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Fruit fly study offers clues to wound healing

A person's skin and a fruit fly's exoskeleton, called a "cuticle" may not look alike, but both coverings protect against injury, infection, and dehydration.

6 Apr 2013

Metallothioneins play major role in virulence of Cryptococcus neoformans

Metallothioneins, proteins able to capture metal ions, play a major role in the virulence of Cryptococcus neoformans, a fungal pathogen which causes severe infections in immunodeficient and immunocompetent individuals (AIDS patients, transplant receivers, etc.)

5 Apr 2013

Report highlights ecological cost of pharmaceutical waste

Pharmaceuticals commonly found in the environment are disrupting streams, with unknown impacts on aquatic life and water quality.

2 Apr 2013

Harvard scientists to further advance blood-cleansing technology for treating sepsis

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University announced today that it was awarded a $9.25 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to further advance a blood-cleansing technology developed at the Institute with prior DARPA support, and help accelerate its translation to humans as a new type of sepsis therapy.

26 Mar 2013

Georgetown University Medical Center to host symposium on emerging zoonotic diseases

Georgetown University Medical Center will host a half-day symposium exploring emerging zoonotic diseases - contagious diseases that spread between animals and humans, which can be caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi carried by animals and insects.

11 Mar 2013

APIC offers tips to stay infection-free

Beyond the obvious—steering clear of runny noses and hacking coughs—the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) presents some other practical ways of staying infection-free.

8 Mar 2013

Study helps explain why viruses often spread through the brain in patchwork patterns

Viruses often spread through the brain in patchwork patterns, infecting some cells but missing others. New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis helps explain why. The scientists showed that natural immune defenses that resist viral infection are turned on in some brain cells but switched off in others.

8 Mar 2013

Study designs and tests 60 compounds for their ability to kill human cancer cells

Inspired by a chemical that fungi secrete to defend their territory, MIT chemists have synthesized and tested several dozen compounds that may hold promise as potential cancer drugs.

28 Feb 2013

Experts analyse biological function of Shewanella-like protein phosphatase

Experts have disabled a unique member of the signalling proteins which are essential for the development of the malaria parasite. They have produced a mutant lackingthe ancient bacterial Shewanella-like protein phosphatase known as SHLP1 (pronounced shelph). This mutant is unable to complete its complex life cycle and is arrested in its development in the mosquito.

26 Feb 2013

Scientists uncover atomic structure of dermcidin

An international team of scientists has discovered how an important natural antibiotic called dermcidin, produced by our skin when we sweat, is a highly efficient tool to fight tuberculosis germs and other dangerous bugs.

22 Feb 2013

International nonproprietary name “auriclosene” approved by WHO for NovaBay’s NVC-422

NovaBay® Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE MKT: NBY), a biotechnology company focused on addressing the large unmet therapeutic needs of the global anti-infective market with first-in-class compounds such as its proprietary Aganocides®, today announced that the World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the international nonproprietary name (INN) “auriclosene” (pronounced awr-rih-CLO-zeen) for the Company’s lead Aganocide® compound NVC-422.

21 Feb 2013

Asthma patients have large number of fungi in their lungs

Hundreds of tiny fungal particles found in the lungs of asthma sufferers could offer new clues in the development of new treatments, according to a team of Cardiff University scientists.

20 Feb 2013

Rekom Biotech designs new biomarkers that can identify West Nile virus, dengue

Researchers at the University of Granada have designed a set of biomarkers that can be used in diagnostic tests for the detection of dengue and the West Nile virus, two infectious diseases transmitted by the bite of a mosquito. These biomarkers can be used to identify these viral diseases, which affect millions of people worldwide.

9 Feb 2013

Chlorhexidine bathing protects vulnerable hospital patients

Bathing hospital patients with chlorhexidine-impregnated washcloths reduces the risk for them acquiring multidrug-resistant organisms and developing bloodsteam infections, show study findings.

7 Feb 2013

An Introduction to the LV200 Bioluminescence Microscope

News-Medical speaks to Robert Schmalzigaug to explore the field of bioluminescence imaging and the applications of the LV200 microscope.

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 5 Feb 2013

C. albicans capable of sexual reproduction

Like many fungi and one-celled organisms, Candida albicans, a normally harmless microbe that can turn deadly, has long been thought to reproduce without sexual mating. But a new study by Professor Judith Berman and colleagues at the University of Minnesota and Tel Aviv University shows that C. albicans is capable of sexual reproduction.

31 Jan 2013

Dectin-1 potential target for nasal polyposis

The transmembrane protein Dectin-1 appears to play a role in the pathogenesis of nasal polyposis, providing a potential new target for treating the condition, report Chinese researchers.

29 Jan 2013

Daily antibacterial baths can safely reduce risk of bloodstream infections in critically ill children

Daily baths with an ordinary antibacterial cleanser can safely reduce the risk of dangerous bloodstream infections in critically ill children, according to a trial conducted in five pediatric hospitals and led by investigators at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

28 Jan 2013

Scientists determine structure of Ltn1 protein

Using an innovative approach, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have determined the structure of Ltn1, a recently discovered "quality-control" protein that is found in the cells of all plants, fungi and animals.

17 Jan 2013

UMDNJ develops rapid detection test for Exserhilum rostratum

A rapid detection test for Exserhilum rostratum, the fungus primarily responsible for 39 deaths among patients injected last year with a contaminated steroid medication, has been developed by a research team led by David S. Perlin, PhD, Executive Director of the Public Health Research Institute (PHRI) at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School.

10 Jan 2013