Microbiology News and Research

RSS

Exposure to certain chemicals may lead to early pubertal development

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that exposure to three common chemical classes-phenols, phthalates and phytoestrogens-in young girls may disrupt the timing of pubertal development, and put girls at risk for health complications later in life.

6 Apr 2010

New report questions the kinetics of T cell receptors

T cell receptors are among the most important molecules in the immune system because of their role in recognizing the antigens that signal such threats as viruses and cancer. The receptors must also distinguish these threats from the body's own cells to avoid triggering an unwanted immune system response.

5 Apr 2010

Kinetics of T cell receptors: New findings could lead to reevaluation of earlier conclusions

3 Apr 2010

New automated technology may help detect pathogens in food and water

Detecting one of the world's most common pathogens in drinking water soon may no longer be bottle-necked under a laboratory microscope.

3 Apr 2010

New clues into genomic complexity of Mimivirus

A study published online today in the journal Genome Research offers surprising new clues into the genomic complexity of the giant Mimivirus, the largest known virus in the world. Previous studies have shown that unlike most viruses, the Mimivirus has more genes than many bacteria and performs functions that normally occur only in cellular organisms.

2 Apr 2010

Ricerca Biosciences, Life Science Partner announce business development agreement

Ricerca Biosciences, a preclinical contract research drug development company, is pleased to announce a business development agreement with Life Science Partner (LSP) Co., Ltd., of Tokyo, Japan. Ricerca offers a unique spectrum of services for the areas of agrochemical registration, environmental analysis and pre-investigational new drug (IND) biopharmaceutical registration.

1 Apr 2010

Mtb fine-tunes behaviour to escape detection and causes TB

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) possesses extraordinary survival ability by masking itself from the host immune system and persisting for decades inside the host. Speaking at the Society for General Microbiology's spring meeting in Edinburgh today, Dr Kristine Arnvig provides further insight into how the bacterium causes tuberculosis (TB) by fine-tuning its behaviour in response to its surroundings to escape detection.

1 Apr 2010

Bile secretions in small intestine send signals to disease-causing gut bacteria

Bile secretions in the small intestine send signals to disease-causing gut bacteria allowing them to change their behavior to maximize their chances of surviving, Montana State University research associate Steve Hamner told the Society for General Microbiology during its spring meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland.

1 Apr 2010

Plant-based system could help improve lives of hemophilic patients

Hemophilia, a disease linked with legends of European monarchs, frail heirs and one flamboyant charlatan called Rasputin, still afflicts many people today.

31 Mar 2010

Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics announces new contract with Premier Purchasing Partners

Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics announces a new three-year contract with Premier Purchasing Partners, L.P., the group purchasing unit of Premier Inc., that includes Siemens powerful integrated diagnostic systems, several specialty diagnostic instruments, and a comprehensive menu of diagnostic tests for Premier's more than 2,300 member hospitals and 64,000 additional healthcare sites.

29 Mar 2010

Celerion completes acquisition of MDS Pharma Services' early stage clinical development operations

Celerion, a privately owned contract research organization (CRO), has completed the acquisition of the development and regulatory services consultancy and early stage development operations of MDS Pharma Services. The acquired assets include five clinical research facilities and two bioanalytical laboratories located in Lincoln, Nebraska; Neptune, New Jersey; Phoenix, Arizona; Zurich, Switzerland; and Belfast, Northern Ireland, as well as operations in Richmond, Virginia and Quebec, Canada.

29 Mar 2010

Inovio Biomedical's total revenue increased to $2.6M for quarter ended December 31, 2009

Inovio Biomedical Corporation today reported financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.

29 Mar 2010

TB-causing bacteria can hijack fat metabolism to drive progression of the disease

The factors instrumental in triggering latent tuberculosis infection to progress into active disease have long remained elusive to researchers. New insight into the mystery is provided by Professor David Russell, speaking at the Society for General Microbiology's spring meeting in Edinburgh today. His work could help develop innovative strategies for treating the disease.

29 Mar 2010

Role Tregs play in therapeutic HIV vaccines

Like a skittish driver slamming the brakes, a special class of T cells may be limiting the effectiveness of therapeutic vaccines for HIV by slowing the immune system response too soon, report University of Pittsburgh health science researchers in the current issue of PLoS ONE. Their study, the first to look at the role of regulatory T cells in therapeutic HIV vaccines, may help researchers improve the efficacy of such vaccines by devising methods to circumvent the braking mechanism of these cells.

27 Mar 2010

New ways to halt the rise of antimicrobial-resistant infections

Preventing, controlling and treating drug-resistant infections is one of the major challenges in modern medicine. Antimicrobial Resistance goes beyond simple definitions and microbiological data to fully explore this rapidly changing area, describing evidence for effective interventions, costs, treatment strategies and directions for future research.

27 Mar 2010

Inverness Medical Deutschland to distribute MDI's Detect-Ready MRSA assay in key European markets

Molecular Detection Inc. (MDI), a company developing Detect-Ready™ assays designed to increase the speed and accuracy of infectious disease diagnosis, and Inverness Medical Deutschland GmbH today announced that they have entered into an exclusive distribution agreement for MDI's Detect-Ready MRSA assay in the key European markets of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

26 Mar 2010

New research may help advance treatment strategies for common liver disease

A research article published in the journal PloS Pathogens could lead to improvements in the production of vaccines for hepatitis A, the most widespread viral disease in the world.

26 Mar 2010

Renowned expert to present latest research on gut microbes at EICC

Trillions and trillions of bacteria live in the human gut. The thought of all these invisible inhabitants inside you might be yucky, but without them we would not be here at all. Which microbes reside in our gut? Are they harmful? Where do they come from? What do they actually do deep in our bowels? Do pre- or pro- biotics affect them?

25 Mar 2010

Campylobacter cells can survive with biofilm protection

In research published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, IFR researchers have found that Campylobacter will readily form a biofilm under laboratory conditions, and that, when the bacteria were left in air, they respond to these stressful conditions by more rapidly forming this biofilm.

25 Mar 2010

Single dose of Pain Therapeutics' PTI-188 decreased melanoma tumors: Study

Pain Therapeutics, Inc. today announced encouraging clinical data with PTI-188, an early-stage drug for metastatic melanoma. Metastatic melanoma is a lethal form of skin cancer in which patients typically have a median survival time of 9 months.

24 Mar 2010