Plague News and Research

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Preseason training helps young baseball pitchers avoid shoulder problems

For football and basketball players, the term “getting in shape” means hours of running and/or weight lifting to strengthen the body.

17 Dec 2007

U.S. efforts to monitor H5N1 could easily miss entry of the virus into North America

A University of Kansas investigator closely following the spread of the avian influenza known as H5N1 said that U.S. government monitoring efforts easily could miss the entry of the virus into North America.

13 Dec 2007

Breast MRI spots other cancers, may alter treatment plan

In about 20 percent of women with breast cancer who plan to undergo a lumpectomy, breast magnetic resonance imaging reveals important diagnostic information that alters their treatment plan, University of Florida surgeons reported today (Dec. 5).

5 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

Remote sensing technology used to predict future pandemics

With the help of 14 satellites currently in orbit and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Applied Sciences Program, scientists have been able to observe the Earth's environment to help predict and prevent infectious disease outbreaks around the world.

6 Nov 2007

Scientists to map lethal bacteria in three dimensions

A scientist slides on a pair of plastic 3-D glasses and an unearthly blue multi-armed creature -- an image right out of a sci-fi horror flick -- seems to leap out of the computer screen into the laboratory.

1 Nov 2007

New pathway identified by which cancer cells grow and survive

Cancerous tumors are wildly unfavorable environments. Struggling for oxygen and nutrients while being bombarded by the body's defense systems, tumor cells in fact require sophisticated adaptations to survive and grow.

19 Oct 2007

Review of PTSD treatments

Many people, including significant proportions of active duty military personnel and veterans, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), often in conjunction with other injuries or illnesses.

19 Oct 2007

Study looks at inhaled corticosteroid use post 9/11 in NYC firefighters

Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), anti-inflammatory treatments often prescribed for asthma, may be beneficial in preventing respiratory illness, according to a new study.

18 Oct 2007

Stress and disease likely linked

A new commentary in the Oct. 10 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association explores whether psychological stress leads to disease and concludes that the link is likely.

10 Oct 2007

Medical identity theft

Many consumers take precautions against identity theft, but what about medical identity theft?

10 Oct 2007

Government failed to disclose information about risks of formula-feeding because of political, economic reasons

The decision to halt an HHS public service campaign that promoted breast-feeding "seems to be a matter of politics and economics," Wendy Orent, author of the book "Plague: The Mysterious Past and Terrifying Future of the World's Most Dangerous Disease," writes in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece (Orent, Los Angeles Times, 9/30).

2 Oct 2007

Mozambique Archbishop Chimoio's comments claiming European-made condoms, antiretrovirals deliberately tainted with HIV, baseless

Comments made last week by Archbishop Francisco Chimoio, head of the Roman Catholic Church in Mozambique, that two European countries make condoms deliberately tainted with HIV as part of a plan "to finish quickly the African people" are "lunatic theories" and "baseless allegations," a Los Angeles Times editorial says (Los Angeles Times, 9/29).

2 Oct 2007

Ancient mechanism for coping with stresses also gives cancer a boost

An ancient mechanism for coping with environmental stresses, including heat and toxic exposures, also helps cancerous tumors survive, reveals a new report in the Sept. 21, 2007, issue of Cell, a publication of Cell Press.

21 Sep 2007

Australian doctor awarded for uncovering smallpox bioterrorism risk

A University of Sydney professor who developed a system to combat bioterrorism has received a major award from the US military.

18 Sep 2007

Novel insecticidal toxins from bacteria

A light-emitting strain of bacteria and a nematode worm, which work together to prey on soil-dwelling insects, use insecticidal toxins to kill their insect hosts.

5 Sep 2007

Researchers discover nature uses a recurring molecular strategy to defend against infection

With infections increasingly resistant to even the most modern antibiotics, researchers at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed) report in the September issue of Nature Reviews Microbiology on new clues they have uncovered in immune system molecules that defend against infection.

30 Aug 2007

Global public health security in the 21st century

More than at any previous time in history, global public health security depends on international cooperation and the willingness of all countries to act effectively in tackling new and emerging threats.

23 Aug 2007

E. coli bacteria linked to Crohn's disease

A team of Cornell University scientists from the College of Veterinary Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences have discovered that a novel group of E. coli bacteria, containing genes similar to those described in uropathogenic and avian pathogenic E. coli and enteropathogenic bacteria such as salmonella, cholera, bubonic plague, is associated with intestinal inflammation in patients with Crohn's disease in their research paper published July 12 by the ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology.

8 Aug 2007