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Study sheds light on Salmonella death at low temperatures

The most economical way to kill bacteria that cause common food-borne illnesses -- mostly caused by Salmonella enterica -- is heat, but, the mechanisms that kill Salmonella at lower temperatures were not fully understood until now, according to a team of researchers.

7 Feb 2018

Novel antifungal shows promise to stave off drug-resistant superbugs

Microscopic yeast have been wreaking havoc in hospitals around the world- creeping into catheters, ventilator tubes, and IV lines- and causing deadly invasive infection.

11 Jan 2018

Unique mechanism of drug resistance found in pandemic cholera

Cholera is a devastating disease for millions worldwide, primarily in developing countries, and the dominant type of cholera today is naturally resistant to one type of antibiotic usually used as a treatment of last resort.

3 Jan 2018

TUM scientists discover new substance to fight against tuberculosis

In search of new strategies against life-threatening tuberculosis infections, a team from the Technical University of Munich, as well as Harvard University and Texas A&M University in the USA have found a new ally.

28 Dec 2017

Researchers explore how toxic protein clusters linked to Parkinson's disrupt brain cells

Researchers have glimpsed how the toxic protein clusters that are associated with Parkinson's Disease disrupt the membranes of healthy brain cells, creating defects in the cell walls and eventually causing a series of events that induce neuronal death.

15 Dec 2017

Tailor-made protein combats several kinds of pathogenic bacteria

As resistance to existing antibiotics increases, new approaches to serious bacterial infections are needed. Now researchers at Lund University in Sweden, together with colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in the US, have investigated one such alternative.

13 Dec 2017

Scientists take major step forward in research efforts to develop TB vaccine

A team of scientists led by the University of Southampton has taken an important step forward in research efforts that could one day lead to an effective vaccine against the world's deadliest infectious disease.

25 Nov 2017

Leaf-eating ability of beetle largely due to bacteria inside the insect

A leaf-eating beetle has evolved a symbiotic relationship with bacteria that allows the insect to break down pectin -- part of a plant's cell wall that is indigestible to most animals.

17 Nov 2017

UCR-led research discovers that human protein could be used to treat sepsis

A research team led by a biomedical scientist at the University of California, Riverside has discovered that the human protein resistin could be used to treat sepsis, the body's extreme and uncontrolled immune response to an infection.

14 Nov 2017

Uncovering Bacterial Cell Wall Secrets To Combat Antibiotic Resistance

Cell walls -- the jacket-like structures that surround all known bacteria -- may turn out to be bacteria's undoing, holding the key to developing new drugs that target it for destruction.

6 Nov 2017

New study shows how staph cells evade the body's immune system

For years, medical investigators have tried and failed to develop vaccines for a type of staph bacteria associated with the deadly superbug MRSA. But a new study by Cedars-Sinai investigators shows how staph cells evade the body's immune system, offering a clearer picture of how a successful vaccine would work.

21 Sep 2017

Small-molecule immunotherapeutics could steer immune defense against fungal pathogens

Fungal infections represent an increasing health crisis, especially for immune-deficient patients. American scientists now report in the journal Angewandte Chemie that specific help could be provided by small-molecule immunotherapeutics with novel mechanism of action.

21 Sep 2017

Researchers identify potential gonorrhea vaccine candidates

Researchers at Oregon State University have identified a pair of proteins that show promise as the basis for a gonorrhea vaccine.

19 Sep 2017

Protein distribution channel may be new target for combating pathogenic bacterium

A bacterium that attacks people suffering from chronic lung disease and compromised immune systems could be halted by disrupting the distribution channels the organism uses to access the nutrient-rich cytoplasm of its host cell.

31 Aug 2017

Study reveals new opportunities for treatment of Type 2 diabetes

Bacteria may be responsible for more than we suspect. Especially when it comes to inflammatory diseases such as Type 2 diabetes.

29 Aug 2017

Two new discoveries provide better understanding of how bacteria resist antibiotics

Two new discoveries from Edward Yu's Iowa State University laboratory are adding to the scientific understanding of how bacteria resist antibiotics.

1 Aug 2017

Research reveals how bacteria may use mechanical cues to keep their shape

Bacteria come in all shapes and sizes -- some are straight as a rod, others twist like a corkscrew. Shape plays an important role in how bacteria infiltrate and attack cells in the body.

26 Jul 2017

Methicillin use not to blame for MRSA, say researchers

The introduction of methicillin into clinical practice is not what caused the emergence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), report researchers. According to a collaborative study by the University of St Andrews, University of Dundee and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, MRSA existed long before clinicians started using the antibiotic.

20 Jul 2017

Penn study points to novel therapeutic strategy for preventing severe tooth decay in toddlers

Though most tooth decay can be blamed on bacteria, such as Streptococcus mutans, the fungus Candida albicans may be a joint culprit in an alarmingly common form of severe tooth decay affecting toddlers known as early childhood caries.

20 Jun 2017

Cornell researchers unravel E. coli bacteria's defense secret

By tagging a cell's proteins with fluorescent beacons, Cornell researchers have found out how E. coli bacteria defend themselves against antibiotics and other poisons. Probably not good news for the bacteria.

13 Jun 2017