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Holistic approach to understand and treat TB

For years, physicians around the world have watched as strain after strain of the deadly bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis evolves resistance to drugs.

2 Sep 2013

Combating antibiotic resistance: an interview with Ron Najafi, CEO NovaBay Pharmaceuticals

Approximately 80 years ago the first antibiotic was discovered by Sir Alexander Fleming, for which he was justifiably awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine.

2 Aug 2013

Scientists solve structure of infection tool used by Yersinia bacterium

Abdominal pain, fever, diarrhoea -- these symptoms could point to an infection with the bacterium Yersinia. The bacterium's pathogenic potential is based on a syringe-like injection apparatus called injectisome.

1 Aug 2013

Structural properties have changed across bacterial families without putting limits on antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been emerging at an alarming rate. In some of the scariest of these pathogens, the mechanism responsible for the bacteria's ability to defeat antibiotics is a complex protein molecule embedded in the bacterial cell wall -- the enzyme β-lactamase.

20 Jul 2013

Researchers discover role of TonB bacterial protein that causes various diseases

A Kansas State University-led study has discovered the role of a protein in bacteria that cause a wide variety of diseases, including typhoid fever, plague, meningitis and dysentery. The results may lead to new and improved antibiotics for humans and animals.

2 Jul 2013

Scientists discover new drug that cripples TB bug by dissolving its protective fatty coating

Most humans would like to shed their fatty exteriors, but tuberculosis (TB)-causing bacteria rely on theirs for survival. Scientists at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-New Jersey Medical School have now discovered a drug that cripples the TB bug by dissolving its protective fatty coating, a finding that could eventually be used to improve TB treatment in humans. The study has been posted online by Nature Chemical Biology.

19 Jun 2013

Comparison of 1,000-year-old and modern bacterial genomes provides insights into history of leprosy pathogen

From skeletons and biopsies, an international team of scientists was successful in reconstructing a dozen medieval and modern genomes of the leprosy-causing bacteria Mycobacterium leprae.

15 Jun 2013

Thioridazine works by weakening staphylococcal cell wall, new study reveals

In 2008 researchers from the University of Southern Denmark showed that the drug thioridazine, which has previously been used to treat schizophrenia, is also a powerful weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus).

18 May 2013

Investigators report that cell-permeable NLS peptide shows promise in controlling atherosclerotic disease

Atherosclerosis - sometimes called "hardening of the arteries" - is a leading cause of death and morbidity in Western countries. A cell-permeable peptide containing the NF-ĸB nuclear localization sequence (NLS) shows promise as a potential agent in controlling the development of atherosclerotic disease.

18 Apr 2013

Scientists uncover atomic structure of dermcidin

An international team of scientists has discovered how an important natural antibiotic called dermcidin, produced by our skin when we sweat, is a highly efficient tool to fight tuberculosis germs and other dangerous bugs.

22 Feb 2013

Blocking cholesterol biosynthesis pathway in cancer cells appears to improve ability of common drugs

Shutting down a specific pathway in cancer cells appears to improve the ability of common drugs to wipe those cells out, according to new research from scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center, published in the January issue of Cancer Discovery.

16 Jan 2013

New compound restores health of mice with MRSA infection

Researchers have discovered a new compound that restores the health of mice infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), an otherwise dangerous bacterial infection. The new compound targets an enzyme not found in human cells but which is essential to bacterial survival.

8 Jan 2013

New antibiotic principle for fighting bacterial infections

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have presented a new principle for fighting bacterial infections, in other words, a new type of antibiotic, in the FASEB Journal.

19 Dec 2012

Jagaricin and antifungal drugs: an interview with Prof Christian Hertweck

Most people have already experienced a fungal infection (mycosis) of the outer layer of the skin, athlete’s foot or ringworm. Whereas such infections may be cumbersome and often difficult to cure, usually they are not dangerous. However, in cases where a fungus causes a systemic infection, this is, it infects internal organs such as lungs or brain, the infection may turn into a life-threatening disease. Of course, only pathogenic fungi cause problems and the degree of virulence varies.

18 Dec 2012

Synthetic membrane channels can be constructed through DNA nanotechnology

As reported in the journal Science, physicists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) and the University of Michigan have shown that synthetic membrane channels can be constructed through "DNA nanotechnology."

21 Nov 2012

Metalloacid surfaces may be answer to hospital-acquired infections

Coating surfaces in metalloacids may help control the spread of hospital-acquired infections, suggest study findings.

14 Nov 2012

Scientists discover how external signals regulate vascular remodelling at cell level

Blood vessels are extremely dynamic: depending on the external conditions, they can adapt their permeability for nutrients, their contractility, and even their shape. Unlike cardiac muscle cells, for example, the smooth muscle cells in blood vessels demonstrate a high degree of plasticity, so they can specialise or multiply as required, even repairing damage to the vessel wall.

13 Nov 2012

Researchers figure out 3D shape of promising TB drug target

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have figured out the three-dimensional shape of the protein responsible for creating unique bonds within the cell wall of the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. The bonds make the bacteria resistant to currently available drug therapies, contributing to the alarming rise of these super-bacteria throughout the world.

26 Oct 2012

Study reveals atomic-level structure of the human peptidase enzyme meprin β

An international research team led by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and researchers from Kiel University revealed the atomic-level structure of the human peptidase enzyme meprin β (beta).

5 Oct 2012

Natural antibiotic to treat tuberculosis

A natural product secreted by a soil bacterium shows promise as a new drug to treat tuberculosis report scientists in a new study published in EMBO Molecular Medicine. A team of scientists working in Switzerland has shown how pyridomycin, a natural antibiotic produced by the bacterium Dactylosporangium fulvum, works.

17 Sep 2012