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Prevention training critical to reduction of hospital infection rates

Infections picked up in hospital affect almost a third of patients in intensive care, and kill 44% of those people. Given that some infectious agents can linger for weeks or months it is increasingly important that staff awareness of the problem is improved and that training in infection prevention across the National Health Service and in private healthcare is expanded, according to researchers at the University of Northampton.

15 Oct 2011

Penn scientist tracks attitudes and H1N1 vaccination rates on Twitter

A unique and innovative analysis of how social media can affect the spread of a disease has been designed and implemented by a scientist at Penn State University studying attitudes toward the H1N1 vaccine. Marcel Salath-, an assistant professor of biology, studied how users of Twitter -- a popular microblogging and social-networking service -- expressed their sentiments about a new vaccine.

14 Oct 2011

Researchers identify gut bacteria bile acids linked to effectiveness of statin drugs in lowering cholesterol

Statins can be effective at lowering cholesterol, but they have a perplexing tendency to work for some people and not others. Gut bacteria may be the reason.

14 Oct 2011

Four companies receive NIAID contracts to develop broad-spectrum therapeutics

Four companies are to develop broad-spectrum therapeutics-antibiotics, antivirals and an antitoxin-to prevent or treat diseases caused by multiple types of bacteria or viruses, under contracts awarded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

14 Oct 2011

One in six mobile phones in the UK is contaminated with fecal bacteria

One in six mobile phones in Britain is contaminated with faecal matter, according to new research released ahead of Global Handwashing Day.

14 Oct 2011

HHS: Pica eating disorder hospitalizations on the rise in the U.S.

An unusual eating disorder that many people have never even heard of is attracting attention because of a recent government study that indicated the disorder is on the rise in the United States.

13 Oct 2011

Cigarette smoke interferes with Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator protein

If you smoke cigarettes, you have more in common with someone who has cystic fibrosis than you think. A new research report appearing online in the FASEB Journal shows that smoking cigarettes affects the lungs in a way that is very similar to cystic fibrosis, a life threatening disease affecting the lungs and other organs.

13 Oct 2011

Genetic mystery of bacterium causing ‘Black Death’ revealed

Between 1347 and 1351 - a period of just five years, Europe's Black Death wiped out about 30 million people - 30 to 50% of the population on the continent. Now geneticists have reconstructed the genome of the bacterium that caused the plague. It is found to be an ancient strain of a bacterium called Yersinia pestis very similar to the strain the exists today.

13 Oct 2011

USPTO issues patent to Oragenics' In Vivo Induced Antigen Technology

Florida-based nutraceutical company, Oragenics, Inc., announced today the issuance of patent number 8,034,571 from the United States Patent and Trademark office for In Vivo Induced Antigen Technology.

13 Oct 2011

Breakthrough in the study of chlamydia genetics

A breakthrough in the study of chlamydia genetics could open the way to new treatments and the development of a vaccine for this sexually transmitted disease.

13 Oct 2011

Study finds experimental vaccine protects monkeys from blinding trachoma

"An attenuated, or weakened, strain of Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria can be used as a vaccine to prevent or reduce the severity of trachoma, the world's leading cause of infectious blindness, suggest findings from a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study in monkeys," an NIH press release reports.

12 Oct 2011

Vitamin D plays an essential role in the body's fight against TB

Not just important for building strong bones, an international team of scientists has found that vitamin D also plays an essential role in the body's fight against infections such as tuberculosis.

12 Oct 2011

K.S.R. Educational Institutions of India, MU sign five-year academic agreement

University of Missouri officials announced today a five-year agreement with K.S.R. Educational Institutions of India that will promote advanced research and training in nanomedicine and nanotechnology.

12 Oct 2011

PROLOR receives U.S. patent allowance for CTP-modified interferons

PROLOR Biotech, Inc. today announced that it received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) for a patent application covering PROLOR's CTP-modified interferons.

12 Oct 2011

NovaSterilis awarded patent for sterilization process for pharmaceutical API using supercritical carbon dioxide

NovaSterilis Inc., a developer of supercritical carbon dioxide technology, has been granted US Patent 8,012,414 B2. The patent, dated September 6, 2011 entitled “Sterilization of Drugs Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Sterilant”, covers a new and effective method of sterilizing pharmaceutical product without dangerous chemicals or radiation.

11 Oct 2011

Antivirulence drugs may fight infection and suppress resistance

Antivirulence drugs disarm pathogens rather than kill them, and although they could be effective in theory, antivirulence drugs have never been tested in humans. A new study to be published in the online journal mBio- on Tuesday, October 18 reveals these drugs have the potential to fight infection while avoiding the pitfalls of drug resistance.

11 Oct 2011

World class scientist presents fourth Environmental Microbiology Lecture

World class scientist Professor Willem M. de Vos will explain next Monday how the microbes that are closest to our hearts - gut microbes - could underpin a new way of thinking about human biology. As well as looking at our own genes, we can now include those of our microbes in studies of human health and disease. This is a significant shift in the way we approach human biology.

11 Oct 2011

Potential vaccine against trachoma

An attenuated, or weakened, strain of Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria can be used as a vaccine to prevent or reduce the severity of trachoma, the world's leading cause of infectious blindness, suggest findings from a National Institutes of Health study in monkeys.

10 Oct 2011

AHRQ finds septicemia as the most costly hospital condition in 2009

Septicemia, an illness caused by blood infections with bacteria such as E. coli and MRSA, was the single most expensive condition treated in U.S. hospitals at nearly $15.4 billion in 2009, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

7 Oct 2011

Scientists discover two HIV variants in cerebrospinal fluid of HAD patients

When the virus that causes AIDS infects the central nervous system, it can lead to the development of a severe neurological disease called HIV- associated dementia.

7 Oct 2011