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Scientists identify new antibiotic substances in Russian Brown frog's skin

Following up on an ancient Russian way of keeping milk from going sour - by putting a frog in the bucket of milk - scientists have identified a wealth of new antibiotic substances in the skin of the Russian Brown frog. The study appears in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research.

13 Dec 2012

Less is more when it comes to antibiotics for UTI in men

Research suggests that standard antibiotic prescribing for urinary tract infections in male patients may need to be reviewed, as currently recommended 7–14-day courses appear to be no more effective than shorter ones, and may increase the risk for antimicrobial resistant or Clostridium difficile infection.

6 Dec 2012

Ansell introduces GAMMEX N95 Respirator and Surgical Mask

Ansell, a global leader in protection solutions today announced the latest addition to its Active Infection Protection (AIP) portfolio, the GAMMEX N95 Respirator and Surgical Mask, extending the AIP range beyond surgical gloves.

3 Dec 2012

WellStar Health System implements Xenex’s room disinfection system

WellStar Health System was the first to implement and is the only health system in metro-Atlanta using Xenex Healthcare Services' room disinfection system in its patient and operating rooms. A "green," mercury-free technology, the Xenex system is the fastest, safest and most effective method for the advanced cleaning of hospital rooms, scientifically proven to destroy all major classes of microorganisms that cause hospital acquired infections (HAIs), such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile (C. diff).

29 Nov 2012

California researchers develop new strategy to find novel antibiotics for bacterial infections

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have developed a new strategy for finding novel antibiotic compounds, using a diagnostic panel of bacterial strains for screening chemical extracts from natural sources.

27 Nov 2012

Many microorganisms have ability to combat nitrous oxide

The environment has a more formidable opponent than carbon dioxide. Another greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide, is 300 times more potent and also destroys the ozone layer each time it is released into the atmosphere through agricultural practices, sewage treatment and fossil fuel combustion.

22 Nov 2012

Metalloacid surfaces may be answer to hospital-acquired infections

Coating surfaces in metalloacids may help control the spread of hospital-acquired infections, suggest study findings.

14 Nov 2012

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in US wastewater treatment plants

Researchers have found methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a significant number of wastewater samples taken from four US wastewater treatment plants.

8 Nov 2012

Probiotic formulation can reduce cholesterol esters

Two daily doses of a probiotic lowered key cholesterol-bearing molecules in the blood as well as "bad" and total cholesterol, in a study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012.

6 Nov 2012

Study: Superbug MRSA prevalent at wastewater treatment plants in the U.S.

A team led by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Public Health has found that the "superbug" methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is prevalent at several U.S. wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs).

6 Nov 2012

Microbiologists confirm existence of new tick disease in Switzerland

Until now, we knew that ticks primarily transmit two pathogens to humans in Switzerland: the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi - which causes borreliosis - and the early-summer-meningoencephalitis virus, which can cause cerebral inflammation. Now, microbiologists from the University of Zurich confirm the existence of another tick disease in Switzerland - neoehrlichiosis.

1 Nov 2012

RUB-medical researchers receive $2.3M Gates Foundation grant for HIV vaccine research

To support their research for a vaccine against the HI-Virus, Prof. Dr. Klaus Überla of the Faculty for Medicine at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and his research team will receive $2.3 million in funding within the next three years from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The scientists are part of the Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery (CAVD), which seeks to speed up the development of an HIV-vaccine through a rigorous exchange of information, methods and reagents.

29 Oct 2012

Scientists hope to unravel mystery of how Borrelia burgdorferi causes Lyme disease

Investigators at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have accelerated the search for the bacterial genes that make the Lyme disease bacterium so invasive and persistent. The discovery could advance the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, which affects an estimated 30,000 Americans each year.

29 Oct 2012

Scientists to examine origins of soil-carbon chemical chain reactions

Potential connections between the biodiversity of soil microorganisms and the carbon cycle will be studied by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Northern Arizona University (NAU) under a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

25 Oct 2012

Probiotic supplementation improves health-related quality of life during common cold

College students are notoriously sleep-deprived, live in close quarters and lead stress-filled lives, making them especially susceptible for contracting colds and upper-respiratory infections. For these reasons, a team lead by researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Health Related Professions (UMDNJ-SHRP) selected this population to study the effects of probiotic supplementation on health-related quality of life (HRQL) during the common cold.

24 Oct 2012

Microgravity and prolonged space flight could give unique advantages to germs

The cabin of a spacecraft halfway to Mars would be the least convenient place -- one cannot say "on earth" -- for a Salmonella or Pneumococcus outbreak, but a wide-ranging new paper suggests that microgravity and prolonged space flight could give unique advantages to germs.

22 Oct 2012

UPC improves antimicrobial properties of medical textiles

The Molecular and Industrial Biotechnology Group of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) has improved the antimicrobial properties of medical textiles using an enzymatic pre-treatment combined with simultaneous deposition of nanoparticles and biopolymers under ultrasonic irradiation.

16 Oct 2012

Hospital superbugs can float on air currents and contaminate surfaces

Hospital superbugs can float on air currents and contaminate surfaces far from infected patients' beds, according to University of Leeds researchers.

12 Oct 2012

New mass spectrometry helps identify bacteria in clinical specimens within minutes

New mass spectrometry technology is helping Le Bonheur Children's physicians analyze microbiology samples quickly - identifying specific bacteria present in a sample within minutes.

11 Oct 2012

IspH protein accepts two completely different classes of molecules as partners

The iron-sulfur protein IspH plays a central role in the terpene metabolism of several pathogens. The mechanism of the reaction provides an approach for developing new antibiotics, particularly against malaria and tuberculosis. While researching this enzyme, biochemists at the Technische Universitat Munchen discovered a previously unknown reaction: IspH accepts two completely different classes of molecules as partners.

10 Oct 2012