Bacteria News and Research

RSS

Saline for chronic rhinosinusitis

Spraying salty water (saline) into your nose can help reduce the symptoms of pain and congestion that accompany long-term infections of the nasal passages, a Cochrane Systematic Review has concluded.

18 Jul 2007

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma becomes more common in U.S.

The cancer known as cutaneous T-cell lymphoma became substantially more common in the United States between 1973 and 2002, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Dermatology.

17 Jul 2007

Colitis caused by Clostridium difficile more common now

The rate of cases of colitis (colon inflammation) caused by the bacteria Clostridium difficile more than doubled among patients hospitalized in the United States between 1993 and 2003, and the illness was more severe and associated with an increased mortality rate, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Surgery.

17 Jul 2007

Key mechanism to emergence of deadly strep bacteria discovered

The incidence of serious strep infections has risen dramatically in the last three decades, and this increase is largely attributed to the spread around the globe of a single strain of strep known as the invasive M1T1 clone.

16 Jul 2007

Researchers determine structure of protein from pathogen associated with cystic fibrosis

The structure of a novel protein in the bacterium that is the most persistent pathogen in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients has been solved.

16 Jul 2007

High-tech dental lasers eliminate bacteria in root canals

High-tech dental lasers used mainly to prepare cavities for restoration now can help eliminate bacteria in root canals, according to research published in the July issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA).

13 Jul 2007

First mouse model of lung transplantation

Lung transplants have been performed successfully for more than 20 years in humans but never before in mice – until now.

12 Jul 2007

How immune cells catch pathogens

To protect us from disease our immune system employs macrophages, cells that roam our body in search of disease-causing bacteria.

12 Jul 2007

White blood cells are picky about sugar

Biology textbooks are blunt - neutrophils are mindless killers. These white blood cells patrol the body and guard against infection by bacteria and fungi, identifying and destroying any invaders that cross their path. But new evidence, which may lead to better drugs to fight deadly pathogens, indicates that neutrophils might actually distinguish among their targets.

11 Jul 2007

Vaginal health

Silence may impact women's health since few women or their doctors are comfortable talking about vaginal health openly.

11 Jul 2007

How immune cells catch pathogens

To protect us from disease our immune system employs macrophages, cells that roam our body in search of disease-causing bacteria. With the help of long tentacle-like protrusions, macrophages can catch suspicious particles, pull them towards their cell bodies, internalise and destroy them.

11 Jul 2007

Rapid evolution of defense genes in plants may produce hybrid incompatibility

One of the basic tenets of evolution is speciation in which populations of the same species become so genetically and morphologically variable that they can be classified as two different species.

10 Jul 2007

New weapon in the battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Putting bacteria on birth control could stop the spread of drug-resistant microbes, and researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found a way to do just that.

10 Jul 2007

Bacterial biofilms

In one of the first potential applications of synthetic biology, an emerging field that aims to design and build useful biomolecular systems, researchers from MIT and Boston University are engineering viruses to attack and destroy the surface biofilms that harbor harmful bacteria in the body and on industrial and medical devices.

10 Jul 2007

Etravirine reduces HIV viral loads when taken with Prezista

The experimental antiretroviral drug etravirine, made by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Tibotec Pharmaceuticals, greatly reduces HIV viral loads in people with a history of drug resistance when taken in combination with Tibotec's antiretroviral Prezista, according to two studies published Saturday in the journal The Lancet.

10 Jul 2007

EPA warns about fecal coliform in flooded areas of Coffeyville

Two flood water samples taken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency within the city limits of Coffeyville, Kan., showed numbers of fecal coliform (bacteria) more than 130 times the standard.

9 Jul 2007

Tiny turtle responsible for baby's death

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States has linked the death of a four-week-old baby in Florida earlier this year to a pet turtle.

9 Jul 2007

Discovery of enzyme critical in DNA replication

In this week's issue of Science, researchers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and Umea University in Sweden report an important discovery about a critical new role that an enzyme called DNA polymerase epsilon plays in replicating DNA in higher organisms such as yeast and perhaps even humans.

9 Jul 2007

More alerts over Chinese made products

Canadian and U.S. authorities have issued warnings to consumers regarding Chinese-made counterfeit toothpaste after more tainted products have been discovered in stores.

8 Jul 2007