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UCI awarded $10M grant to explore ways of preventing staph infections in people harboring MRSA bacteria

A UC Irvine infectious disease specialist has received a three-year, $10 million grant to explore the effectiveness of new methods to prevent staph infections in people who harbor MRSA bacteria when they're discharged from the hospital.

4 Oct 2010

NIH announces T-R01 project award to examine human microbiome

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today that Martin J. Blaser, MD, the Frederick H. King Professor of Internal Medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center has been awarded one of only twenty NIH Director's Transformative Research Projects (T-R01) award for research entitled "Disappearing Gastrointestinal Microbiota in Epidemic Obesity.

4 Oct 2010

Researchers examine new genes to control mosquito-borne diseases

An Iowa State University researcher searched for new genes that are turned on during infection in a type of mosquito that is not only a pest, but transmits disease-causing pathogens.

4 Oct 2010

NIH awards Scripps Research grants to study the mechanisms of protein complex

For Immediate Release -Scripps Research Institute scientists have been awarded approximately $65 million in four five-year grants as part of the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) latest round of structural biology funding. The projects will focus on determining the shapes and functions of proteins and protein complexes that are important in biology and medicine.

4 Oct 2010

Study on immune system activation may help develop new drugs for infections

A new research report in the October 2010 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology sheds important light on how our immune systems detect invading organisms to be destroyed and removed from our bodies. The information from this research should ultimately help lead to the development of new drugs and treatments that allow health care providers to prevent runaway immune reactions that can have devastating consequences for people.

4 Oct 2010

Researchers discover new mechanism of DNA repair process

Tucked within its double-helix structure, DNA contains the chemical blueprint that guides all the processes that take place within the cell and are essential for life. Therefore, repairing damage and maintaining the integrity of its DNA is one of the cell's highest priorities.

4 Oct 2010

Scientist discovers novel pathogen from Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex

Kathleen Alexander, associate professor of wildlife in Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment, has discovered a novel tuberculosis (TB) species in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, a group of pathogens that have adapted by using mammals as hosts. It has been nearly two decades since a new organism was identified in this group; the majority were discovered in the early and mid 20th century.

3 Oct 2010

Scientists find new replicating mechanism of Salmonella bacteria

New findings by National Institutes of Health scientists could explain how Salmonella bacteria, a common cause of food poisoning, efficiently spread in people. In a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers describe finding a reservoir of rapidly replicating Salmonella inside epithelial cells. These bacteria are primed to infect other cells and are pushed from the epithelial layer by a new mechanism that frees the Salmonella to infect other cells or be shed into the intestine.

3 Oct 2010

New method for detecting spores of non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum

The Institute of Food Research has collaborated in the development of a new method for detecting spores of non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum. This bacterium is the major health hazard associated with refrigerated convenience foods, and these developments give the food industry and regulators more quantitative information on which to base the procedures that ensure food safety.

1 Oct 2010

Food labeling urged to be more stringent

After recent research from campaigning organization Greenpeace found the S-26 Soy brand of infant formula contains GM or genetically modified ingredients that are not disclosed on the product label, two Senators are urging the Federal Government to tighten Australia's food labeling laws.

30 Sep 2010

NIH awards Polymedix $986,000 to develop defensin mimetic antimicrobial compounds for oral candidiasis

PolyMedix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat acute cardiovascular disorders and infectious diseases, has received a Phase 2 grant in the amount of $986,000 from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to support the development of defensin mimetic antimicrobial compounds for the treatment of oral candidiasis. This grant will fund this research project through August 31, 2012. This award represents the 14th grant or research contract received to date by PolyMedix.

30 Sep 2010

Research shows dexamethasone treatment effective for bacterial meningitis

New research shows that an intravenous (IV) treatment may cut a person's risk of dying from bacterial meningitis. The research is published in the September 29, 2010, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The treatment is called dexamethasone.

30 Sep 2010

Advanced Dermatology and Ameriderm enters partnership with DermaGenoma for new acne screening test

As teens and twenty-somethings returned to school this month, many obsessed about their appearance, especially those with moderate to severe acne. A new screening test might save the day.

29 Sep 2010

Researchers use biological weapon to fight salmon parasite

A few years ago, fish farms in Chile produced enormous numbers of salmon. Now the industry is on its knees as a result of several years of disease and devastation by lice.

28 Sep 2010

Mucosis collaborates with PATH to pursue use of Mimopath technology in diarrhea vaccines

Dutch biotechnology company Mucosis B.V. announced today that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with the global health nonprofit organization PATH to pursue the use of the company's Mimopath technology in oral vaccines to prevent and treat severe diarrhea.

28 Sep 2010

GBS pathogen suppresses immune cell function in newborn infants: Research

Group B Streptococcus (GBS), a bacterial pathogen that causes sepsis and meningitis in newborn infants, is able to shut down immune cell function in order to promote its own survival, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

27 Sep 2010

Researchers discover molecular signature to predict TB infection

Dallas scientists recently discovered a molecular signature in the blood of patients with tuberculosis (TB) that may explain why some people develop an active TB infection, while others exposed to the bacteria which causes the dangerous respiratory virus do not.

24 Sep 2010

Researchers identify mechanism that makes bacteria to resist antibiotics

A research team led by Edward Yu of Iowa State University and the Ames Laboratory has discovered the crystal structures of pumps that remove heavy metal toxins from bacteria, making them resistant to antibiotics.

24 Sep 2010

AJMS journal provides research update on new infectious pathogens

Newly recognized disease-causing viruses, bacteria, and other infections are continually emerging around the world, posing difficult challenges for patient diagnosis and treatment and for public health responses. A special symposium section of the September issue of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (AJMS), official journal of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation, provides a research update on important new infectious pathogens.

24 Sep 2010

NC State receives $1.8M defense grant to test molecule efficacy against antibiotic-resistant infections

A new $1.8 million grant from the Department of Defense will allow North Carolina State University researchers to work with the Walter Reed Institute of Research to further test the effectiveness of molecules that have shown great promise in combating antibiotic-resistant infections.

23 Sep 2010