bacterial, viral and fungal infections of the lungs, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports at a major scientific meeting.

4 Dec 2007

New genetic findings on malaria parasite

The malaria parasite has been studied for decades, but surprisingly, little is known about how it behaves in humans to cause disease.

29 Nov 2007

Chlamydia pneumoniae involved in both heart disease and infertility

Outside the laboratory, Anthony Azenabor is outgoing and talkative, an extrovert who laughs heartily at his own jokes.

21 Nov 2007

New human rhinovirus associated with pediatric respiratory tract infection in Germany

Using a rapid, sensitive, and inexpensive diagnostic tool called MassTag PCR, scientists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health's Center for Infection and Immunity implicated a new human rhinovirus as the cause of severe pediatric respiratory tract infections in Europe.

21 Nov 2007