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Scientists outline molecular blueprints of tiny cellular 'nanomachine'

Scientists have drawn up molecular blueprints of a tiny cellular ‘nanomachine’, whose evolution is an extraordinary feat of nature, by using one of the brightest X-ray sources on Earth.

21 Dec 2015

Researchers identify how immune cells triggered by recurrent Strep A infections affect the brain

Researchers have discovered how immune cells triggered by recurrent Strep A infections enter the brain, causing inflammation that may lead to autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders in children.

16 Dec 2015

Addition of sugar molecules to particular proteins vital for plants in basic developmental processes

Adding a spoonful of sugar to coffee makes it sweeter, but in plants, researchers have discovered, the addition of sugar molecules to particular proteins plays a surprising variety of roles in basic developmental processes.

23 Nov 2015

Researchers use large-scale computer modeling to show effects of confinement on cell macromolecules

Using large-scale computer modeling, researchers have shown the effects of confinement on macromolecules inside cells -- and taken the first steps toward simulating a living cell, a capability that could allow them to ask 'what-if' questions impossible to ask in real organisms.

17 Nov 2015

Some antibiotics may make MRSA more harmful

Treating MRSA with certain first-line antibiotics can actually make MRSA skin infections worse, according to a study published in Cell Host & Microbe.

12 Nov 2015

Certain antibiotic treatment for MRSA may potentially make patients sicker

A new study sheds light on how treatment of the "superbug" known as MRSA with certain antibiotics can potentially make patients sicker. The findings by Cedars-Sinai scientists, published today in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, could have implications for managing the bug, a virulent form of the common staph infection that can be difficult to control.

12 Nov 2015

Common ingredient in sunscreen can prevent infections related to medical implants

A common ingredient in sunscreen could be an effective antibacterial coating for medical implants such as pacemakers and replacement joints.

11 Nov 2015

Three-drug strategy effective against drug-resistant staph infection, finds new research

Three antibiotics that, individually, are not effective against a drug-resistant staph infection can kill the deadly pathogen when combined as a trio, according to new research.

15 Sep 2015

University of Bonn researchers find how cells in the body can detect genetic material of retroviruses

Researchers at the University of Bonn have discovered how cells in the body can detect the genetic material of so-called retroviruses. The pathogen of the immunodeficiency disease AIDS, the HI-1 virus, also belongs to this group. At the same time, the HI virus appears to circumvent this important defense mechanism.

8 Sep 2015

Study demonstrates effectiveness of new approach to protect humans from infectious disease

There are two common approaches to protecting humans from infectious disease: Targeting pathogens and parasites with medicines like antibiotics, or dealing with the conditions that allow transmission.

8 Sep 2015

Researchers one step closer to developing asthma vaccine

Researchers at VIB (a leading life sciences institute in Flanders, Belgium) and Ghent University have successfully established a causal relationship between exposure to so-called farm dust and protection against asthma and allergies.

4 Sep 2015

Scientists reveal role of dynamin and show how specific mutations impair function of dynamin

Cells continually form membrane vesicles that are released into the cell. If this vital process is disturbed, nerve cells, for example, cannot communicate with each other. The protein molecule dynamin is essential for the regulated formation and release of many vesicles.

28 Aug 2015

Researchers identify potential drug target to fight TB

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first new drug to fight tuberculosis (TB) in more than 40 years, but treatment still takes six months, 200 pills and leaves 40 percent of patients uncured. Thus, new targets are needed. Today in ACS Central Science, researchers report they have identified one such target -- a gene that allows the disease to camp out in human immune cells, and is thus essential for the organism's proliferation.

13 Aug 2015

Protein imbalances within cells can cause ovarian cancer

Cancer can be caused solely by protein imbalances within cells, a study of ovarian cancer has found. The discovery is a major breakthrough because, until now, genetic aberrations have been seen as the main cause of almost all cancer.

28 Jul 2015

Twenty Radboud researchers receive Veni grant as part of Innovational Research Incentives Scheme

Twenty young and promising researchers from Nijmegen - eleven from Radboud University and nine from Radboudumc - are each to receive up to 250,000. NWO (The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research) is awarding the Veni grant as part of the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme.

25 Jul 2015

Synthetic sugar could be latest weapon against superbugs

A special type of synthetic sugar could be the latest weapon in the fight against superbugs. A team of scientists from The University of Queensland and Queensland biotechnology company Alchemia have discovered a potential new class of antibiotics inspired by sugar molecules produced by bacteria.

22 Jul 2015

Common antibiotic azithromycin effectively kills many multidrug-resistant bacteria

Contrary to current medical dogma, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences report that the common antibiotic azithromycin kills many multidrug-resistant bacteria very effectively — when tested under conditions that closely resemble the human body and its natural antimicrobial factors.

11 Jun 2015

Bacterium can use cell-content sharing to repair damaged siblings

A University of Wyoming faculty member led a research team that discovered a certain type of soil bacteria can use their social behavior of outer membrane exchange (OME) to repair damaged cells and improve the fitness of the bacteria population as a whole.

22 May 2015

Dartmouth researchers use new strategies to target drug-resistant pathogens

By engineering antibacterial enzymes, Dartmouth investigators led by Karl Griswold, PhD are using novel strategies to target the prevalent drug-resistant bacterium Staphylococcus aureus.

3 Apr 2015

European scientists identify gene linked with certain types of early-onset epilepsy

Certain types of early-onset epilepsy are caused by previously unknown mutations of a potassium channel gene, KCNA2. The mutations disrupt the electrical balance in the brain in two ways. In some patients, the flow of potassium is greatly reduced; while in others, it is raised enormously. Both states can lead to hard-to-treat epileptic seizures. Mental and motor development can come to a stop, or even to regress.

12 Mar 2015