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New miniature sensors for analysing DNA

The sensors have the same size and thickness as a fingernail and reduce the time needed to identify DNA chains to several minutes or a few hours, depending on each chain.

3 Apr 2005

Newly emerging illness, named staphylococcal purpura fulminans

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have identified a newly emerging illness, named staphylococcal purpura fulminans. The disease begins as a respiratory tract infection, which then is infected by Staphylococcus aureus.

30 Mar 2005

Antibodies from tobacco plants protect against anthrax

Scientists have produced, in tobacco plants, human antibodies that could be used to treat anthrax exposure. They reported their findings at the 2005 American Society for Microbiology Biodefense Research Meeting.

23 Mar 2005

Fabric treated with an antimicrobial compound can kill dormant anthrax spores

Military textile fabric treated with an antimicrobial compound can kill dormant anthrax spores and could provide the basis for enhancing military protection in the event of a biological attack. Scientists from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD) reported their findings at the 2005 American Society for Microbiology Biodefense Research Meeting.

23 Mar 2005

No serious adverse events found with next-generation smallpox vaccine

Interim data from a phase I/II clinical trial of a next-generation vaccine for smallpox suggest that the vaccine may provide immunity and thus far the trial has been without any serious adverse events.

22 Mar 2005

Link between a critical cancer pathway and an Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) protein

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified a link between a critical cancer pathway and an Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) protein known to be expressed in a number of EBV-associated cancers.

15 Mar 2005

Bird flu could kill 2 million Brits

A UK expert is warning that the bird flu pandemic is imminent and inevitable and two million Britons could die.

14 Mar 2005

Research shows how bacteria respond when subjected to environmental alterations in space stations

An article in Journal of Applied Microbiology investigates how bacteria respond when they are subjected to environmental alterations, such as those of space stations, which feature lowered effects of gravity.

14 Mar 2005

Research could lead to new drugs that combat HIV infection by shutting down the virus's assembly lines

After infecting a susceptible cell, the human immunodeficiency virus hijacks that cell's normal machinery to produce carbon copies of itself. New HIV particles roll off the cellular assembly lines, burst like bubbles out of the cell, and float off to invade other cellular factories.

14 Mar 2005

DNA weak links may provide clues to cancer biology

The chromosomes of mammals, including humans, contain regions that are particularly prone to breaking under conditions of stress and in cancer. Now, new research by geneticists at Duke University Medical Center finds that yeast cells also contain such weak links in DNA and begins to reveal the molecular characteristics of these links that might help to explain them.

13 Mar 2005

Norovirus found to cause traveler's diarrhea

A majority of traveler’s diarrhea cases among U.S. travelers to Mexico and Guatemala were attributed to Norovirus, a common cause of nonbacterial gastroenteritis outbreaks usually associated with developed countries, according to a new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions.

8 Mar 2005

Genetic examinations of trauma, burn victims produce consistent results

A genetic tool with the potential to identify which trauma and burn patients are most likely to become seriously ill has worked consistently in a wide range of experimental clinical settings - an important hurdle to overcome before the method is routinely used in emergency rooms and intensive care units.

7 Mar 2005

Diseases caused by the environment

While many infectious diseases are caused by human-to-human transmission, others are caused by microorganisms that exist in the outside environment.

6 Mar 2005

Chips may cause cancer

Acrylamide, a contaminant shown to cause cancer in animals forms in the high-temperature frying, roasting or baking of foods like potato chips and crisps, coffee, and pastries, sweet biscuits, breads, rolls and toast, and may be a public health concern, according to two UN agencies.

5 Mar 2005

Government is treating the symptoms and not fighting the causes of infectious diseases

The Microbiology Awareness Campaign gathered momentum this week at the House of Lords when scientists informed Peers and MPs that new and re-emerging infectious diseases could spell trouble if not tackled soon.

3 Mar 2005

OPAL, major discovery in the fight against AIDS

Australian researchers have made a major discovery in the fight against AIDS, with the development of a novel, simple and safe technique for boosting the body’s immune response to deadly viruses like HIV, which is even effective against drug resistant forms of the disease.

1 Mar 2005

Microsoft combs through millions of strains of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Microsoft Research has pioneered promising new ways to combat one of humankind's most deadly viruses with advanced software typically used to analyze large computer databases and complex digital images, or to separate spam from legitimate e-mail.

23 Feb 2005

Antibody that neutralizes most HIV strains

A group of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and several other institutions has solved the structure of a rare human antibody that broadly neutralizes human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

22 Feb 2005

Three-day antibiotic treatment for treating bladder infections in women

A three-day regimen of the antibiotic amoxicillin-clavulanate is not as effective as ciprofloxacin at treating an uncomplicated bladder infection in women, according to a study conducted by Thomas M. Hooton, M.D., of the University of Washington and Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, and colleagues.

21 Feb 2005

Studies reveal methods viruses use to sidestep immune system

A series of studies by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center sheds light on the mechanisms used by viruses to thwart a host's immune defenses and may aid in the development of more effective drugs to fight hepatitis C and West Nile viruses, as well as the flu and the common cold.

17 Feb 2005

Microbiology News and Research

New miniature sensors for analysing DNA

Newly emerging illness, named staphylococcal purpura fulminans

Antibodies from tobacco plants protect against anthrax

Fabric treated with an antimicrobial compound can kill dormant anthrax spores

No serious adverse events found with next-generation smallpox vaccine

Link between a critical cancer pathway and an Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) protein

Bird flu could kill 2 million Brits

Research shows how bacteria respond when subjected to environmental alterations in space stations

Research could lead to new drugs that combat HIV infection by shutting down the virus's assembly lines

DNA weak links may provide clues to cancer biology

Norovirus found to cause traveler's diarrhea

Genetic examinations of trauma, burn victims produce consistent results

Diseases caused by the environment

Chips may cause cancer

Government is treating the symptoms and not fighting the causes of infectious diseases

OPAL, major discovery in the fight against AIDS

Microsoft combs through millions of strains of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Antibody that neutralizes most HIV strains

Three-day antibiotic treatment for treating bladder infections in women

Studies reveal methods viruses use to sidestep immune system

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