Bacterial News and Research

RSS

Low and high ID50 bacteria act through stealth and frontal attack

Why is it that Mycobacterium tuberculosis can cause tuberculosis with as little as 10 cells, whereas Vibrio cholerae requires the host to ingest up to tens of millions of cells to cause cholera? This is the question that two research teams, from the Pasteur Institute, in France, and the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia and the University of Lisbon, in Portugal, answer in the latest issue of the journal PLoS Pathogens.

28 Feb 2012

USPTO issues two patents on 'Novel Shigella protein antigens and methods' to IVI

The International Vaccine Institute (IVI), an international organization based in Seoul devoted to research on the development and introduction of vaccines for the developing world, reached a milestone in its aim to prevent and control dysentery (also commonly called shigellosis or bloody diarrhea), a deadly disease that affects several million people worldwide.

27 Feb 2012

Typhoid on Christmas Island

As of now people seeking asylum on Christmas Island will have to wait to be transferred to mainland Australia, after typhoid fever was detected on the island.

27 Feb 2012

BioConnections, Yissum to commercialize kits that detect MDR and XDR infections

Yissum, the research and development company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, had signed a licensing agreement with BioConnections, a UK based microbiology company, for the commercialization of kits that enables immediate detection of all multidrug resistant (MDR) and of any extremely drug resistant (XDR) infections.

27 Feb 2012

Forest Laboratories' Colobreathe dry powder inhaler receives EMA approval

Forest Laboratories, Inc., an international pharmaceutical manufacturer and marketer, today announced that it has been granted European Medicines Agency (EMA) approval to market Colobreathe dry powder colistimethate sodium for inhalation for treating cystic fibrosis patients aged 6 years and older with chronic lung infection caused by P. aeruginosa.

24 Feb 2012

Unfolded end of Colicin N protein can kill antibiotic-resistant microbes

When bacteria wage a turf war, some of the combatants have an extra weapon. Certain strains of the bacteria E. coli produce proteins that kill competing E. coli and other like microbes, and researchers from Newcastle University in England have recently discovered something surprising about one of these lethal proteins: even after the toxic folded portion of the protein is removed, the unfolded end is still deadly.

24 Feb 2012

Scientists identify specific mechanisms by which vitamin D inhibits inflammation

Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered specific molecular and signaling events by which vitamin D inhibits inflammation. In their experiments, they showed that low levels of Vitamin D, comparable to levels found in millions of people, failed to inhibit the inflammatory cascade, while levels considered adequate did inhibit inflammatory signaling.

24 Feb 2012

Maintaining differential diagnosis inclusive of infectious etiology may help save children's life

Neurologic tics and obsessive-compulsive behaviors caused by a bacterial infection in children were once thought to occur exclusively in PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Disease Associated with Streptococcus infections).

23 Feb 2012

New model to evaluate probiotic survival in the gut

Functional foods containing bacteria with beneficial health effects, or probiotics, have long been consumed in Northern Europe and are becoming increasingly popular elsewhere. To be of benefit, however, the bacteria have to survive in the very hostile environment of the digestive tract.

23 Feb 2012

International Microbicides Conference to take place from April 15-18

The biennial International Microbicides Conference is the premier gathering for those working on new approaches to HIV prevention and this year's conference in Sydney, Australia will place a strong emphasis on the role of community in both research and implementation of scientific findings. The conference will take place from April 15-18 at the Sydney Exhibition and Conference Centre located on the Darling Harbour waterfront.

23 Feb 2012

Researchers discover identical antibiotic resistant genes in soil bacteria and in pathogens from clinics

Disease-causing bacteria's efforts to resist antibiotics may get help from their distant bacterial relatives that live in the soil, new research at Washington University School of Medicine suggests.

21 Feb 2012

Natural compound of Chilean avocado plant can combat resistant yellow staphylococci

Aggressive infections in hospitals are an increasing health problem worldwide. The development of bacterial resistance is alarming. Now a young Danish scientist has found a natural substance in a Chilean rainforest plant that effectively supports the effect of traditional treatment with antibiotics.

20 Feb 2012

Increased bacterial loads in potable water may have significant health effects on indigenous people

Indigenous people around the world are among the most vulnerable to climate change and are increasingly susceptible to the pathogen loads found in potable water after heavy rainfall or rapid snow melt.

18 Feb 2012

Scientists discover the off signal for inflammation

Proteins, the building block for all living organisms, are the ultimate transformers - able to splice and switch roles and functions within the human body. But when these changes go wrong, diseases such as cancers and arthritis may result, says University of British Columbia researcher Chris Overall.

18 Feb 2012

New, under-recognized, much more potent variant of common bacterium

University at Buffalo researchers are expressing concern about a new, under-recognized, much more potent variant of a common bacterium that has surfaced in the U.S.

18 Feb 2012

UB researchers express concern about a new variant of Klebsiella pneumoniae

University at Buffalo researchers are expressing concern about a new, under-recognized, much more potent variant of a common bacterium that has surfaced in the U.S.

18 Feb 2012

Scientist uses GPUs to simulate inner workings of human cells

The cure for cancer comes down to this: video games. In a research lab at Wake Forest University, biophysicist and computer scientist Samuel Cho uses graphics processing units (GPUs), the technology that makes videogame images so realistic, to simulate the inner workings of human cells.

17 Feb 2012

Smoking kills healthy bacteria and leads to infection

According to a new study, smoking causes the body to turn against its own helpful bacteria, leaving smokers more vulnerable to disease.

16 Feb 2012

Amoxicillin not effective for patients with acute rhinosinusitis

Treatment with the antibiotic amoxicillin for patients with acute uncomplicated rhinosinusitis (inflammation of the nasal cavity and sinuses) did not result in a significant difference in symptoms compared to patients who received placebo, according to a study in the February 15 issue of JAMA. Antibiotics are commonly used to treat this condition even though there is limited evidence supporting their effectiveness.

15 Feb 2012

New vaccine can prevent bacterial infection of orthopaedic implants

Methicillin resistant staph aureus (MRSA) infections are resistant to antibiotics and can cause a myriad of problems -- bone erosion, or osteomyelitis, which shorten the effective life of an implant and greatly hinder replacement of that implant. MRSA can result in prolonged disability, amputation and even death.

15 Feb 2012