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Scientists develop new therapy for treatment of skin, lung cancer

Scientists at the University of Granada have developed a new therapy for the treatment of skin and lung cancer. This therapy involves the use of a suicide coliphage-gene (gene E) that can induce death to cells transfected with it.. Their studies have demostrated that this technique is not only effective in vitro (using tumour cell cultures), but also in vivo through the use of experimental animals in which tumours were induced.

22 Sep 2010

Researchers to develop vaccine for plague

Given the many pressing concerns of the day, fear of plague probably isn't what causes most Americans to lose sleep. But for those whose responsibility it is to combat bioterrorism, plague is among the highest priorities. Those charged with that mission include scientists like medical researcher Steve Smiley, whose lab at the Trudeau Institute is working to develop a vaccine that will protect the public against weaponized forms of plague.

21 Sep 2010

Study reveals molecular steps for pneumonia therapy

A structural molecule and the cellular pump that regulates its levels influence the severity of pneumonia and could provide new ways of treating the lung infection, which is a leading cause of hospitalization and death, according to scientists at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Iowa. Their findings are available online in Nature Medicine.

21 Sep 2010

Trius and Scripps to develop antibiotics from marine biomedical sources

In an effort to tap into the vast potential of the oceans as a source for novel medical treatments, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), a part of the Department of Defense (DoD), has awarded San Diego-based Trius Therapeutics, Inc. a four-and-a-half year contract worth up to $29.5 million to collaborate with Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego for the development of novel antibiotics directed against microorganisms that cause serious infections.

21 Sep 2010

Researchers discover evolutionary nature of bacteria to spread chronic infectious disease

Researchers from the Center for Genomic Sciences at Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) in Pittsburgh have made a landmark discovery about the evolutionary nature of bacteria in the setting of chronic infectious disease. Reporting today in the journal PLos Pathogens, the AGH team documents for the first time that bacteria engage in a process called horizontal gene transfer to evolve rapidly during the course of a single infection.

18 Sep 2010

Aradigm to present Phase 1 studies of inhaled liposomal ciprofloxacin at 2010 ERS Congress

Aradigm Corporation today announced it is presenting data on September 22, 2010, from its Phase 1 studies at the ERS Annual Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The podium presentation elaborates on the pharmacokinetic parameters of ciprofloxacin in the blood and sputum samples that were observed in the healthy volunteers and non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (BE) patients.

17 Sep 2010

BCM-95 curcumin exhibits anti-inflammatory properties

Top researchers at the Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Lab at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas are exploring the clinical applications of BCM-95®, a new patented extract of curcumin with unprecedented potency, and bioavailability.

17 Sep 2010

New anti-pathogenic drugs render MRSA harmless without killing bacteria

Menachem Shoham, PhD, associate professor and researcher in the department of biochemistry at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has identified new anti-pathogenic drugs that, without killing the bacteria, render Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) harmless by preventing the production of toxins that cause disease.

17 Sep 2010

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center research team wins 2010 BioFlux Innovation Award

Fluxion Biosciences, Inc. announced today that a research team from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center has won the 2010 BioFlux Innovation Award competition. Laura Sycuro, Ph.D., a post-doctoral research fellow in the lab of David Fredricks, M.D., authored the winning submission which focuses on screening and characterizing bacterial strains involved in biofilm-related infections known to affect women's reproductive health.

From Fluxion Biosciences 17 Sep 2010

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals delivers poster presentations on Aganocide compound at ICAAC Conference

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class, anti-infective compounds for the treatment and prevention of antibiotic resistant infections, delivered four poster presentations on its Aganocide compounds at the 50th Annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in Boston, MA.

16 Sep 2010

Researchers develop infected tissue model for Aganocide compounds

Two common and important human pathogens, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus, are implicated in many clinical diseases of the eye and skin, including keratitis and impetigo, respectively. Infections with their associated toxins can result in the destruction of underlying tissue.

16 Sep 2010

Cinnamon found beneficial for regulating glucose, lowering blood sugar

A more significant use was recently discovered at the United States Department of Agriculture. Dr. John Andersonis found cinnamon beneficial for regulating glucose. In the body, sugars and starches are broken down into glucose, which then circulates in the blood.

16 Sep 2010

PolyMedix presents defensin mimetic antibiotics data at ICAAC Conference

PolyMedix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat acute cardiovascular disorders and infectious diseases, today presented five posters at the 50th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC).

16 Sep 2010

Advanced Life Sciences participates as exhibitor in 50th ICAAC

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs in the therapeutic areas of infection, oncology and respiratory diseases, today participated in the 50th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy

16 Sep 2010

Cranberry juice prevents urinary tract infections: Study

Scientists reported new evidence on the effectiveness of that old folk remedy cranberry juice for urinary tract infections at the ACS' 240th National Meeting. "A number of controlled clinical trials these are carefully designed and conducted scientific studies done in humans have concluded that cranberry juice really is effective for preventing urinary tract infections," said Terri Anne Camesano, Ph.D., who led the study.

16 Sep 2010

Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals presents preclinical data of TP-434 antibacterial drug

Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today presented encouraging preclinical data for its lead drug candidate, TP-434, which showed the potent antibacterial activity of TP-434 against a very broad spectrum of susceptible and multidrug-resistant pathogens.

16 Sep 2010

Novel Compound's NVC-422 broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent kills P. mirabilis bacteria in catheters

Patients fitted with long-term bladder catheters often face a potentially serious complication caused by a Gram-negative bacteria Proteus mirabilis that can colonize the catheters.

16 Sep 2010

Waterlogic launches new Firewall water purification system

Waterlogic has launched the most effective water purification system ever seen in drinking water dispensers, the 'Firewall' available on its top of the range model, the Waterlogic 4.

15 Sep 2010

Scientist to develop antibiotics for drug-resistant superbugs

Antibiotics can work miracles, knocking out common infections like bronchitis and tonsillitis. But according to the Center for Disease Control, each year 90,000 people in the U.S. die of drug resistant "superbugs" bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a deadly form of staph infection resistant to normal antibiotics. Although hospital patients are particularly susceptible as a result of open wounds and weakened immune systems, the bacteria can infect anyone. Dr. Micha Fridman of Tel Aviv University's Department of Chemistry is now developing the next generation of antibiotics designed to overcome this kind of bacteria. And the key, he says, is in the bacteria itself.

15 Sep 2010