Antibiotic Resistance News and Research

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UBC microbiologist receives Prix Galien 2012 Research Award

UBC microbiologist Robert E.W. Hancock has received the Prix Galien 2012 Research Award, widely considered the most prestigious honour in Canadian pharmaceutical research and innovation. Hancock is being recognized for pioneering work unravelling the complex interactions between antibiotics and bacteria.

20 Nov 2012

Study reveals significant regional variation and trends in antibiotic use between 1999-2010

Research revealed during "Get Smart Week" shows that California joined Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington as the five states with the lowest antibiotic use in the nation in 2010.

17 Nov 2012

Researchers discover unlikely recipe to kill antibiotic resistant bacteria

Washington State University researchers have found an unlikely recipe for antibiotic resistant bacteria: Mix cow dung and soil, and add urine infused with metabolized antibiotic. The urine will kill off normal E. coli in the dung-soil mixture. But antibiotic-resistant E. coli will survive in the soil to recolonize in a cow's gut through pasture, forage or bedding.

16 Nov 2012

Is it safe to drink alcohol when taking antibiotics?

In the lead up to summer party season, NPS MedicineWise is reminding Australians that while alcohol might not interact with many antibiotics, it’s still important to follow certain rules for taking antibiotics correctly.

15 Nov 2012

Certain UTI-causing bacteria become more difficult to treat with current antibiotics

Certain types of bacteria responsible for causing urinary tract infections (UTIs), the second-most-common infection in the United States, are becoming more difficult to treat with current antibiotics, according to new research from Extending the Cure (ETC), a project of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy.

14 Nov 2012

Study: Superbug MRSA prevalent at wastewater treatment plants in the U.S.

A team led by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Public Health has found that the "superbug" methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is prevalent at several U.S. wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs).

6 Nov 2012

WSU researcher receives NSF fund to study on antibiotic resistance

In March, the director-general of the World Health Organization warned of "an end to modern medicine as we know it."

3 Nov 2012

Allergies and hygiene: an interview with Sally Bloomfield

Allergies occur when the body overreacts to substances in our environment, such as pollen, dust mites and so forth. What happens is that when we are exposed to these potential threats, the immune system should react, deal with it, and then shut down.

26 Oct 2012

Artificial CSP proteins reduce S. pneumoniae competence y more than 90%

The bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae - which can cause pneumonia, meningitis, bacteremia and sepsis - likes to share its antibiotic-defeating weaponry with its neighbors. Individual cells can pass resistance genes to one another through a process called horizontal gene transfer, or by "transformation," the uptake of DNA from the environment.

26 Oct 2012

Researchers increase potency of a compound that reactivates antibiotics against MRSA

Researchers from North Carolina State University have increased the potency of a compound that reactivates antibiotics against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), an antibiotic-resistant form of Staphylococcus that is notoriously difficult to treat. Their improved compound removes the bacteria's antibiotic resistance and allows the antibiotic to once again become effective at normal dosage levels.

23 Oct 2012

Researchers develop two ultra-rapid tests for diagnosis of antibiotic resistance

With their excellent sensitivity and specificity, the use of these extremely efficient tests on a world-wide scale would allow us to adapt antibiotic treatments to the individual's needs and to be more successful in controlling antibiotic resistance, particularly in hospitals.

15 Oct 2012

Diabecline wins Drug Store News Best New Product award

Diabecline first aid antibiotic, offered by pharmaCline, has been named the winner of the Drug Store News Best New Product award.

5 Oct 2012

‘Hygiene hypothesis’ updated to ‘Old Friends’ hypothesis

A new scientific report out today from the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene (IFH) dismantles the myth that the epidemic rise in allergies in recent years has happened because we’re living in sterile homes and overdoing hygiene.

3 Oct 2012

FDA forms new internal task force to support development of new antibacterial drugs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced the formation of an internal task force that will support the development of new antibacterial drugs, a critical public health care goal and a priority for the agency.

25 Sep 2012

Study finds identical strains of antibiotic-resistant C. coli in ABF and conventionally raised pigs

Researchers from North Carolina State University have found identical strains of antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter coli (C. coli) in both antibiotic-free (ABF) and conventionally raised pigs.

18 Sep 2012

Nature examines efforts to combat antibiotic resistance in India

Nature examines efforts to combat antibiotic resistance in India, writing, "Antibiotic resistance is a problem worldwide, but is particularly worrying in India, where hospital standards are inconsistent and antibiotics are readily available over the counter at pharmacies."

13 Sep 2012

Novel method could help advance fight against persistent 'HIV latency'

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have gotten us one step closer to understanding and overcoming one of the least-understood mechanisms of HIV infection-by devising a method to precisely track the life cycle of individual cells infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

12 Sep 2012

New model reveals how immune system functions under conditions of neutropenia

Cancer chemotherapy can be a life-saver, but it is fraught with severe side effects, among them an increased risk of infection. Until now, the major criterion for assessing this risk has been the blood cell count: if the number of white blood cells falls below a critical threshold, the risk of infection is thought to be high.

12 Sep 2012

Antibiotics: facts and fictions: an interview with Dr Philippa Binns, clinical adviser at NPS MedicineWise

Antibiotics are medicines used to treat infections or diseases caused by bacteria, such as some respiratory tract infections (including pneumonia and whooping cough), urinary tract infections, skin infections and infected wounds.

6 Sep 2012

Coconut oil attacks tooth decay

Digested coconut oil could become part of the armory used to combat tooth decay, report researchers presenting their findings at the Society for General Microbiology’s Autumn Conference in Warwick, UK.

4 Sep 2012