Infectious Diseases News and Research

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People with red eyes are considered sad, unhealthy and less attractive

Beauty is said to be in the eye of the beholder, but a new study reveals that the reverse is also true; unattractiveness is in the eye of the beheld. Research published in Ethology finds that people with bloodshot eyes are considered sadder, unhealthier and less attractive than people whose eye whites are untinted, a cue which is uniquely human.

8 Apr 2011

IBM discovers biodegradable nanoparticles that seek out and destroy drug-resistant bacteria

IBM's announcement of the first biodegradable nanoparticles that can seek out and destroy drug-resistant bacteria caps off a century of healthcare and life sciences innovation from IBM.

8 Apr 2011

New substance to tackle drug resistant tuberculosis

This year's World Health Day focuses on the growing threat of potentially deadly infections developing resistance to antimicrobial drugs - especially to antibiotics. On this occasion, the European Commission is presenting the promising results of two EU-funded international research projects which provide new hopes to help and treat people.

8 Apr 2011

Hospira focuses on clinical surveillance systems to help reduce antimicrobial resistance

As part of World Health Day 2011, the World Health Organization is calling on policy makers, providers, the public and the healthcare industry to take action to combat the serious health threat of antimicrobial resistance.

8 Apr 2011

Bruker receives Health Canada approval for IVD MALDI Biotyper

At the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, the companies i2A Canada and Bruker Ltd. announced together that they have met the relevant Health Products and Food Branch of Health Canada regulations for the Bruker IVD MALDI Biotyper, and that this product is now available for sale as a Class 1 Medical Device to all clinical microbiology sites in Canada.

8 Apr 2011

National policy needed to address heath care system for immigrants, ACP says

As the U.S. immigrant population grows it will be necessary to address the vast number of immigrants who do not have access to health insurance coverage, or who face other barriers to accessing health care, the American College of Physicians said in a new policy paper released today at Internal Medicine 2011, ACP's annual scientific meeting.

8 Apr 2011

IDSA develops plans to combat deadly antibiotic-resistant 'super bugs'

To head off a health care disaster, the Infectious Diseases Society of America has developed a plan to combat deadly antibiotic-resistant "super bugs" and is rolling out the multi-pronged plan today, on World Health Day 2011.

8 Apr 2011

Quest Diagnostics Simplexa molecular test receives bronze award for best new product

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, today announced that the Simplexa™ molecular test on the 3M™ Integrated Cycler was honored with a bronze award for best new science and medical diagnostic product during the 2011 Edison Awards gala ceremony last night in New York City.

From Quest Diagnostics 7 Apr 2011

Ascletis raises $100 million in committed financing

Ascletis, Inc., a U.S.-China specialty life sciences venture focused on cancer and infectious disease therapeutics, today announced the company's formation and completion of a Series A private equity financing. Ascletis has raised US$100 million in committed financing including a first tranche of US$50 million. The investors, led by Hangzhou Binjiang Investment Holding Co., Ltd., included private entrepreneurs from China and other countries including the United States.

6 Apr 2011

Experts welcome World Health Day on antibiotic resistance as timely

The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) welcomes the focus on drug resistance for this year’s World Health Day as it is an issue that the Society has been proactively working on for the past 25 years.

6 Apr 2011

NIAID awards Aragen Bioscience with three subcontracts to advance preclinical studies

Aragen Bioscience, Inc., today announced it is a subcontractor on a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases contract for the preclinical development of monoclonal antibodies for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.

6 Apr 2011

R&D Directions names Novavax VLP influenza vaccine as one of top '100 great investigational drugs in development'

Novavax, Inc. announced that its virus-like particle (VLP) influenza vaccine has been named by the editors of R&D Directions magazine as one of the top "100 great investigational drugs in development" today. In its tenth annual list of promising clinical compounds, R&D Directions cited Novavax's virus-like-particle technology as a promising new approach to producing vaccines to prevent seasonal, H1N1 and avian influenza. The list reflects the current interests of industry observers and analysts and is described in the magazine's March 2011 issue.

5 Apr 2011

GERONTOSHIELD project receives 2.6 Million Euro fund for ageing research

Our society gets older, people live longer. The price we pay: infectious diseases can easier overcome the immune system. Like all organs, the immune system does not function flawlessly in old age. A new collaboration of university and non-university research institutes and two companies is investigating why our immune defence is getting weaker when we become old.

5 Apr 2011

Opinions: Africa's agricultural sector; foreign aid funding

"There is no doubt that Africa is on the move … But if African countries are to achieve the new future within their grasp, then there needs to be a new focus on the daunting obstacles still to be overcome. … High among these challenges is the need to transform the continent's agriculture," former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan writes in a BusinessDay opinion piece reflecting on the challenges facing Africa's agricultural system and the opportunities to respond to the growing food demands.

5 Apr 2011

Caliper introduces novel fluorescent imaging agent for pre-clinical research

Caliper Life Sciences, Inc., a leading provider of tools and services for drug discovery, life sciences research and molecular diagnostics, today announced the launch of XenoLight RediJect COX-2 Probe, a novel fluorescent imaging agent for pre-clinical research that specifically detects the cyclooxygenase-2 biomarker noninvasively in live animal models as well as in ex vivo tissue analysis applications.

5 Apr 2011

Abbott and Enanta's ABT-450/r Phase 2 study results against HCV presented at EASL meeting

Abbott and Enanta Pharmaceuticals today announced 12-week results from a Phase 2 study of ABT-450/r, an investigational, oral protease inhibitor being developed for the treatment of hepatitis C infection.

4 Apr 2011

Experts to discuss on healthcare-associated infection at SHEA Annual Meeting

A special media phone briefing with leading infectious disease scientists and healthcare-associated infection experts who will headline the 2011 Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America's Annual Meeting

4 Apr 2011

Study demonstrates in vitro infection and HEV replication in human hepatocytes

Groundbreaking data presented today demonstrates, for the first time, in vitro infection and replication of swine hepatitis E virus in human hepatocytes.

4 Apr 2011

QIAGEN to acquire Cellestis

QIAGEN N.V. has reached an agreement to acquire Cellestis Limited for approximately A$341 million in cash, providing QIAGEN with access to a novel "pre-molecular" technology that offers a new dimension in disease detection not currently possible with other diagnostic methods.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 4 Apr 2011

New ‘nanotech’ weapon against drug-resistant superbugs

Scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) and IBM Research – Almaden have developed the first biodegradable polymer nanoparticles to combat drug-resistant superbugs, such as Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). These nanoparticles can selectively kill the bacteria without destroying healthy red blood cells, and being biodegradable, have great potential to treat infectious diseases in the body. This was reported today in the leading scientific journal, Nature Chemistry [(2011) DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1012].

3 Apr 2011