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Aboriginals in remote areas will feel the brunt of climate change

Australian researchers have warned that the impact of climate change on human health will be particularly felt by Indigenous people living in remote areas of the country and they say resources are needed now to deal with the problem.

6 Jan 2009

Phase 3 trial begins for Gammagard liquid plus rHuPH20 in primary immunodeficiency patients

Baxter International Inc. and Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. gas announced the start of a Phase 3 clinical trial of Baxter's Gammagard Liquid [Immune Globulin Intravenous] 10% (IGIV), marketed as KIOVIG in the European Union, with Halozyme's recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme (rHuPH20, Enhanze Technology) for the treatment of primary immunodeficiency (PID).

From Baxter International Inc. 5 Jan 2009

Discovery of new syndrome associated with severe congenital neutropenia

A team of scientists has discovered a new syndrome associated with severe congenital neutropenia (SCN), a rare disorder in which children lack sufficient infection-fighting white cells, and identified the genetic cause of the syndrome: mutations in the gene Glucose-6-phosphatase, catalytic subunit 3 (G6PC3).

5 Jan 2009

Pathogenesis of Campylobacter jejuni-related disease

Campylobacters are small Gram-negative spiral rods. Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni), a foodborne organism contracted from untreated water, milk and meat, especially chicken, is one of the most important causes of bacterial diarrhea worldwide. However, its mode of pathogenesis is not clear.

1 Jan 2009

First U.S. implants of Embozene color-advanced microspheres embolization technology

Against the backdrop of a flagging economy, bailouts, and bleak predictions, there is a biotechnology firm in suburban Atlanta with a future as bright as New Year's Eve fireworks.

1 Jan 2009

Oral bisphosphonates linked to increased jaw necrosis

Researchers at the University Of Southern California, School Of Dentistry release results of clinical data that links oral bisphosphonates to increased jaw necrosis

1 Jan 2009

Brits battling to cope with 'killer' Australian flu strain

As doctors and hospitals in the UK struggle to deal with a flu epidemic, Brits are being warned that the current outbreak is expected to intensify in the new year as the potentially fatal Australian strain of influenza spreads across the country.

30 Dec 2008

Man dies from flesh-eating disease

A rare flesh-eating disease has claimed the life of a man in Britain. The 60 year old man Tony Williamson died days after a flesh-eating disease spread through his body from a small cut on the inside of his right arm.

28 Dec 2008

Adults with asthma at increased risk of serious pneumococcal disease

Mayo Clinic research shows adults with asthma are at increased risk of serious pneumococcal disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, the most common bacteria causing middle ear infections and community acquired pneumonia.

22 Dec 2008

Rockefeller microbiologist tests safety of spiked eggnog

With one in every 20,000 eggs contaminated with Salmonella bacteria, drinking homemade eggnog can be something of a gamble. But an experiment designed to test whether the alcohol in spiked eggnog can kill the deadly bugs suggests that, in general, few bacteria survive in a mixture containing both raw eggs and 20 percent rum and bourbon.

21 Dec 2008

Sulfurous ping-pong in the urinary tract

Transfer of information is a basic property of biological systems. Common examples include transfer of genetic information or nerve impulses.

18 Dec 2008

Blocking mechanism found for antibiotic resistance in bacteria

It's as simple as A, T, G, C. Northwestern University scientists have exploited the Watson-Crick base pairing of DNA to provide a defensive tool that could be used to fight the spread of antibiotic resistance in bacteria -- one of the world's most pressing public health problems.

18 Dec 2008

Probiotics found to be effective in stopping diarrhea resulting from antibiotics

Up to one in five people on antibiotics stop taking their full course of antibiotic therapy due to diarrhea.

17 Dec 2008

Key survival circuit discovered in Salmonella bacteria

Hundreds of trillions of bacteria make their home in the vertebrate gut. Though many of these microbes perform helpful duties for their host, others - the pathogens - are unwelcome visitors, causing disease.

17 Dec 2008

Scientists fool bacteria into programming own death

Like firemen fighting fire with fire, researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have found a way to fool a bacteria's evolutionary machinery into programming its own death.

16 Dec 2008

Just a little squeeze lets proteins assess DNA

To find its target, all a protein needs to do is give quick squeezes as it moves along the DNA strand, suggests new research from The University of Arizona in Tucson.

16 Dec 2008

Evolutionary roots of ancient bacteria may open new line of attack on cystic fibrosis

The redox-active pigments responsible for the blue-green stain of the mucus that clogs the lungs of children and adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) are primarily signaling molecules that allow large clusters of the opportunistic infection agent, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, to organize themselves into structured communities.

16 Dec 2008

Research suggests that immunity is stronger at night

The immune system's battle against invading bacteria reaches its peak activity at night and is lowest during the day.

14 Dec 2008

Gene therapy used to treat periodontal disease

Scientists at the University of Michigan have shown that gene therapy can be used to successfully stop the development of periodontal disease, the leading cause of tooth loss in adults.

12 Dec 2008

Scientists show that HIV's evolution in the body does not occur at a constant rate

HIV is so deadly largely because it evolves so rapidly. With a single virus as the origin of an infection, most patients will quickly come to harbor thousands of different versions of HIV, all a little bit different and all competing with one another to most efficiently infect that person's cells. Its rapid and unique evolution in every patient is what allows HIV to evade the body's defenses and gives the virus great skill at developing resistance to a pantheon of antiviral drugs.

12 Dec 2008