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Link between cardiovascular disease and periodontal bacteria

Researchers report this week that older adults who have higher proportions of four periodontal-disease-causing bacteria inhabiting their mouths also tend to have thicker carotid arteries, a strong predictor of stroke and heart attack.

14 Mar 2005

Washing hands with soap and water best protection against disease-causing viruses

The largest, most comprehensive study ever done comparing the effectiveness of hand hygiene products shows that nothing works better in getting rid of disease-causing viruses than simply washing one's hands with good old-fashioned soap and water.

14 Mar 2005

Researchers identify biochemical target that could lead to a new class of antibiotics to fight TB

A worldwide health problem, tuberculosis kills more people than any other bacterial infection. The World Health Organization estimates that two billion people are infected with TB, and that two million people die each year from the disease.

14 Mar 2005

Research shows how bacteria respond when subjected to environmental alterations in space stations

An article in Journal of Applied Microbiology investigates how bacteria respond when they are subjected to environmental alterations, such as those of space stations, which feature lowered effects of gravity.

14 Mar 2005

Yoghurt reduces bad breath

Eating traditional yoghurt reduces the bacteria that cause bad breath.

14 Mar 2005

DNA ejection from single phage particles

Studying phage, a primitive class of virus that infects bacteria by injecting its genomic DNA into host cells, researchers have gained insight into the driving force behind this poorly understood injection process, which has been proposed in the past to occur through the release of pressure accumulated within the viral particle itself.

7 Mar 2005

Air Genome Project to sample air using whole genome shotgun sequencing

The J. Craig Venter Institute is launching a pilot project to better understand the diversity of microbes in urban air. In addition to more deeply characterizing the microbes we breathe every day, researchers anticipate that the results will provide information vital to designing systems that detect potentially dangerous biological substances in the air.

7 Mar 2005

Proteins link cellular aging and response to calorie restriction

In the March 3 issue of Nature, Johns Hopkins researchers report that two proteins best known for very different activities actually come together to turn the liver into a sugar-producing factory when food is scarce.

6 Mar 2005

Future diabetes drugs may target new protein interaction

2 Mar 2005

Genome clues to amoebic dysentery

Each year, there are an estimated 50 million cases of amoebic dysentery, causing up to 100,000 deaths, mostly in developing countries. On Thursday 24 February 2005, researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and their colleagues reported in Nature magazine the genome sequence of the parasite that causes the disease, Entamoeba histolytica.

1 Mar 2005

Scientists find protein that could unlock the secret to more effective treatment of TB

In a study published on 1st March 2005 in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, a combined team discovered the structure of a protein known as resuscitation promoting factor (Rpf). Five versions of the Rpf protein exist in TB bacteria. The paper’s unveiling of the molecular structure of Rpf could be crucial to the treatment of TB in the future.

28 Feb 2005

Up to 500,000 Americans will develop lupus-related kidney disease

According to the Lupus Foundation of America, an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 Americans with the autoimmune disease lupus eventually will develop lupus-related kidney disease, known as lupus nephritis. Lupus nephritis is one of the most serious manifestations of lupus and can lead to serious health problems, kidney failure, disability or death.

27 Feb 2005

Shigella infects cells by using a secretion system to inject proteins into human cells

According to research published in Science, the team from Imperial College London and Institut Pasteur, Paris, found that shigella, the bacteria which causes dysentery, is able to invade cells, while stopping any response from the immune system.

27 Feb 2005

Poor water supply affects more people than war, terrorism, and WMD's combined

The negative impact of poor water supply and sanitation affects more people than war, terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction combined.

27 Feb 2005

Dental therapy that regenerates the tooth enamel rather than drilling

Unlike skins or bones, the tooth enamel, which forms the hard surface of a tooth, does not regenerate itself once damaged. Therefore, the conventional dental treatment includes drilling of the decayed part of a tooth and filling the hole with resin or metal alloy dental materials.

24 Feb 2005

Simple saliva test can predict whether children will get cavities

A simple saliva test can predict for the first time whether children will get cavities, how many cavities they will get and even which teeth are most vulnerable, USC researchers say.

23 Feb 2005

MRSA superbug on the run from Sussex scientist

A groundbreaking new treatment to combat the hospital killer bug MRSA, which is estimated to cause up to 5,000 deaths a year in Britain, is being developed by a University of Sussex scientist.

23 Feb 2005

State-of-the-art computer technology to tackle deadly diseases such as influenza

Researchers at the University of Bath have won a £261,000 grant to use the latest software to produce a blueprint of a designer drug that could stop influenza and some other diseases from replicating in humans.

22 Feb 2005

Antimicrobials improperly used about 50% of the time

Antimicrobial medications intended to prevent surgical site infections are appropriately administered to patients (within one hour before incision) only 55.7 percent of the time, according to a study published in the February issue of Archives of Surgery.

21 Feb 2005

Crystallized molecular machine reveals possible new paths for treating diseases

The crystallized form of a molecular machine that can cut and paste genetic material is revealing possible new paths for treating diseases such as some forms of cancer and opportunistic infections that plague HIV patients.

21 Feb 2005