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Antibiotic resistance: A growing problem in hospital and outpatient settings

A new study concludes that problems with antibiotic resistance faced by outpatients may be as bad as those in hospitalized patients, and that more studies of outpatients are needed - both to protect their health and to avoid inappropriate or unnecessary drug use.

19 Apr 2013

Parents tend to share more bacteria with their dogs than their children

As much as dog owners love their children, they tend to share more of themselves, at least in terms of bacteria, with their canine cohorts rather than their kids.

18 Apr 2013

CRISPR helps some bacteria evade mammalian immune system

CRISPR, a system of genes that bacteria use to defend themselves against viruses, has been found to be involved in helping some bacteria evade the mammalian immune system.

18 Apr 2013

Study suggests strain with Haiti cholera mutations may increase severity of disease

The cholera strain that transferred to Haiti in 2010 has multiple toxin gene mutations that may account for the severity of disease and is evolving to be more like an 1800s version of cholera, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

17 Apr 2013

Circumcision offers men some protection against HIV, discovers TGen-led study

Male circumcision reduces the abundance of bacteria living on the penis and might help explain why circumcision offers men some protection against HIV, according to a study led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute.

17 Apr 2013

Researchers develop novel microfluidic device to separate, detect non-spherical bioparticles

A bioengineering research team from the National University of Singapore team led by Associate Professor Zhang Yong has developed a novel microfluidic device for efficient, rapid separation and detection of non-spherical bioparticles.

17 Apr 2013

Adult male circumcision reduces bacteria living on penis, study shows

Circumcision drastically alters the microbiome of the penis, changes that could explain why circumcision offers protection against HIV and other viral infections.

17 Apr 2013

Average annual incidence of sepsis varies depending on method used

Though the toll of sepsis is known to be enormous - it is estimated to cost the U.S. health care system $24.3 billion each year, and is the nation's third-leading killer, behind heart disease and cancer - the true magnitude of incidence of and death from the illness remains unknown.

16 Apr 2013

Pneumococcal vaccine: an interview with Graham Clarke, CEO ImmBio

The pathogen that we are talking about is called streptococcus pneumoniae. That is a fairly common bacteria and if you did a nasal swab you would find that quite a lot of people have this bacterium living in their nasal passages.

16 Apr 2013

New study to discover preventive use of antibiotics for Lyme disease

At the start of the "Tick Week", the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment and Wageningen University are commencing a large-scale study to discover whether preventive use of antibiotics can stop Lyme disease developing after a tick bite.

16 Apr 2013

Luminex's MAGPIX instrument gets FDA approval

Luminex Corporation today announced it has received U.S. FDA clearance of its MAGPIX instrument, with its xTAG Gastrointestinal Pathogen Panel.

From Luminex 16 Apr 2013

L-carnitine improves cardiac health in patients after heart attack, say researchers

L-carnitine significantly improves cardiac health in patients after a heart attack, say a multicenter team of investigators in a study published today in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

15 Apr 2013

New nanosponge safely removes dangerous toxins from bloodstream

Engineers at the University of California, San Diego have invented a "nanosponge" capable of safely removing a broad class of dangerous toxins from the bloodstream - including toxins produced by MRSA, E. coli, poisonous snakes and bees.

15 Apr 2013

EU-funded project examines environmental impact of nanosilver T-shirts

Silver has been used as biocide for medical purposes since the 1930s. Today nanometric size silver particles are used to prevent unpleasant odour caused by bacteria in sport shirts or socks.

15 Apr 2013

Researchers use atomic force microscopy technique to read information encoded in gut lining

A new technique based on atomic force microscopy was developed at the Institute of Food Research to help 'read' information encoded in the gut lining.

15 Apr 2013

WHO, UNICEF launch new Global Action Plan to save children from pneumonia and diarrhoea

A new Global Action Plan launched today by the WHO and UNICEF has the potential to save up to 2 million children every year from deaths caused by pneumonia and diarrhoea, some of the leading killers of children under five globally.

15 Apr 2013

US biochemist to be honoured with Inhoffen Medal Braunschweig, Germany

How do bacteria cope when exposed to toxic mercury, how are they able to outlast antibiotics, and how can they be killed using so-called "suicide inhibitors?" These are but a few of the many research topics US biochemist Christopher Walsh has devoted his career as a scientist to.

15 Apr 2013

Engineered protein from flesh-eating bacteria acts as molecular 'superglue'

In a classic case of turning an enemy into a friend, scientists have engineered a protein from flesh-eating bacteria to act as a molecular "superglue" that promises to become a disease fighter. And their latest results, which make the technology more versatile, were the topic of a report here today at the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

12 Apr 2013

Researchers use metagenomics to identify the cause of outbreaks of bacterial infection

Researchers have been able to reconstruct the genome sequence of an outbreak strain of Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC), which caused over 50 deaths in Germany, using an approach known as metagenomics which bypasses the need for growing bacteria in the lab.

12 Apr 2013

Sanofi launches large-scale production of artemisinin for malaria

Twelve years after a breakthrough discovery in his University of California, Berkeley, laboratory, professor of chemical engineering Jay Keasling is seeing his dream come true.

12 Apr 2013