Microbiology News and Research

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Tonsils reveal information that helps understand lupus

By snipping out and analyzing tiny samples of patients' tonsils, scientists have identified a key cellular checkpoint that is somehow bypassed in lupus patients, where harmful immune cells that normally are squelched by the body are mistakenly granted access.

9 Oct 2005

New report identifies over 40 infectious agents that pose significant human health problems in the United States or abroad

Vaccines have helped eradicate and tame some of history's worst infectious diseases, but there are many more diseases out there that vaccines can help overcome. The challenges society needs to confront to unlock the future promise of vaccines against the plagues of the 21st century are the focus of a new report by the American Academy of Microbiology.

9 Oct 2005

Deadly 1918 Spanish flue virus has been reconstructed and characterized

This research, reported in this week's issue of Science, is part of a larger research initiative being led by Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, PhD, Professor of Microbiology and Peter Palese, PhD, Professor and Chairman of Microbiology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

5 Oct 2005

Researchers identify gene defect in mice that causes cyclical hair loss and skin cancer

Researchers at Jefferson Medical College and at the Wadsworth Center in New York have identified a gene defect in mice resulting in a range of abnormalities, from cyclical hair loss and skin cancer to severe problems in normal skin development.

4 Oct 2005

Compounds secreted by frog skin are potent blockers of HIV infection

The findings could lead to topical treatments for preventing HIV transmission, and they reinforce the value of preserving the Earth's biodiversity.

3 Oct 2005

New genes tied to lifespan extension

Drastically reducing calorie intake, or caloric restriction, is known to extend the lifespan of species including yeast, worms and rodents. Previous research linked a gene called Sir2 with lifespan extension due to caloric restriction, but worms and yeast that lack Sir2 also live longer when put on a tough diet, showing that some other genes must be at work.

3 Oct 2005

Dengue and other viruses may have developed tricks that let them reproduce inside macrophages

A monoclonal antibody that can effectively treat mice infected with West Nile virus has an intriguing secret: Contrary to scientists' expectations, it does not block the virus's ability to attach to host cells. Instead, the antibody somehow stops the infectious process at a later point.

28 Sep 2005

Pursuit of potential drugs and small molecules that target the IGF-1 receptor

Pharmaceutical companies around the world still come knocking on Renato Baserga, M.D.,'s door. And for good reason.

27 Sep 2005

Cancer vaccine based on the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, can cure mice with breast tumors

A team from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has shown that by using a cancer vaccine based on the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, they can cure mice with established breast tumors. Cancer vaccines, which are more properly described as immunotherapy, work by boosting an immune response against tumor-associated antigens.

27 Sep 2005

Adults not washing hands

Ninety-one percent of American adults say they always wash their hands after using public restrooms. But just 83 percent actually did so, according to a separate observational study.

26 Sep 2005

Simple organism can produce 10 trillion varieties of a single protein

A team led by University of California, San Diego biochemists has discovered the mechanism by which a simple organism can produce 10 trillion varieties of a single protein, a finding that provides a new tool to develop novel drugs.

21 Sep 2005

Green tea may protect the brain against Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) have found that green tea may offer another potential health benefit - protecting the brain against the ravages of Alzheimer's disease.

20 Sep 2005

Unexpected link between the viruses that cause feline and human AIDS

A University of Florida researcher has discovered an unexpected link between the viruses that cause feline and human AIDS: Cats vaccinated with an experimental strain of the human AIDS virus appear to be at least as well-protected against the feline version of the disease as those immunized with the vaccine currently used by veterinarians.

10 Sep 2005

Safe, non-surgical method of identifying brain infections such as brain abscess

Researchers at Westmead Millennium Institute have discovered a safe, non-surgical method of identifying brain infections such as brain abscess, and an accurate and rapid way of diagnosing meningitis.

10 Sep 2005

Researchers uncover how the inhaled form of anthrax disarms bacteria-fighting white blood cells before they can fend off the disease

The lethal toxin in anthrax paralyzes neutrophils, the white blood cells that act as the body's first defense against infection, by impairing how they build tiny filaments that allow them to crawl throughout the body and eat invading bacteria.

6 Sep 2005

Relative of the celebrated COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib is tough tumor fighter

A close structural relative of the celebrated COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib (brand name: Celebrex) is a potent tumor fighter, able to wipe out tumor cells that are resistant to conventional chemotherapies, according to an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Southern California.

29 Aug 2005

Children are worst hit as India's encephalitis toll reaches 175

Reports say the number of deaths from an outbreak of Japanese encephalitis in India's Uttar Pradesh state has now risen to at least 175.

25 Aug 2005

C. elegans has similar virus-fighting mechanism as humans and can be used in research

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have discovered that a simple worm, called C. elegans, makes an excellent experimental host for studying some of the most virulent viruses that infect humans.

17 Aug 2005

How some antibiotics kill bacteria

Researchers have uncovered how members of one family of antibiotics kill bacteria that make people sick.

11 Aug 2005

Researchers develop new diagnostic methods to better detect future monkeypox or smallpox outbreaks

The research also sheds new light on the 2003 monkeypox outbreak in the Midwest - monkeypox is closely related to smallpox. This new information suggests that the 2003 outbreak was larger than the 72 cases reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

9 Aug 2005