Antimicrobials are substance that kills microorganisms such as bacteria or mold, or stops them from growing and causing disease.
Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found a potential new way to stop the bacteria that cause gastroenteritis, tularemia and severe diarrhea from making people sick.
Children born with hydrocephalus, or "water on the brain" must have shunts implanted to drain the fluid away from the brain to reduce harmful pressure.
A team of researchers in Auburn University's Samuel Ginn College of Engineering has produced new antimicrobial coatings with potential to prevent diseases from spreading on contaminated surfaces - possibly solving a growing problem not only in hospitals but also in schools, offices, airplanes and elsewhere.
Tests of antibiotic resistance in cattle have revealed stark variation across thirteen European countries. The results, published in BioMed Central's open-access journal Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, show that major differences were apparent in the occurrence of resistance between countries and between the different antimicrobial agents tested.
The problem with antibiotics is that, eventually, bacteria outsmart them and become resistant. But by targeting the gene that confers such resistance, a new drug may be able to finally outwit them.
A laser-activated antimicrobial offers hope for new treatments of bacterial infections, even those that are resistant to current drugs. Research published today in the open access journal BMC Microbiology describes the use of a dye, indocyanine green, which produces bacteria-killing chemicals when lit by a specific kind of laser light.
University of Georgia researchers have developed an effective technology for reducing contamination of dangerous bacteria on food
Antibacterial wipes which have become increasingly popular in many homes, nursing homes, schools and hospitals, may not it seems be the answer when it comes to getting rid of dangerous bacteria.
A new study by a team of researchers at the Welsh School of Pharmacy, Cardiff University, Wales, UK, has found that antimicrobial-containing wipes currently used to decontaminate surfaces in hospitals can spread pathogens after first use.
Scientists in the Environmental Healthcare Unit at the University of Southampton in the U.K. have found that infectious bacterium Clostridium difficile is killed when exposed to surfaces made of copper and its alloys, brass and bronze. The results of the study have been published in the February 2008 issue of the Journal of Hospital Infection.
A silver-coated endotracheal tube may reduce infections with highly resistant bacteria over traditional tubes by nearly half, according to the results of a large randomized trial to be presented at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Monday, May 19.
PolyMedix, Inc. has received a notice of no objection from Health Canada for the Company's Clinical Trial Application ("CTA") for its defensin mimetic antibiotic compound, PMX-30063. This notice of no objection allows for the initiation of human clinical studies in Canada. PMX-30063 is the first defensin mimetic antibiotic compound cleared to enter human clinical trials for systemic use, representing an entirely new class of antibiotic drugs.
The parasitology team at the "Severo Ochoa" Molecular biology centre (CSIC-UAM) has focused its research efforts on the search for a vaccine capable of activating immunity against the parasite that causes leishmaniasis.
When suffering through a sinus infection, many people ask for an antibiotic to speed their recovery. However, a recent review of clinical trials found that while antibiotics can provide minor improvements in uncomplicated sinusitis cases, most patients recover without the drugs within two weeks.
Byron Brehm-Stecher, assistant professor in food science and human nutrition, has some big ideas for his work with tiny particles.
Scientists in Arizona report that minerals from clay could form the basis of a new generation of inexpensive, highly-effective antimicrobials for fighting MRSA infections that are moving out of health care settings and into the community.
Despite their reputation for deadly attacks on humans and pets, alligators are wiggling their way toward a new role as potential lifesavers in medicine, biochemists in Louisiana reported today at the 235th national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Biochemists from Louisiana in the U.S. say blood from alligators could help fight deadly 'superbugs' and other infections.
The bacteria that cause Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne illness in the United States, can linger in mouse tissues long after a full round of antibiotic treatment is completed, report researchers from the University of California, Davis.
The body's first line of defence against pathogenic bacteria that we ingest may not be the immune system but rather the cells that line the intestine.