Microbiology News and Research

RSS

Scientists uncover molecule that keeps pathogens like salmonella in check

Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found a potential new way to stop the bacteria that cause gastroenteritis, tularemia and severe diarrhea from making people sick.

21 Aug 2008

Rifamycin antibiotics attack tuberculosis bacteria with walls, not signals

Amid concerns about the rising number of new tuberculosis cases worldwide, researchers led by Rockefeller University's Seth A. Darst have reexamined and disproved a theory that describes how a potent class of antibiotics kills a deadly form of bacteria. The findings, which will appear in this week's online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, not only bring scientists closer to understanding how these antibiotics work but also how the bacteria become resistant to their effects.

19 Aug 2008

Stanford develop method to overcome multiple drug resistant diseases

Many drugs once considered Charles Atlases of the pharmaceutical realm have been reduced to the therapeutic equivalent of 97-pound weaklings as the diseases they once dispatched with ease have developed resistance to them.

18 Aug 2008

Evolution in the ribosome

A new study of the ribosome, the cell's protein-building machinery, sheds light on the oldest branches of the evolutionary tree of life and suggests that differences in ribosomal structure between the three main branches of that tree are "molecular fossils" of the early evolution of protein synthesis.

18 Aug 2008

Scientists discover platelets play an important early role in promoting cerebral malaria

Platelets - those tiny, unassuming cells that cause blood to clot and scabs to form when you cut yourself - play an important early role in promoting cerebral malaria, an often lethal complication that occurs mostly in children.

18 Aug 2008

Researchers uncover attack mechanism of illness-inducing bacterium found in shellfish

An infectious ocean-dwelling bacterium found in oysters and other shellfish kills its host's cells by causing them to burst, providing the invader with a nutrient-rich meal, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

18 Aug 2008

Researchers show how DNA repairs may reshape the genome

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center and at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) have shown how broken sections of chromosomes can recombine to change genomes and spawn new species.

13 Aug 2008

Scientists discover new species of bacteria in the mouth

Scientists have discovered a new species of bacteria in the mouth. The finding could help scientists to understand tooth decay and gum disease and may lead to better treatments, according to research published in the August issue of the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.

10 Aug 2008

Rresearchers explain how previously ignored parts of HIV genome play key role in drug resistance

One of the major reasons that treatment for HIV/AIDS often doesn't work as well as it should is resistance to the drugs involved. Now, scientists at McGill University have revealed how mutations hidden in previously ignored parts of the HIV genome play an important role in the development of drug resistance in AIDS patients. Their study will be published Aug. 8 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

31 Jul 2008

Some bacteria steal iron from their human hosts - discovery could lead to new ways to fight tuberculosis

Like their human hosts, bacteria need iron to survive and they must obtain that iron from the environment. While humans obtain iron primarily through the food they eat, bacteria have evolved complex and diverse mechanisms to allow them access to iron.

31 Jul 2008

An unsuspected weakness in tuberculosis - potential drug target

With antibiotic resistance on the rise, tuberculosis is emerging as a bigger global health threat than ever before.

31 Jul 2008

Raltegravir drug combo works against highly resistant strain of HIV

A study involving an international team of scientists has discovered that a new drug when combined with other anti-HIV medications, is particularly effective against a highly resistant strain of the HIV virus.

24 Jul 2008

Hormesis deserves the respect and attention of toxicologists

A comprehensive review published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry argues that toxicologists can positively affect public health and reduce the economic costs of drug treatment by increasing their knowledge of hormesis and applying its principles to their discipline.

17 Jul 2008

MedMira Inc. awarded US patent for rapid test technology

MedMira Inc. announced today that it received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its rapid flow-through test (RFT) methodology, the technology platform its rapid tests are built on.

17 Jul 2008

New British consortium to tackle healthcare associated infections

Just over 8% of all hospital inpatients in England develop a healthcare associated infection, with this figure rising to 23% in intensive care units. Preventing and controlling the transmission of infection is a key priority for those involved in healthcare.

16 Jul 2008

FA imaging, invented at U-M, measures metabolic stress in retina - serves as early warning of diabetes

A new vision screening device, already shown to give an early warning of eye disease, could give doctors and patients a head start on treating diabetes and its vision complications, a new study shows.

14 Jul 2008

Potential treatment for TB solves puzzle

Scientists have uncovered a new target for the potential treatment of TB, finally resolving a long-running debate about how the bacterial cell wall is built.

13 Jul 2008

Scientists mimic molecules to protect against plague

Bacteria that cause pneumonic plague can evade our first-line defences, making it difficult for the body to fight infection. In fact, a signature of the plague is the lack of an inflammatory response. Now, scientists have discovered a way to protect against death following infection with plague bacteria, by using molecules that can mimic the pathogens. According to research published in the July issue of Microbiology, these molecules make antibiotics more effective and can even be used to protect against other diseases.

13 Jul 2008

Researchers crack final part of the immune system code

A group of researchers at the Technical University of Denmark and the University of Copenhagen have developed models of neural networks that make it possible to simulate how the body protects itself from disease and predict the immune system's access codes.

10 Jul 2008

Enzyme may explain how hepatitis C infection causes fatty liver

A key enzyme may explain how hepatitis C infection causes fatty liver - a buildup of excess fat in the liver, which can lead to life-threatening diseases such as cirrhosis and liver cancer, report University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and School of Medicine researchers.

10 Jul 2008