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Hope of new treatments for liver damage

There is currently no cure for liver cirrhosis and a patient's only hope of survival is to receive a liver transplant.

28 Mar 2005

Antibodies from tobacco plants protect against anthrax

Scientists have produced, in tobacco plants, human antibodies that could be used to treat anthrax exposure. They reported their findings at the 2005 American Society for Microbiology Biodefense Research Meeting.

23 Mar 2005

African genome research given impetus

Millions of victims in Africa, die each year from preventable diseases like tuberculosis and malaria and researchers say only a relatively small proportion of money is spent on developing vaccines, much more is spent on drugs aimed at tackling diseases more prevalent among rich, Western consumers.

21 Mar 2005

Biologists discover why 10% of Europeans are safe from HIV infection

Scientists have known for some time that these individuals carry a genetic mutation (known as CCR5-Ä32) that prevents the virus from entering the cells of the immune system but have been unable to account for the high levels of the gene in Scandinavia and relatively low levels in areas bordering the Mediterranean.

9 Mar 2005

Crystallized molecular machine reveals possible new paths for treating diseases

The crystallized form of a molecular machine that can cut and paste genetic material is revealing possible new paths for treating diseases such as some forms of cancer and opportunistic infections that plague HIV patients.

21 Feb 2005

FDA approves new smallpox vaccination

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Vaccinia Immune Globulin Intravenous (VIGIV) - the first intravenous human plasma-derived product available to treat certain rare complications of smallpox vaccination.

20 Feb 2005

New hope for millions of patients suffering from liver damage (cirrhosis)

Millions of patients suffering from liver damage (cirrhosis) and failure may benefit from research by the Universities of Edinburgh and Southampton which may lead to new life-saving treatments. There is currently no cure for liver cirrhosis and a patient's only hope of survival is to receive a liver transplant.

5 Jan 2005

PAHO dispels myths about the handling and the effects of mass casualties

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has published a new manual that dispels myths about the handling and the effects of mass casualties following a natural disaster, such as the December 26 earthquake and tsunami in South Asia.

5 Jan 2005

Vaccinating mice against Lyme disease could help reduce the risk of transmission of the disease to humans

Vaccinating large populations of white-footed mice against the bacterium that causes Lyme disease could help reduce the risk of transmission of the disease to humans, says a study supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

14 Dec 2004

New research aims to reduce deaths and ease burden on hospitals

New research by scientists at Australia's Macquarie University will investigate antibiotic resistance genes in humans in an effort to combat worldwide death rates due to infectious diseases and reduce the growing burden on our health system by decreasing patients' length of stay.

6 Dec 2004

New and revealing portrait of Yersinia pestis emerges

Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of the “Black Death” or “Bubonic” plague, has been a scourge of human civilization. One of the most virulent bacterial pathogens known, killing nearly 90% of those infected, Y. pestis was responsible for three historic pandemics that shattered whole societies.

4 Dec 2004

$73 million to tackle infectious diseases such as West Nile virus and influenza

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded 14 contracts totaling more than $73 million to fund the Large-Scale Antibody and T Cell Epitope Discovery Program, an initiative aimed at quickly identifying the regions of selected infectious agents that elicit immune reactions.

1 Nov 2004

Insects implicated in the evolution of new human infectious diseases

Insects and other invertebrates are the arena for the evolution of new infectious diseases in humans, new research shows.

25 Oct 2004

HHS awards contracts totaling more than $232 million to fund development of new vaccines against smallpox, plague and tularemia

United States Department of Health and Human Services has announced four new contracts totaling more than $232 million to fund development of new vaccines against three potential agents of bioterrorism: smallpox, plague and tularemia. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), will administer the contracts.

8 Oct 2004

Personality disorder symptoms can change with time

Personality disorder symptoms are supposed to be stable, enduring, and persistent across the lifespan, however researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York, and Harvard report evidence that such disabling psychiatric conditions are flexible and appreciable change over time is possible.

4 Oct 2004

Allow genomic information to be freely available on the internet

This week’s lead editorial in THE LANCET discusses the benefits and potential risks of allowing genomic information to be freely available on the internet

23 Sep 2004

Asia must tackle HIV in injecting drug users

Asian countries must adopt strategies to slow the spread of HIV among injecting drug users, urge researchers in this week's BMJ.

23 Sep 2004

Missing genes may help explain why plague bacteria are so deadly

What makes the germ that causes plague so fearsomely lethal, while a close relative only produces digestive disorders and is rarely fatal?

10 Sep 2004

Scientists have traced the first steps in the way some new diseases emerge

Scientists have traced the first steps in the way some new diseases emerge, and how harmless bacteria living in insects become dangerous disease-causing bugs which can affect humans, like the plague or anthrax.

8 Sep 2004

African-Americans and Asians more pessimistic about the health systems ability to cope with a bioterrorist event

While nearly three-quarters of Americans believe that the public health system would respond fairly in a bioterrorist event, African-Americans and Asians adhere to this view in smaller proportions, perhaps because of past discriminatory policies put in place by health officials, according to a new UCLA study.

30 Aug 2004