Pathogen News and Research

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Statins activate bacterial-killing properties of white blood cells

Widely prescribed for their cholesterol-lowering properties, recent clinical research indicates that statins can produce a second, significant health benefit: lowering the risk of severe bacterial infections such as pneumonia and sepsis.

18 Nov 2010

Swissmedic approves use of plasma components treated with Cerus' INTERCEPT Blood System

Cerus Corporation announced today that the Swiss regulatory body, Swissmedic, has approved the use of plasma components treated with Cerus' INTERCEPT Blood System.

17 Nov 2010

Discovery on immune system paves way to new vaccine against pneumococcal disease

A new breakthrough in the fight against pneumonia, meningitis and septicaemia has been announced today by scientists in Leicester and Dublin. The discovery will lead to a dramatic shift in our understanding of how the body's immune system responds to infection caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and pave the way for more effective vaccines.

12 Nov 2010

New study sheds light on Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome

Newly published research by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, sheds light on a poorly understood, acute illness called Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (IRIS) that develops in some HIV-infected individuals soon after they begin antiretroviral therapy.

11 Nov 2010

Priaxon and Technical University Munich partner to develop anti-infective agents against infectious diseases

Priaxon AG, Munich, and the University Hospital Rechts der Isar (Technical University Munich) announce their cooperation for the development of new, highly selective anti-infective agents against a novel protein target class of widely spread infectious diseases. Their joint project is supported in the framework of the top cluster support project of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, coordinated by BioM GmbH.

9 Nov 2010

Innovative method for in-cell gene manipulation

A cross-disciplinary Small Medicine and Advanced Research Translation (SMART) team led by Prof. Dar-Bin Shieh of Institute of Oral Medicine in Medical College at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, Taiwan, has announced a breakthrough in the precision in-cell gene scission at pre-designed sequence sites using Artificial Targeting Light Activated Nano Scissors (ATLANS) and a custom build photonic device.

9 Nov 2010

AOAC approves Neogen's rapid test for Salmonella enteritidis

Neogen Corporation today announced that its rapid test for Salmonella enteritidis (SE) has received approval from AOAC International.

9 Nov 2010

Cempra to present information on solithromycin antimalarial agent at Atlanta Annual Meeting

Cempra Pharmaceuticals today announced abstracts to be presented on its novel fluoroketolide antibiotic, solithromycin (CEM-101), at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 59th Annual Meeting, November 3 to 7 in Atlanta. The abstracts will present new information on solithromycin's antimalarial activity. Additional data will demonstrate activity against Mycobacterium leprae.

4 Nov 2010

New shuttlte program helps probe spaceflight-induced immune-system impairment

When the space shuttle Discovery lifts off on its final flight Nov. 2, its six astronauts will be joined by 16 rodent passengers on a historic mission of their own. Riding in special self-contained modules that automatically supply them with food and water, the mice will be part of a long-term NASA effort aimed at understanding why spaceflight makes humans more vulnerable to infection by viruses and bacteria.

30 Oct 2010

Halting mosquito surveillance can increase management costs of epidemics 300 times

Cutting surveillance for mosquito-borne diseases would likely translate into an exponential increase in both the number of human cases and the health costs when a disease outbreak occurs, according to an analysis by Emory University.

27 Oct 2010

Study reveals two enzymes help immune cells deploy pathogen-killing traps

A new study reveals that two enzymes help immune cells deploy pathogen-killing traps by unraveling and using the chromatin (DNA and its associated proteins) contained in the cells' nuclei to form defensive webs. The study appears online on October 25 in The Journal of Cell Biology.

26 Oct 2010

Maven Semantic updates Antiviral research database

Maven Semantic announces updates to their Antiviral research database. The new database is now available to marketing, business development, competitor intelligence, KOL, medical affairs and related departments in the life sciences sector.

25 Oct 2010

Scientists use Affymetrix custom microarray to advance malarial study

Affymetrix, Inc. announced today that an international team of researchers led by scientists at Boston College, the Broad Institute, and Imperial College London used an Affymetrix custom microarray to advance the study of malaria by assessing the variation in genetic structure and detecting known and novel genetic differences among malaria vector mosquito populations.

