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Bacteria and viruses team up to target cancer

Researchers at Columbia Engineering have built a cancer therapy that makes bacteria and viruses work as a team.

18 Aug 2025

Researchers uncover a novel way platelets can suppress inflammation

Platelets are probably best known for their role in blood clotting, making scabs and related, if less salubrious, contributions to heart attacks and strokes. But these tiny, saucer-shaped blood cells have other physiological duties as well, including surveillance for viral or bacterial infections, the recruitment of immune cells to the site of a suspected incursion, and even the direct destruction of pathogens.

18 Aug 2025

Study shows probiotics help preterm babies fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Researchers found that probiotics help reduce antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the guts of very-low-birth-weight preterm infants, but cannot fully prevent resistance genes from spreading. Antibiotic use still promotes gene swapping, highlighting the limits of probiotics alone in neonatal care.

17 Aug 2025

Cervicovaginal microbiome features predict severe chlamydia infection

A new study has identified markers that may predict whether a chlamydia infection is likely to ascend into the uterus and endometrium.

14 Aug 2025

Artificial intelligence enables discovery of novel compounds to fight drug-resistant bacteria

With help from artificial intelligence, MIT researchers have designed novel antibiotics that can combat two hard-to-treat infections: drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae and multi-drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

14 Aug 2025

Llama-derived nanobody VHH21 destroys the spike-trimer of SARS-CoV-2

Neutralizing antibodies that merely block receptor binding are losing ground against heavily mutated SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sub-variants.

14 Aug 2025

Rare immune mutation unlocks universal antiviral protection

For a few dozen people in the world, the downside of living with a rare immune condition comes with a surprising superpower-the ability to fight off all viruses.

14 Aug 2025

Researchers find CFI deficiency alarmingly high in old order Amish

Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Clinic for Special Children found that complement factor I (CFI) deficiency, an ultra-rare genetic disorder that can cause debilitating neuroinflammation, is more than 4500 times more likely to be found in individuals of Old Order Amish ancestry than the rest of the global population.

13 Aug 2025

Powerful optical technique can analyze the biochemical fingerprints of vaginal fluid

Vaginal health is tightly linked to the balance of bacteria in the microbiome, especially certain species of Lactobacillus.

12 Aug 2025

Old Parkinson's medication offers new hope for tuberculosis treatment

A medication developed in the 1950s to treat Parkinson's disease may offer a powerful new tool in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), according to new research from the University of British Columbia.

12 Aug 2025

Gut bacteria can digest common food thickeners

It turns out those cellulose-based thickening agents found in common foods can be digested.

12 Aug 2025

AI discovers promising antibiotic compounds in Archaea microbes

They've survived for billions of years in boiling acid, deep-sea vents and salt flats. Now, some of Earth's oldest life forms - microbes called Archaea - are offering a new weapon in the fight against one of today's most urgent health threats: antibiotic resistance.

12 Aug 2025

Study: Lignin shows strong antiviral and antibacterial properties

Research from the Nanoscience Center of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, has revealed that lignin, a polyphenol, important for plant structure, has antimicrobial activity against viruses and bacteria.

12 Aug 2025

Common food bacterium offers blueprint for safer and higher vitamin production

A new study reveals how Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis), a common food bacterium, regulates the production of a key precursor in vitamin K₂ (menaquinone) biosynthesis.

11 Aug 2025

Balancing copper antimicrobials to combat antibiotic resistance

Copper has emerged as an ally in the battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Copper sulfate liquids, for example, have been used since the 1700s to control fungal infections in vineyards, orchards and many other kinds of agricultural settings.

8 Aug 2025

How early immune challenges influence oral and systemic health in children

Once viewed only as infectious invaders, bacteria are now understood to play an important role in overall health.

8 Aug 2025

Decoding macrophage immune responses with gene editing and machine learning

Fighting off pathogens is a tour de force that must happen with speed and precision. A team of researchers at CeMM and MedUni Vienna led by Christoph Bock and Matthias Farlik has investigated how macrophages-immune cells that are the body's first responders-master this challenge.

8 Aug 2025

Understanding the biomarkers and mechanisms associated with anti-NMDAR encephalitis

Encephalitis is a potentially life-threatening condition that involves inflammation of the brain. While some cases of encephalitis are caused by a bacterial or viral infection, other cases of 'autoimmune' encephalitis result when the body's own immune system attacks the brain.

8 Aug 2025

Gut bacteria may connect pregnancy diet to childhood autism

Unhealthy maternal diets may alter gut microbes, impacting brain development and increasing autism risk in offspring. Study the microbiome's influence.

8 Aug 2025

Novel hydrogel accelerates infected wound repair with antibacterial properties

A novel ε-poly-L-lysine-loaded sodium-alginate/gelatin hydrogel (PSG15) has shown exceptional promise in accelerating the healing of infected wounds. This multifunctional injectable hydrogel delivers robust antibacterial properties while regulating macrophage polarization and stabilizing the skin microbiota.

8 Aug 2025