Bacteria News and Research

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Antibiotics can cause pervasive, persistant changes to microbiota in human gut

Using a novel technique developed by Mitchell Sogin of the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) to identify different types of bacteria, scientists have completed the most precise survey to date of how microbial communities in the human gut respond to antibiotic treatment.

18 Nov 2008

Research looks at human gut when exposed to widely used antibiotic ciprofloxacin

We are always being told by marketers of healthy yogurts that the human gut contains a bustling community of different bacteria, both good and bad, and that this balance is vital to keeping you healthy.

18 Nov 2008

Targanta Therapeutics announces posting of briefing documents for review of FDA

Targanta Therapeutics Corporation announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has posted on its website briefing documents for the November 19, 2008 Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee (AIDAC) meeting.

18 Nov 2008

Gut check reveals vast multicultural community of bugs in bowels

Mention the phrase "diverse ecosystem," and it conjures images of tropical rainforests and endangered coral reefs.

18 Nov 2008

CAPHOSOL shown to benefit cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy

New data show that CAPHOSOL, an advanced electrolyte solution, results in low rates of oral mucositis and pain in patients with head and neck (HN) cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

17 Nov 2008

First-ever glimpse of the cell-wall structure in three dimensions

The bacterial cell wall that is the target of potent antibiotics such as penicillin is actually made up of a thin single layer of carbohydrate chains, linked together by peptides, which wrap around the bacterium like a belt around a person, according to research conducted by scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

17 Nov 2008

Scientists discover how certain antibiotics kill bacteria

A series of genetic clues led a team of Boston University biomedical engineers to uncover exactly how certain antibiotics kill bacteria.

17 Nov 2008

Microbial population of raw milk found to be more complex than previously thought

Raw milk is illegal in many countries as it can be contaminated with potentially harmful microbes.

16 Nov 2008

How household bleach kills bacteria

Despite the fact that household bleach is commonly used as a disinfectant, exactly how it works to fight bacteria remained an open question.

16 Nov 2008

Swiss approval for Zevtera in treatment of complicated skin and soft tissue infections

Swissmedic, the Swiss agency for therapeutic products, has approved Zevtera (ceftobiprole medocaril) for the treatment of complicated skin and soft tissue infections, including diabetic foot infections which have not spread to the bone.

13 Nov 2008

U.S. 'super bugs' invading several Colombian cities

Two clones of highly antibiotic-resistant organism strains, which previously had only been identified in the United States, are now causing serious sickness and death in several Colombian cities including the capital Bogota, say researchers at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

12 Nov 2008

Breakthrough in rheumatoid arthritis research

Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful, inflammatory type of arthritis that occurs when the body's immune system attacks itself.

12 Nov 2008

Medicine, math and engineering combine to reveal how sepsis and less severe infections occur

It's a leading cause of death, but no one knows for sure how and why it happens. It's a major source of health care costs, adding days or weeks to the hospital stays and lost work time of millions of people. But no one fully understands how best to fight it.

11 Nov 2008

New report shows high Clostridium difficile infection rates in U.S. hospitals

Consumers Union called on hospitals today to take more aggressive steps to protect patients from Clostridium difficile (C.-diff.) infections in light of a new report showing that they are much more common than previous estimates had indicated. As the rate of hospital acquired C.-diff. infections has jumped in recent years, an increasing number of patients have developed antibiotic-resistant strains of the infection that are more difficult to treat and more deadly.

11 Nov 2008

Epstein-Barr virus linked to inflammatory diseases of the mouth

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's School of Dentistry have found that a significant percentage of dental patients with the inflammatory diseases irreversible pulpitis and apical periodontitis also have the Epstein-Barr virus.

11 Nov 2008

New technology to control the motion of bacteria that produce cellulose - biomaterial and medical implant potential

Two Virginia Tech engineers have put bacteria to work as tiny weavers of biomaterials and medical implants.

11 Nov 2008

New analysis of the mechanisms that drive evolution in viruses and bacteria

It sounds like a science fiction movie: A killer contagion threatens the Earth, but scientists save the day with a designer drug that forces the virus to mutate itself out of existence.

11 Nov 2008

Antibacterial drug use increases at academic medical centers

Antibacterial drug use appears to have increased at academic medical centers between 2002 and 2006, driven primarily by greater use of broad-spectrum agents and the antibiotic vancomycin, according to a report in the Nov. 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

10 Nov 2008

New guidelines for congenital heart disease

These days most children born with congenital heart disease live well into adulthood, thanks to innovative surgical, interventional and medical treatments.

8 Nov 2008

Researchers discover metabolic deficiency in pancreatic cancer

UC Davis Cancer Center researchers have discovered a metabolic deficiency in pancreatic cancer cells that can be used to slow the progress of the deadliest of all cancers.

7 Nov 2008