25 Oct 2010

Union Springs, BIOSAFE enter agreement to commercialize HM4100 products

Kentucky-based Union Springs Pharmaceuticals announced today an agreement with BIOSAFE® of Pittsburgh to market products containing the patented and novel antimicrobial polymer, HM4100. Similar to its flagship product, MyClyns (antimicrobial germ spray), Union Springs Pharmaceuticals will identify the products as MyClyns Antimicrobial Surface Treatments and will be the first company to bring these unique products to the market.

22 Oct 2010

Morphotek receives DOD contract to support mAb therapies against pathogenic strains

Morphotek, Inc., a subsidiary of Eisai Inc., announced today that it has been awarded a contract for $2.5 million from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to support the continuing development of monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies against staphylococcal-derived toxins and pathogenic staphylococcal strains.

22 Oct 2010

Research identifies key regulators that control transmission of malaria parasite

Scientists at The University of Nottingham and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge have pin-pointed the 72 molecular switches that control the three key stages in the life cycle of the malaria parasite and have discovered that over a third of these switches can be disrupted in some way.

21 Oct 2010

Researchers investigate reverse zoonosis in marine invertebrate

The spread of lethal diseases from animals to humans has long been an issue of great concern to public health officials. But what about diseases that spread in the other direction, from humans to wildlife. A multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Georgia has just been awarded a five-year $2 million Ecology of Infectious Diseases grant from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health to study the first known case of such a "reverse zoonosis" that involves the transmission of a human pathogen to a marine invertebrate, elkhorn coral.

21 Oct 2010

RWV bioreactor creates 3-D cell culture models

The cells and tissues in our bodies grow, develop and interact in a highly complex, three-dimensional world. Likewise, the various microbial pathogens that invade our bodies and cause infectious disease interact with this complex 3-D tissue milieu. In the current issue of the journal Nature Reviews Microbiology, researcher Cheryl Nickerson and her team at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University highlight an innovative approach for studying cells in 3-D.

20 Oct 2010

New evidence supports possible link between XMRV and prostate cancer

Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) has been the subject of many studies since its discovery in 2006, but conflicting reports have created an unclear picture of XMRV's role in human disease. In three recent studies published in the November 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online, the evidence supports a possible link between XMRV and prostate cancer but not other links involving chronic fatigue syndrome, HIV infection, or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

13 Oct 2010

DoD awards $1.5 million grant to study nanoemulsion-based therapies for preventing burn wound infections

Researchers from NanoBio Corporation and the University of Michigan Medical School today announced the receipt of a $1.5 million grant from the Department of Defense (DoD) to study the use of nanoemulsion-based therapies for protection against burn and wound infections.

13 Oct 2010

Pathogen News and Research

Statins activate bacterial-killing properties of white blood cells

Swissmedic approves use of plasma components treated with Cerus' INTERCEPT Blood System

Discovery on immune system paves way to new vaccine against pneumococcal disease

New study sheds light on Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome

Priaxon and Technical University Munich partner to develop anti-infective agents against infectious diseases

Innovative method for in-cell gene manipulation

AOAC approves Neogen's rapid test for Salmonella enteritidis

Cempra to present information on solithromycin antimalarial agent at Atlanta Annual Meeting

New shuttlte program helps probe spaceflight-induced immune-system impairment

Halting mosquito surveillance can increase management costs of epidemics 300 times

Study reveals two enzymes help immune cells deploy pathogen-killing traps

Maven Semantic updates Antiviral research database

Scientists use Affymetrix custom microarray to advance malarial study

Union Springs, BIOSAFE enter agreement to commercialize HM4100 products

Morphotek receives DOD contract to support mAb therapies against pathogenic strains

Research identifies key regulators that control transmission of malaria parasite

Researchers investigate reverse zoonosis in marine invertebrate

RWV bioreactor creates 3-D cell culture models

New evidence supports possible link between XMRV and prostate cancer

DoD awards $1.5 million grant to study nanoemulsion-based therapies for preventing burn wound infections

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