Microbiology News and Research

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UC Riverside expert to give free lecture on waterborne diseases

When we turn on the tap to get a glass of water, we just assume that it is safe to drink. But is it really safe? And, what exactly is "safe"?

10 Apr 2013

Newly discovered mouse viruses can pave the way for future progress in hepatitis research

Newly discovered mouse viruses could pave the way for future progress in hepatitis research, enabling scientists to study human disease and vaccines in the ultimate lab animal.

9 Apr 2013

Medicago, IDRI to present Phase I clinical results of H5N1 vaccine at World Vaccine Congress

IDRI, a Seattle-based non-profit research organization that is a leading developer of adjuvants used in vaccines combating infectious disease, and Medicago Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing highly effective and competitive vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus-Like Particles, today announced that they will be presenting positive interim Phase I clinical results for their H5N1 Avian Influenza VLP vaccine candidate "H5N1 vaccine" at the World Vaccine Congress.

9 Apr 2013

Study offers new possibilities for developing potent antibacterial drugs

A new study which was performed jointly at Ume- University and the University of Washington in Seattle, USA, discovered that bacteria can degrade the cell membrane of bacterial competitors with enzymes that do not harm their own membrane.

5 Apr 2013

People to participate in Rally for Medical Research to raise awareness of NIH funding

On April 8 at 11 a.m., thousands of people will gather on the Carnegie Library grounds to participate in the Rally for Medical Research to raise awareness of the critical need to make funding for the National Institutes of Health a priority.

5 Apr 2013

Non-invasive gut health testing breakthrough

Health and functional claims made for foods such as probiotics still need to prove their effectiveness ― an important part of the answer rests in our small intestines and their role in digestion, and immunity.

5 Apr 2013

Research findings provide insight into severe bacterial infectious diseases

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report that a pathogen annually blamed for an estimated 90 million cases of food-borne illness defeats a host's immune response by using a fat-snipping enzyme to cut off cellular communication.

5 Apr 2013

Finding solutions to protect U.S. troops against invisible killers

A Saint Louis University researcher has received a contract worth up to $980,000 to see if two cancer medications have the potential of protecting U.S. troops from biological agents that could be unleashed during an attack.

4 Apr 2013

Glowing bacteria inside squids use light and chemical signals to control circadian rhythms

Glowing bacteria inside squids use light and chemical signals to control circadian-like rhythms in the animals, according to a study to be published on April 2 in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

4 Apr 2013

LSUHSC researchers study common STI

Research led by David H. Martin, MD, Professor and Chief of Infectious Diseases at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has found that a common sexually transmitted infection-causing parasite "cultivates" bacteria beneficial to it, changing thinking about which comes first-infection or bacteria.

3 Apr 2013

Antibodies neutralize mosquito-transmitted chikungunya virus, researchers reveal

Researchers have learned the precise structure of the mosquito-transmitted chikungunya virus pathogen while it is bound to antibodies, showing how the infection is likely neutralized.

3 Apr 2013

Microbiology testing services now offered by Ceram

Ceram, the international materials testing and development company, has announced that it is now offering microbiology testing services for the healthcare industries, thanks to a partnership with a leading UK microbiological testing lab.

2 Apr 2013

Post-disinfection clips retain aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, says study

Researchers at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and the Forsyth Institute published a study today that found that a significant proportion of dental bib clips harbored bacteria from the patient, dental clinician and the environment even after the clips had undergone standard disinfection procedures in a hygiene clinic.

2 Apr 2013

Researchers focus on understanding mechanistic, physiological aspects of conflicts in living cells

Bacteria appear to speed up their evolution by positioning specific genes along the route of expected traffic jams in DNA encoding. Certain genes are in prime collision paths for the moving molecular machineries that read the DNA code, as University of Washington scientists explain in this week's edition of Nature.

30 Mar 2013

Viral protein hijacks cellular machinery and grabs the wheel

Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified a component of the herpesvirus that "hijacks" machinery inside human cells, allowing the virus to rapidly and successfully invade the nervous system upon initial exposure.

30 Mar 2013

New concept to fight microorganisms can promote stronger immune system

Managing bacteria and other microorganisms in the body, rather than just fighting them, may be lead to better health and a stronger immune system, according to a Penn State biologist.

29 Mar 2013

Researchers shed new light on role of methylation in gene expression

Researchers at UC Davis and the University of British Columbia have shed new light on methylation, a critical process that helps control how genes are expressed.

28 Mar 2013

Microbiologists identify unique resistance mechanisms of E. coli to carbapenems

As public health authorities across the globe grapple with the growing problem of antibiotic resistance, Tufts University School of Medicine microbiologists and colleagues have identified the unique resistance mechanisms of a clinical isolate of E. coli resistant to carbapenems.

27 Mar 2013

Presence of certain bacteria in stomach microbiota can prevent pathology from H. pylori

Mice with different naturally occurring stomach bacteria have distinct susceptibilities to disease caused by Helicobacter pylori, the well-known cause of ulcers in humans, according to a study published online ahead of print in the journal Infection and Immunity.

26 Mar 2013

New vaccine proves highly effective against H5N1 virus

Until now most experimental vaccines against the highly lethal H5N1 avian influenza virus have lacked effectiveness. But a new vaccine has proven highly effective against the virus when tested in both mice and ferrets. It is also effective against the H9 subtype of avian influenza.

26 Mar 2013