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Breakthrough in the understanding of the spread of cholera

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholera and is spread by contaminated water and food. Scientists from the University of Haifa and Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, have reported in Environmental Microbiology, an important breakthrough in our understanding of the continental and intercontinental distribution of cholera.

3 Apr 2005

Novel strategy to create a genetic vaccine against P. aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a bacterium that can cause respiratory tract infections, which can be life threatening in patients who have cystic fibrosis. It is therefore important to develop a vaccine against this pathogen.

3 Apr 2005

New miniature sensors for analysing DNA

The sensors have the same size and thickness as a fingernail and reduce the time needed to identify DNA chains to several minutes or a few hours, depending on each chain.

3 Apr 2005

Stress may enhance the body's ability to fight the flu

Short bouts of intense social stress improved the ability in the mice to recover from the flu. The stress apparently did so by substantially boosting the production of specialized immune cells that fought the virus.

3 Apr 2005

Community MRSA is re-emergence of 1950's pandemic

This "re-equipping and re-emergence" of a clone that caused a pandemic 40-50 years ago could mean that community acquired MRSA will spread faster and be more widespread than previously expected, warns an international team of researchers who have been studying the bacteria.

3 Apr 2005

Discovery of missing enzyme for tuberculosis iron scavenging pathway

Scientists have discovered that a protein that was originally believed to be involved in tuberculosis antibiotic resistance is actually a "missing enzyme" from the biosynthetic pathway for an agent used by the bacteria to scavenge iron.

30 Mar 2005

Wolbachia genome reveals new targets to combat infectious disease

More than a billion people are at risk for infection with filarial nematodes, parasites that cause elephantiasis, African river blindness, and other debilitating diseases in more than 150 million people worldwide.

29 Mar 2005

Bacteria's rising threat studied

Infectious diseases researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are noticing a significant increase in the number of infections due to Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), and the number of asymptomatic individuals who harbor the organism in their bodies.

29 Mar 2005

Vaccine prevents deadly pneumonia in African children

Global health leaders today presented new research showing that vaccinating infants against Streptococcus pneumoniae -- a bacterium that causes deadly pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis -- could substantially reduce death and serious illness among children in the developing world. If used widely, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine could prevent hundreds of thousands of child deaths each year.

28 Mar 2005

Research tool for turning off genes may eventually have therapeutic application

A research team based at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has identified 80 new genes essential to the process of RNA interference (RNAi), a powerful new research tool for inactivating genes in plants or animals.

28 Mar 2005

Genome in gut bacterium key to intestinal health

A bacterium that lives in the human gut adaptively shifts more than a quarter of its genes into high gear when its host's diet changes from sugar to complex carbohydrates.

28 Mar 2005

Child care may affect entire community's risks of infection

Any parent knows how quickly a cold or a cough can spread between children who play together. However, child care may also affect an entire community's carriage of potentially dangerous bacteria known as Streptococcus pneumoniae, according to an article in the April 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

28 Mar 2005

Children sick after zoo visit - Florida Officials investigate

Health officials in Florida report that five children are in a critical condition with kidney failure and may have picked up a rare infection at petting zoos.

28 Mar 2005

Neonatal infections in hospital born babies are up to 20 times higher in developing countries

Neonatal deaths account for over one-third of the global burden of child mortality. Infections are the major cause of neonatal deaths in developing countries. (See The Lancet Neonatal Survival Series, March 2005) Data suggest that unhygienic practices in labour and delivery, and in after-birth care, put babies in the developing world at great risk of infections and death soon after birth.

28 Mar 2005

Vaccine against pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease shows promise

A vaccine against pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease, a severe form of bacterial infection, can substantially reduce hospital admissions and improve the survival of children in developing countries, concludes a trial published in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

28 Mar 2005

Poor oral health can affect newborn

A study published recently in the Journal of Periodontology has found that pregnant women with tooth decay are at risk for delivering Preterm Low Birth Weight (PLBW) babies.

23 Mar 2005

Bacteria found in the mouth may predict pregnancy outcomes

Researchers from New York University found that certain bacteria from the mouth may be related to preterm delivery and low birthweight according to a study in the Journal of Periodontology (JOP).

23 Mar 2005

How does the body keep the number of neutrophils produced constant in the blood?

Every day, the human body manufactures and destroys about 100 billion neutrophils- the most common type of white blood cell and one of the most highly-produced cells. Neutrophils live about eight hours, are bacteria-eaters and are a key component of the immune system. Without them, the body can be subject to life-threatening infection.

23 Mar 2005

Scientists have found genetic regions that, when defective, allow the immune system to attack the pancreas

Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center have found genetic regions that, when defective, allow the immune system to attack the pancreas -- the first in a series of mis-steps that lead to type 1 diabetes. Armed with these findings, published yesterday, March 22, in the journal Immunity, the researchers are now trying to hone in on the exact genes involved, in mice and in human patients.

23 Mar 2005

Structure of key protein in innate immune response

In a report published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, scientists in Korea announced their elucidation of three-dimensional structure of CD14 and showed how it is perfectly suited to bind to certain bacterial products.

21 Mar 2005