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Researchers transform bacteria into 'secret agents' for detecting disease

Another step forward has just been taken in the area of synthetic biology. Research teams from Inserm and CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) Montpellier, in association with Montpellier Regional University Hospital and Stanford University, have transformed bacteria into "secret agents" that can give warning of a disease based solely on the presence of characteristic molecules in the urine or blood. To perform this feat, the researchers inserted the equivalent of a computer programme into the DNA of the bacterial cells.

3 Jun 2015

New finding may lead to development of immunity-based therapies for tuberculosis

A study by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center has identified how an enzyme involved in protecting the body from pathogens senses Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB), a bacterial pathogen that infects millions of people worldwide and causes about 1.5 million deaths annually.

2 Jun 2015

Consumer Reports announces commitment to help wipe out 'superbugs'

Consumer Reports, the world's largest and most trusted nonprofit consumer organization, today announced its commitment to help wipe out antibiotic-resistant bacteria or "superbugs." Infections related to the use of antibiotics sicken about 2.25 million Americans each year and kill 37,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

2 Jun 2015

Genetically-programmed probiotics could help detect liver cancer metastases early-on

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have described a new method for detecting liver cancer metastases in mice. The approach uses over-the-counter probiotics genetically programmed to produce signals easily detectable in urine when liver cancer metastases are present.

2 Jun 2015

Chronic exposure to bacteria may lead to development of Type 2 diabetes

Bacteria and viruses have an obvious role in causing infectious diseases, but microbes have also been identified as the surprising cause of other illnesses, including cervical cancer (Human papilloma virus) and stomach ulcers (H. pylori bacteria).

2 Jun 2015

Vaccines - a needle-free future? An interview with Thomas Johnston and Dr. Kees Leenhouts, Mucosis

Scientists recognize that 90% of pathogens actually enter the body through the mucosa and secondly, we have evolved a mucosal defense system that can be used to defend against disease...

1 Jun 2015

NYU researchers identify root cause of eye infections among contact lens wearers

Using high-precision genetic tests to differentiate the thousands of bacteria that make up the human microbiome, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center suggest that they have found a possible — and potentially surprising — root cause of the increased frequency of certain eye infections among contact lens wearers.

1 Jun 2015

MIT, UCSD researchers use probiotics to detect cancer in the liver

Engineers at MIT and the University of California at San Diego have devised a new way to detect cancer that has spread to the liver, by enlisting help from probiotics — beneficial bacteria similar to those found in yogurt.

29 May 2015

Duke researchers reveal how bladder cells can eject UTI-causing bacteria

Duke Medicine researchers have found that bladder cells have a highly effective way to combat E. coli bacteria that cause urinary tract infections (UTIs).

29 May 2015

Researchers find weak spot in some antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Using a complex modeling program that helps analyze the physical dynamics of large, structurally complex protein molecules, a research team has made progress towards finding a weak spot in the architecture of a group of enzymes that are essential to antibiotic resistance in a number of bacteria.

29 May 2015

Understanding the antimicrobial action of borrelidin: an interview with Dr Min Guo, TSRI

Borrelidin is a naturally occurring antibiotic isolated from the Streptomyces species and initially from Streptomyces rochei in 1949. It is called Borrelidin because it was firstly discovered as having anti-Borrelia activity. Borrelia is a type of bacteria...

27 May 2015

Toronto researchers design simple chip for faster, easier detection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

We live in fear of 'superbugs': infectious bacteria that don't respond to treatment by antibiotics, and can turn a routine hospital stay into a nightmare. A 2015 Health Canada report estimates that superbugs have already cost Canadians $1 billion, and are a "serious and growing issue." Each year two million people in the U.S. contract antibiotic-resistant infections, and at least 23,000 people die as a direct result.

27 May 2015

UVA scientists find blueprint for combating human disease using DNA clad in near-indestructible armor

By unlocking the secrets of a bizarre virus that survives in nearly boiling acid, scientists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have found a blueprint for battling human disease using DNA clad in near-indestructible armor.

27 May 2015

Verax Biomedical obtains FDA clearance to expand use of Verax Platelet PGD test

Verax Biomedical today announced that the company has gained FDA clearance to expand the use of its Verax Platelet PGD test—a rapid test for the detection of bacterial contamination in platelets intended for transfusion. The new FDA clearance makes the Verax Platelet PGD test the only rapid test on the market cleared by the FDA to check every commonly distributed platelet type in the United States.

27 May 2015

Phages in chicken meat can transfer antimicrobial resistance to bacteria

Bacteria resistant to antibiotics are on the rise. There are different explanations for how resistances are transferred. Researchers from the Vetmeduni Vienna found phages in chicken meat that are able to transfer antimicrobial resistance to bacteria. Phages are viruses that exclusively infect bacteria. They can contribute to the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

22 May 2015

Bacterium can use cell-content sharing to repair damaged siblings

A University of Wyoming faculty member led a research team that discovered a certain type of soil bacteria can use their social behavior of outer membrane exchange (OME) to repair damaged cells and improve the fitness of the bacteria population as a whole.

22 May 2015

Existing anti-stroke drug can be effective in treating middle-ear infections

An existing anti-stroke drug is an effective treatment for middle-ear infections, showing the ability to suppress mucus overproduction, improve bacterial clearance and reduce hearing loss, according to researchers at Georgia State University and the University of Rochester.

21 May 2015

Second-generation antibiotic shows promise against common bacterial infections

Researchers led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have developed a second-generation antibiotic that shows early effectiveness against common bacterial infections that pose a serious health threat to children and adults.

21 May 2015

New study suggests ways to accelerate recovery from dangerous diarrheal disease

A new study delineates a sequential pattern of changes in the intestinal microbial population of patients recovering from cholera in Bangladesh, findings that may point to ways of speeding recovery from the dangerous diarrheal disease.

20 May 2015

Researcher uses short pulsed electric fields to preserve milk

Even though much of the population in developing countries is involved in agriculture, food security is virtually out of reach. Often the only resort is to purchase a cow, buffalo, or sheep, to provide a steady supply of fresh milk, a nutritious staple of a daily diet. But how to preserve it safely? Refrigeration and boiling are costly -- and often impossible due to sporadic electricity.

20 May 2015

Bacterial News and Research

Researchers transform bacteria into 'secret agents' for detecting disease

New finding may lead to development of immunity-based therapies for tuberculosis

Consumer Reports announces commitment to help wipe out 'superbugs'

Genetically-programmed probiotics could help detect liver cancer metastases early-on

Chronic exposure to bacteria may lead to development of Type 2 diabetes

Vaccines - a needle-free future? An interview with Thomas Johnston and Dr. Kees Leenhouts, Mucosis

NYU researchers identify root cause of eye infections among contact lens wearers

MIT, UCSD researchers use probiotics to detect cancer in the liver

Duke researchers reveal how bladder cells can eject UTI-causing bacteria

Researchers find weak spot in some antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Understanding the antimicrobial action of borrelidin: an interview with Dr Min Guo, TSRI

Toronto researchers design simple chip for faster, easier detection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

UVA scientists find blueprint for combating human disease using DNA clad in near-indestructible armor

Verax Biomedical obtains FDA clearance to expand use of Verax Platelet PGD test

Phages in chicken meat can transfer antimicrobial resistance to bacteria

Bacterium can use cell-content sharing to repair damaged siblings

Existing anti-stroke drug can be effective in treating middle-ear infections

Second-generation antibiotic shows promise against common bacterial infections

New study suggests ways to accelerate recovery from dangerous diarrheal disease

Researcher uses short pulsed electric fields to preserve milk

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