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Expert warns of spread of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

An expert on infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, is warning that humans can inadvertently help spread infectious organisms beyond traditional state boundaries.

11 Aug 2005

Biochemists reveal the first structural details of microcompartments

UCLA biochemists reveal the first structural details of a family of mysterious objects called microcompartments that seem to be present in a variety of bacteria. The discovery was published Aug. 5 in the journal Science.

10 Aug 2005

Officials in China sacked over pig disease cover-up

According to Xinhua the government news agency in China, four officials have been sacked for trying to cover up the trail of dead pigs, early in an outbreak of a swine-borne disease that has killed 39 people in southwest China.

8 Aug 2005

China battles with Anthrax as well as Swine flu

The state media in China has reported that in the northeast of the country anthrax has killed one person and infected 12 more.

8 Aug 2005

China admits to the extent of pig disease

China has, for the first time admitted to the number of pigs which have been killed by a deadly bacteria. The bacteria, Streptococcus suis, or Swine flu, has also claimed the lives of at least 38 people, and made over a hundred sick, who slaughtered, handled or ate the infected animals.

7 Aug 2005

Discovery may lead to new diagnostic tests for immunoglobulin A (IgA) deficiency and common variable immunodeficiency (CVID)

Defects in a single gene can result in two immune system disorders that leave affected individuals vulnerable to frequent or unusually severe infections, according to new findings reported in the August issue of Nature Genetics.

4 Aug 2005

New surgical cleaning process reduces risk of vCJD

Scientists say a new cleaning process will reduce the risk of hospital transmission of the human form of mad cow disease.

4 Aug 2005

Pig fever added to notifiable disease list

Secretary for Hong Kong's Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow said today the move will enable the Government to strengthen surveillance, and aid early detection and implementation of health control measures.

2 Aug 2005

The wonders of watermelon

On a hot summer day, nothing refreshes quite like a crisp, juicy slice of cool watermelon. Whether you're chomping into watermelon, enjoying it as part of a fruit salad or slurping on a watermelon smoothie, that red pulp provides a powerhouse of nutritional value.

2 Aug 2005

Swine flu figures rise as China gets tough

As the numbers rise from the swine flu outbreak, China authorities swear they will punish officials who falsify or delay reports on the deadly disease that has now infected 198 people and killed 36.

2 Aug 2005

What caused leprosy?

What caused leprosy - a widely dreaded disease in medieval Europe - to fade from the scene? By the 16th century, the scourge had practically disappeared there.

2 Aug 2005

Researchers characterize the proteome of the human cornea

In doing so, they have identified 141 distinct proteins, 99 of which had not been previously recognized in mammalian corneas. The details of their findings appear in the August/September issue of Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, an American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology journal.

1 Aug 2005

Discovery that oxidative stress from pollen is as important as antigen exposure could lead to new therapies

For a person with allergies or asthma, breathing in pollen can be a very bad thing. Within minutes of inhalation by someone sensitive to their effects, these tiny particles can trigger severe inflammation of the respiratory passages, producing uncontrollable sneezing, coughing, or extreme shortness of breath -- symptoms agonizingly familiar to those who suffer from allergy and asthma attacks.

1 Aug 2005

Six dead and ten hospitalised in Taiwan with soil infection, melioidosis

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Taiwanese health authorities are examining a possible link between soil bacteria and the deaths of at least six people and the hospitalization of ten others in southern Taiwan.

1 Aug 2005

Controlling the expression of genes by turning them on or off could produce a drug for the treatment or cure of almost any disease

A new technique aimed at directly controlling the expression of genes by turning them on or off at the DNA level could lead to drugs for the treatment or cure of many diseases, say researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

1 Aug 2005

Pseudomonas aeruginosa has broken the immune system's code

The human opportunistic pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, has broken the immune system's code, report researchers from the University of Chicago, enabling the bacteria to recognize when its host is most vulnerable and to launch an attack before the weakened host can muster its defenses.

1 Aug 2005

Two studies reveal how plague disables immune system

Two studies by researchers at the University of Chicago show how the bacteria that cause the plague manage to outsmart the immune system and how, by slightly altering one of the microbe's tools, the researchers produced what may be the first safe and effective vaccine.

1 Aug 2005