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Probiotic yogurt protects children, pregnant women against heavy metal exposure

Yogurt containing probiotic bacteria successfully protected children and pregnant women against heavy metal exposure in a recent study.

7 Oct 2014

Penn Medicine to explore therapeutic strategies for HIV positive women at risk of cervical cancer

The introduction of antiretroviral drugs in Botswana over the last two decades has increased the life expectancies of people living with HIV—many of whom are women co-infected with the human papillomavirus virus (HPV)—considerably: from 39 years to the low 60s. As a result, this co-infected group of women is at a much higher risk of developing HPV-associated cervical cancer.

7 Oct 2014

Scientists shed new light on how LAMR1 and Gal-3 proteins can cause meningitis, septicaemia

Previously undiscovered secrets of how human cells interact with a bacterium which causes a serious human disease have been revealed in new research by microbiologists at The University of Nottingham.

5 Oct 2014

Luminex gets FDA approval to add three new targets to xTAG Gastrointestinal Pathogen Panel

Luminex Corporation today announced it has received U.S. FDA clearance to add three new targets to its xTAG Gastrointestinal Pathogen Panel (GPP). The targets include Adenovirus 40/41, Entamoeba histolytica and Vibrio cholerae.

From Luminex 30 Sep 2014

Research: Gut bacteria may cause animals to gain weight

A species of gut bacteria called Clostridium ramosum, coupled with a high-fat diet, may cause animals to gain weight. The work is published this week in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

30 Sep 2014

Study provides support for new understanding of the immune system

A study published in the journal Science provides support for a new-and still controversial-understanding of the immune system. The research was conducted by collaborators in the U.S. and Europe, including Robert Cramer, PhD, an assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at the Geisel School of Medicine and member of the Dartmouth Lung Biology Center, and Kelly Shepherdson, PhD, at the time a graduate student in Cramer's lab.

29 Sep 2014

Prevalence of NTDs in Latin American countries presents opportunity for US foreign policy

Recently published prevalence estimates of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in five Latin American countries - Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela - could suggest a new direction for United States foreign policy in the region, according to a tropical-disease expert at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

26 Sep 2014

Three institutions collaborate to develop vaccine to treat pneumonia

The long-observed association between pneumonia and heart failure now has more physical evidence, thanks to research in the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

26 Sep 2014

Ohio State researchers develop novel anticancer peptide vaccines and inhibitors

Researchers have developed two new anticancer peptide vaccines and two peptide inhibitors as part of a larger peptide immunotherapy effort at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

25 Sep 2014

UC Riverside collaborating on NSF-funded project to study ancient lineages of fungi

The University of California, Riverside is one of 11 collaborating institutions that have been funded a total of $2.5 million by the National Science Foundation for a project focused on studying zygomycetes - ancient lineages of fungi that include plant symbionts, animal and human pathogens and decomposers of a wide variety of organic compounds.

24 Sep 2014

DNA sequencing may lead to greater care for patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia

A patient survives life-threatening trauma, is intubated in the intensive care unit (ICU) to support his or her affected vital functions, starts to recover, and then develops pneumonia.

23 Sep 2014

Rutgers awarded $2 million NIH grant to prepare students for academic research careers

Rutgers is one of seven institutions in the country selected by the National Institutes of Health to receive this year's BEST Award - a $2 million grant designed to expose many of the university's most promising biomedical sciences graduate trainees to career opportunities that go beyond the academic path that they have traditionally taken.

23 Sep 2014

New approach to diagnose tuberculosis

Researchers working in the UK and The Gambia, have developed a new approach to the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) that relies on direct sequencing of DNA extracted from sputum (a technique called metagenomics) to detect and characterize the bacteria that cause TB without the need for time-consuming culture of bacteria in the laboratory.

23 Sep 2014

Influenza can cause ear and throat infections

Influenza infection can enhance the ability of the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae to cause ear and throat infections, according to research published ahead of print in the journal Infection and Immunity.

23 Sep 2014

LSU Health researchers reveal how Chop plays crucial role to combat cancer

Research led by Paulo Rodriguez, PhD, an assistant research professor of Microbiology, Immunology & Parasitology at LSU Health New Orleans' Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, has identified the crucial role an inflammatory protein known as Chop plays in the body's ability to fight cancer.

19 Sep 2014

Common type of hospital-associated infections can be prevented with vaccine

The most common type of hospital-associated infection may be preventable with a vaccine, new research in mice suggests.

18 Sep 2014

NIH and West African leaders to discuss current crisis of Ebola outbreak at TJU

Leaders from West African Nations and representatives from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will attend a meeting on September 22nd from 3:00-5:15 pm at Thomas Jefferson University to discuss the current crisis and plan future collaborations.

16 Sep 2014

MSU researchers show how bacterial immune systems fight off viruses

When this week's print issue of the journal Science comes out, a collective cheer will go up from New Mexico, Montana and even the Netherlands, thanks to the type of collaborative effort that is more and more the norm in these connected times. Yes, the research was brilliant, and if we're lucky, it will produce innovations in biology, medicine, biotechnology and agriculture. It could save lives, and it happened because this scientist talked with that one, that one knew another one, and brilliant minds overcame geographic distance to advance human understanding.

16 Sep 2014

More research needed to prevent brains of sportspeople from injury

Two University of Birmingham academics are calling for more research to be carried out looking at how the brains of sportspeople - including children - react when they receive a blow to the head.

11 Sep 2014

Novel virus could be source of severe respiratory disease in ball pythons

Researchers have identified a novel virus that could be the source of a severe, sometimes fatal respiratory disease that has been observed in captive ball pythons since the 1990s. The work is published this week in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

9 Sep 2014