Microbiology News and Research

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EU-funded project examines environmental impact of nanosilver T-shirts

Silver has been used as biocide for medical purposes since the 1930s. Today nanometric size silver particles are used to prevent unpleasant odour caused by bacteria in sport shirts or socks.

15 Apr 2013

Researchers create complete visual map of telomerase enzyme

Like finally seeing all the gears of a watch and how they work together, researchers from UCLA and UC Berkeley have, for the first time ever, solved the puzzle of how the various components of an entire telomerase enzyme complex fit together and function in a three-dimensional structure.

15 Apr 2013

New approaches to treat persistent viral infections like HIV and hepatitis C

UCLA scientists have shown that temporarily blocking a protein critical to immune response actually helps the body clear itself of chronic infection. Published in the April 12 edition of Science, the finding suggests new approaches to treating persistent viral infections like HIV and hepatitis C.

12 Apr 2013

Researchers unravel dual role of tumor necrosis factor in TB

Tumor necrosis factor - normally an infection-fighting substance produced by the body- can actually heighten susceptibility to tuberculosis if its levels are too high.

12 Apr 2013

Newly characterized adenoviruses can cause severe human infections

The ongoing dance between a virus and its host distinctly shapes how the virus evolves. While human adenoviruses typically cause mild infections, recent reports have described newly characterized adenoviruses that can cause severe, sometime fatal, human infections.

12 Apr 2013

Rising temperature induces key changes in dengue virus

Researchers have discovered that rising temperature induces key changes in the dengue virus when it enters its human host, and the findings represent a new approach for designing vaccines against the aggressive mosquito-borne pathogen.

12 Apr 2013

UT MD Anderson scientist receives AACR-CRI Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology

The scientist whose discoveries led to the first drug approved for metastatic melanoma by "treating the immune system, not the cancer," also is the first to receive the AACR-CRI Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology.

12 Apr 2013

Virginia Tech scientists provide new evidence that biofilms are at work in survival of Salmonella

Virginia Tech scientists have provided new evidence that biofilms - bacteria that adhere to surfaces and build protective coatings - are at work in the survival of the human pathogen Salmonella.

11 Apr 2013

UC Riverside expert to give free lecture on waterborne diseases

When we turn on the tap to get a glass of water, we just assume that it is safe to drink. But is it really safe? And, what exactly is "safe"?

10 Apr 2013

Newly discovered mouse viruses can pave the way for future progress in hepatitis research

Newly discovered mouse viruses could pave the way for future progress in hepatitis research, enabling scientists to study human disease and vaccines in the ultimate lab animal.

9 Apr 2013

Medicago, IDRI to present Phase I clinical results of H5N1 vaccine at World Vaccine Congress

IDRI, a Seattle-based non-profit research organization that is a leading developer of adjuvants used in vaccines combating infectious disease, and Medicago Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing highly effective and competitive vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus-Like Particles, today announced that they will be presenting positive interim Phase I clinical results for their H5N1 Avian Influenza VLP vaccine candidate "H5N1 vaccine" at the World Vaccine Congress.

9 Apr 2013

Study offers new possibilities for developing potent antibacterial drugs

A new study which was performed jointly at Ume- University and the University of Washington in Seattle, USA, discovered that bacteria can degrade the cell membrane of bacterial competitors with enzymes that do not harm their own membrane.

5 Apr 2013

People to participate in Rally for Medical Research to raise awareness of NIH funding

On April 8 at 11 a.m., thousands of people will gather on the Carnegie Library grounds to participate in the Rally for Medical Research to raise awareness of the critical need to make funding for the National Institutes of Health a priority.

5 Apr 2013

Non-invasive gut health testing breakthrough

Health and functional claims made for foods such as probiotics still need to prove their effectiveness ― an important part of the answer rests in our small intestines and their role in digestion, and immunity.

5 Apr 2013

Research findings provide insight into severe bacterial infectious diseases

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report that a pathogen annually blamed for an estimated 90 million cases of food-borne illness defeats a host's immune response by using a fat-snipping enzyme to cut off cellular communication.

5 Apr 2013

Finding solutions to protect U.S. troops against invisible killers

A Saint Louis University researcher has received a contract worth up to $980,000 to see if two cancer medications have the potential of protecting U.S. troops from biological agents that could be unleashed during an attack.

4 Apr 2013

Glowing bacteria inside squids use light and chemical signals to control circadian rhythms

Glowing bacteria inside squids use light and chemical signals to control circadian-like rhythms in the animals, according to a study to be published on April 2 in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

4 Apr 2013

LSUHSC researchers study common STI

Research led by David H. Martin, MD, Professor and Chief of Infectious Diseases at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has found that a common sexually transmitted infection-causing parasite "cultivates" bacteria beneficial to it, changing thinking about which comes first-infection or bacteria.

3 Apr 2013

Antibodies neutralize mosquito-transmitted chikungunya virus, researchers reveal

Researchers have learned the precise structure of the mosquito-transmitted chikungunya virus pathogen while it is bound to antibodies, showing how the infection is likely neutralized.

3 Apr 2013

Microbiology testing services now offered by Ceram

Ceram, the international materials testing and development company, has announced that it is now offering microbiology testing services for the healthcare industries, thanks to a partnership with a leading UK microbiological testing lab.

2 Apr 2013