E. coli News and Research

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E. coli or Escherichia coli is the name of a type of bacteria that lives in your intestines. Most types of E. coli are harmless. However, some types can make you sick and cause diarrhea. One type causes travelers' diarrhea. The worst type of E. coli causes bloody diarrhea, and can sometimes cause kidney failure and even death. These problems are most likely to occur in children and in adults with weak immune systems. You can get E. coli infections by eating foods containing the bacteria. To help avoid food poisoning and prevent infection, handle food safely. Cook meat well, wash fruits and vegetables before eating or cooking them, and avoid unpasteurized milk and juices. You can also get the infection by swallowing water in a swimming pool contaminated with human waste. Most cases of E. coli infection get better without treatment in 5 to 10 days.

Novel mathematical method may help reduce development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

It is estimated that each year in the United States 2 million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to one or more types of antibiotics, and at least 23,000 people will die because of these infections. This problem is being exacerbated by overuse of antibiotics for livestock and also in community clinical practice. This overuse, combined with the slow pace of novel drug discovery is a growing threat to public health.

12 Oct 2015

FDA permits marketing of first CSF nucleic acid-based test for detection of multiple pathogens

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today allowed marketing of the first cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) nucleic acid-based test for simultaneous detection of multiple pathogens that can cause central nervous system infections.

12 Oct 2015

Research finding could lead to new treatments for celiac disease

A team of researchers has discovered that bacteria found in the gut may contribute to the body's response to gluten, an important finding that could lead to new treatments for celiac disease.

9 Oct 2015

Gut microbiome can play significant role in the body's response to gluten

Investigators interested in celiac disease, a chronic gastrointestinal disorder caused by an immunologic response to the ingestion of gluten, have wondered why only 2% to 5% of genetically susceptible individuals develop the disease.

8 Oct 2015

Overall incidence of serious, highly drug-resistant group of bacteria relatively low in 2012-2013

The overall incidence in 2012-2013 was relatively low of a serious, highly drug-resistant group of bacteria (Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae [CRE]) that are an important cause for health-care associated infections, according to a study published online by JAMA. Most CRE cases were associated with prior hospitalizations and discharge to long-term care settings.

6 Oct 2015

New study on deep-diving whales may help researchers create synthetic blood for human trauma patients

The ultra-stable properties of the proteins that allow deep-diving whales to remain active while holding their breath for up to two hours could help Rice University biochemist John Olson and his colleagues finish a 20-year quest to create lifesaving synthetic blood for human trauma patients.

26 Sep 2015

MIT researchers devise new system to genetically engineer viruses to combat harmful bacteria

In the hunt for new ways to kill harmful bacteria, scientists have turned to a natural predator: viruses that infect bacteria. By tweaking the genomes of these viruses, known as bacteriophages, researchers hope to customize them to target any type of pathogenic bacteria.

23 Sep 2015

S. Lawrence Zipursky to receive 2015 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University

Columbia University will award the 2015 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize to S. Lawrence Zipursky, PhD, for discovering a molecular identification system that helps neurons to navigate and wire the brain. Zipursky is a professor of biological chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

23 Sep 2015

Gene study reveals how a strain of E. coli evolved to become potentially fatal infection

A strain of E. coli became a potentially fatal infection in the UK around 30 years ago, when it acquired a powerful toxin, a gene study has revealed.

22 Sep 2015

New Locilex microbiology data presented at ICAAC/ICC 2015 scientific conference

Dipexium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a late-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of Locilex (pexiganan cream 0.8%), and research collaborators, JMI Laboratories, announced that new Locilex microbiology data were presented at the American Society for Microbiology's Interscience Conference of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy and International Society of Chemotherapy's International Congress of Chemotherapy and Infection (ICAAC/ICC 2015) scientific conference in San Diego, California, September 17-21, 2015.

21 Sep 2015

Urinary tract infections could be treated more efficiently using DNA sequencing device

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) could be treated more quickly and efficiently using a DNA sequencing device the size of a USB stick - according to research from the University of East Anglia.

From Oxford Nanopore Technologies 21 Sep 2015

Three-drug strategy effective against drug-resistant staph infection, finds new research

Three antibiotics that, individually, are not effective against a drug-resistant staph infection can kill the deadly pathogen when combined as a trio, according to new research.

15 Sep 2015

Researchers now have a way to study special proteins linked to different diseases, cancer

Researchers from Northwestern University and Yale University have developed a user-friendly technology to help scientists understand how proteins work and fix them when they are broken. Such knowledge could pave the way for new drugs for a myriad of diseases, including cancer.

11 Sep 2015

Pitt scientists find faster method to identify pathogens

There are plenty of ways in the lab to determine which bug is bugging you when you're sick. The University of Pittsburgh's Xinyu Liu, Sanford Asher, and colleagues may have found a faster method.

9 Sep 2015

Bacterial litmus test provides low-cost method to measure blood micronutrients

A bacterium engineered to produce different pigments in response to varying levels of a micronutrient in blood samples could give health officials an inexpensive way to detect nutritional deficiencies in resource-limited areas of the world.

2 Sep 2015

KAIST scientists predict how biological circuits sustain rhythms

Our bodies have a variety of biological clocks that follow rhythms or oscillations with periods ranging from seconds to days. For example, our hearts beat every second, and cells divide periodically. The circadian clock located in the hypothalamus generates twenty-four hour rhythms, timing our sleep and hormone release.

29 Aug 2015

Research: Mechanisms behind bacterial warfare could be harnessed to target pathogenic bacteria

Two UC Santa Barbara graduate students have demonstrated how certain microbes exploit proteins in nearby bacteria to deliver toxins and kill them.

28 Aug 2015

Flu remedies can help treat E. coli bacteria

If the intestinal bacteria level becomes unbalanced, it can cause diseases. Physiologists from the University of Zurich reveal how a specific carbohydrate in the intestinal mucosa heavily multiplies certain E. coli bacteria and thus causes inflammations. These could be treated with flu remedies, which opens up new therapeutic possibilities.

26 Aug 2015

Wyss Institute scientists develop improved blood-cleansing therapeutic device to treat sepsis

Last year, a Wyss Institute team of scientists described the development of a new device to treat sepsis that works by mimicking our spleen. It cleanses pathogens and toxins from blood circulating through a dialysis-like circuit. Now, the Wyss Institute team has developed an improved device that synergizes with conventional antibiotic therapies and that has been streamlined to better position it for near-term translation to the clinic.

21 Aug 2015

New research explores underlying mechanisms by which bacteria acquire antibiotic resistance genes

A scientific peek into bacteria boudoirs is revealing how "sex" among disease-causing microbes can lead different species or strains to become resistant to antibiotic medications.

18 Aug 2015