Toxin News and Research

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Researchers discover new type of botulinum neurotoxin from unexpected source

Researchers from the Quadram Institute have identified genes encoding a previously undiscovered version of the botulinum neurotoxin in bacteria from a cow's gut.

12 Jan 2018

Scientists develop genetically engineered probiotic that targets and kills cancer cells in the gut

A new study has identified a way to turn a humble cocktail of bacteria and vegetables into a targeted system that finds and kills colorectal cancer cells.

11 Jan 2018

CDC says Romaine lettuce cannot be blamed yet for the E. coli outbreak

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Romaine lettuce alone cannot be blamed for the outbreak of E. coli infections that has already affected 57 people in the United States and Canada. The infections are all due to E. coli O157:H7 strain of the bacteria that produces the Shiga toxin.

10 Jan 2018

Key synaptic proteins could be targets for early interventions in patients with dementias

One of the most intriguing properties of the brain is its means to undergo synaptic plasticity which represents the basis for learning and memory, abilities that severely decline in the case of a dementia.

9 Jan 2018

Study finds link between dietary sugar and increasing bacterial epidemics

The rising frequency and severity of Clostridium difficile infections may be caused by the commonly used food additive, trehalose, according to Nature.

5 Jan 2018

Muscle paralysis may promote breakdown of bones

Muscle paralysis rapidly causes inflammation in nearby bone marrow, which may promote the formation of large cells that break down bone, a new study finds.

14 Dec 2017

UNIGE scientists unravel key role played by the liver in onset of type-2 diabetes

Affecting as many as 650 million people worldwide, obesity has become one of the most serious global health issues. Among its detrimental effects, it increases the risk of developing metabolic conditions, and primarily type-2 diabetes.

28 Nov 2017

NYU Langone launches new, comprehensive center for facial paralysis

Thousands of New Yorkers every year will suffer some form of facial paralysis, a diagnosis with many causes which can greatly affect a person's appearance and day-to-day functioning.

16 Nov 2017

Researchers discover mechanism behind skin inflammation in eczema

Publishing online this week in Cell Host & Microbe, researchers at Johns Hopkins report the discovery of a key underlying immune mechanism that explains why to how our skin becomes inflamed from conditions such as atopic dermatitis, more commonly known as eczema. Toxin-producing bacteria on the surface of our skin induces a protein that causes our own cells to react and cause inflammation.

8 Nov 2017

New discovery in beta-cell pathway shows potential to improve effectiveness of diabetes drugs

Over the past 15 years, University of Alabama at Birmingham endocrinologist Anath Shalev, M.D., has unraveled a crucial biological pathway that malfunctions in diabetes.

8 Nov 2017

Researchers identify mechanisms through which H. pylori bacteria cause gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is one of the five most fatal types of cancer. According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, about 750,000 patients die each year after developing the disease. The main cause is thought to be the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori).

7 Nov 2017

Environmental toxin exposure may disrupt function of circadian clock, research shows

Can environmental toxins disrupt circadian rhythms - the biological "clock" whose disturbance is linked to chronic inflammation and a host of human disorders? Research showing a link between circadian disruption and plankton that have adapted to road salt pollution puts the question squarely on the table.

3 Nov 2017

An alternative approach to augmenting the effect of antibiotics in chronic CF lung infections

There are about 77,000 people known to have cystic fibrosis. That's from the various cystic fibrosis registries available globally. The World Health Organization suggests that this number may be low, because there's no reporting on cystic fibrosis from the developing world. The accepted number, at the moment, is about 80,000. That's the one that is used for most of the work that's being done on cystic fibrosis.

From Neem Biotech 3 Nov 2017

Pharmacological stimulation of nicotinic receptor could be strategy to treat lung inflammation

It has been amply proven that smoking can cause serious diseases such as emphysema and cancer. A new study, however, shows that pharmacological stimulation of a specific type of nicotinic receptor in cells of the immune system could be a strategy to treat inflammatory lung disease.

20 Oct 2017

Two studies set groundwork for new avenues to treat influenza and anthrax poisoning

Two recent studies led by biologists at the University of California San Diego have set the research groundwork for new avenues to treat influenza and anthrax poisoning

17 Oct 2017

UAB expert provides in-depth understanding of food-borne illnesses

Parties and gatherings are typically centered around food, making it important to know the do's and don'ts of handling food.

13 Oct 2017

Powerful new approach could aid design of better drugs with fewer side-effects

A powerful new way of analyzing how drugs interact with molecules in the body could aid the design of better treatments with fewer side-effects.

5 Oct 2017

Two MSU researchers team up to tackle problem of arsenic poisoning

Two Montana State University researchers in different disciplines have teamed up to tackle the problem of arsenic poisoning, which is estimated by the World Health Organization to affect more than 100 million people worldwide, primarily through tainted drinking water.

4 Oct 2017

High-speed method generates mini-protein binders with potential to become new class of drugs

Scientists have created a high-speed method to generate thousands of different, small, stable proteins from scratch that can be custom-designed to bind to specific therapeutic targets.

27 Sep 2017

Researchers explore what happens during break down of nerve cells

A stroke is just one example of a condition when communication between nerve cells breaks down. Micro-failures in brain functioning also occur in conditions such as depression and dementia. In most cases, the lost capacity will return after a while.