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Researchers show how bacteria responsible for strep throat can be used to fight colon cancer

Researchers at Western University (London, Canada) have shown how the bacteria primarily responsible for causing strep throat can be used to fight colon cancer. By engineering a streptococcal bacterial toxin to attach itself to tumour cells, they are forcing the immune system to recognize and attack the cancer.

21 May 2014

Sanofi presents Phase II trial results for investigational vaccine for prevention of CDI

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, presented Phase II (H-030-012) trial results for an investigational vaccine for the prevention of Clostridium difficile infection at the 114th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

20 May 2014

Researchers show how cone snails venom inhibits neuronal calcium channels to reduce neuropathic pain

The venom from marine cone snails, used to immobilize prey, contains numerous peptides called conotoxins, some of which can act as painkillers in mammals. A recent study in The Journal of General Physiology provides new insight into the mechanisms by which one conotoxin, Vc1.1, inhibits pain.

15 May 2014

Researchers find two types of neurons that enable spinal cord to control skilled forelimb movement

Researchers have identified two types of neurons that enable the spinal cord to control skilled forelimb movement. The first is a group of excitatory interneurons that are needed to make accurate and precise movements; the second is a group of inhibitory interneurons necessary for achieving smooth movement of the limbs.

2 May 2014

Uncontrollable sweating of hyperhidrosis can have serious impact on person

Sweating is a natural function of the body to cool it down during physical exertion or from a warm environment or to even help cope with emotional situations.

23 Apr 2014

Freiburg researchers discover molecule that smuggles toxins from intestinal pathogens into human cells

Prof. Dr. Dr. Klaus Aktories and Dr. Panagiotis Papatheodorou from the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology of the University of Freiburg have discovered the receptor responsible for smuggling the toxin of the bacterium Clostridium perfringens into the cell.

17 Apr 2014

Study: Bacterium that causes whooping cough changes in Australia

The bacterium that causes whooping cough, Bordetella pertussis, has changed in Australia - most likely in response to the vaccine used to prevent the disease - with a possible reduced effectiveness of the vaccine as a result, a new study shows.

16 Apr 2014

New research reveals that immunization can trigger distinct change in body odor

Our understanding of the role of body odor in conveying personal information continues to grow. New research from the Monell Chemical Senses Center and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reveals that immunization can trigger a distinct change in body odor. This is the first demonstration of a bodily odor change due to immune activation.

3 Apr 2014

New subcellular mechanism identified for fast transmission in basket cells of the brain

In his third major research paper since December 2013, IST Austria Professor Peter Jonas together with his collaborator, postdoc Hua Hu, identifies a new subcellular mechanism for reliable, fast transmission in the so-called basket cells of the brain.

25 Mar 2014

Sea lions exposed to toxin in algae develop form of epilepsy that is similar to humans

California sea lions exposed to a toxin in algae develop a form of epilepsy that is similar to one in humans, according to a new study led by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers.

19 Mar 2014

Study suggests that screening children for retinoblastoma may not improve outcomes for majority of patients

For the most common form of childhood eye cancer, unilateral retinoblastoma, shortening the time from the first appearance of symptoms to diagnosis of disease has no bearing on survival or stage of the disease, according to a study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in partnership with the Hospital Infantil de Mexico.

19 Mar 2014

Research to identify exact mechanisms behind preterm birth and fetal brain injury

An inflammatory protein that triggers a pregnant mouse's immune response to an infection or other disease appears to cause brain injury in her fetus, but not the premature birth that was long believed to be linked with such neurologic damage in both rodents and humans, new Johns Hopkins-led research suggests.

6 Mar 2014

New drug is effective against superbug MRSA

"I routinely call hospitals and request their yearly antibiotic susceptibility testing data," said Washington University in St. Louis' Timothy Wencewicz. "The log might say, for example, that they've treated hundreds of patients for Acinetobacter baumanni, a bacterium brought into U.S. hospitals by soldiers wounded in the Iraq war, with 30 different antibiotics.

6 Mar 2014

Researchers unlock controversial structure in heart cells

Brandeis University researchers have unlocked a controversial structure in heart cells responsible for regulating heart contractions.

5 Mar 2014

Monell Center announces advocacy program to identify biological causes of smell loss

On Anosmia Awareness Day, the Monell Center announces "A Sense of Hope: The Monell Anosmia Project," a three-year $1.5M fundraising campaign to support a research and advocacy program focused on anosmia, the loss of the sense of smell.

4 Mar 2014

Nanomedicine – Past, Present and Future

News-Medical speaks to Frank Boehm about the fundamentals of nanomedicine and the nanotechnologies of the future.

4 Mar 2014

Researchers produce extremely accurate and detailed images of "toxic injections"

Bacteria have developed many different ways of smuggling their toxic cargo into cells. Tripartite Tc toxin complexes, which are used by bacteria like the plague pathogen Yersinia pestis and the insect pathogen Photorhabdus luminescens, are particularly unusual.

25 Feb 2014

Ajoene in garlic prevents bacteria from destroying white blood cells

Aggressive multi-resistant infections constitute an increasing health problem all over the world. Bacteria are developing resistance at an alarming pace, so new pharmaceuticals that can combat this threat are in great demand.

19 Feb 2014

Elusive progenitor cells that give rise to ILCs identified in fetal liver and bone marrow of mice

The elusive progenitor cells that give rise to innate lymphoid cells-a recently discovered group of infection-fighting white blood cells-have been identified in fetal liver and adult bone marrow of mice, researchers from the University of Chicago report early online in the journal Nature.

14 Feb 2014

Researchers create promising compound for cancer treatment

A promising compound for cancer treatment has been syntesised in a laboratory by an RMIT University researcher during his PhD research.

9 Feb 2014