Microbiology News and Research

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Treating ticks with antibiotics inhibits their reproduction

Bacteria that may provide ticks with essential nutrients they can't get from their meals of blood could be a key to controlling ticks and the diseases they carry, a new study published in the PLoS ONE shows.

4 May 2007

3M and Gen-Probe collaborate to combat healthcare-associated infections

3M and Gen-Probe have announced that the companies have formed an exclusive worldwide collaboration to develop and commercialize rapid, easy-to-use nucleic acid tests to detect certain dangerous healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

1 May 2007

New searchable influenza gene database

A Medical College of Wisconsin and Children's Research Institute team in Milwaukee has created a free, searchable genetic database that will significantly improve diagnostic testing and genetic tracking of human and animal influenza viruses.

26 Apr 2007

Surprising new theory on antibiotic resistance

A surprising new theory developed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha, Nebraska, suggests that some bacterial cells act as "suicide bombers" in cell communities, with the altruistic intention of dying for the common good - and in the process, strengthening other cells that then become resistant to antibiotic drugs.

25 Apr 2007

Researchers find way to kill cystic fibrosis superbug, Burkholderia cenocepacia

Researchers from the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at The University of Western Ontario , working with a group from Edinburgh, have discovered a way to kill the cystic fibrosis superbug, Burkholderia cenocepacia.

25 Apr 2007

Stomach bacteria may protect against asthma

Researchers have found that a bacteria found in the stomach, that can cause cancer and peptic ulcers, may have a role in protecting children from asthma.

24 Apr 2007

Chitin compound causes allergic inflammation

The beetle's back and the crab's shell owe their toughness to a common compound called chitin that now appears to trigger airway inflammation and possibly asthma, UCSF scientists have found.

24 Apr 2007

Study links Helicobacter pylori to asthma prevention

The stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which causes stomach cancer and peptic ulcers, may not be all bad.

24 Apr 2007

Discovery may change thinking on how viruses invade the brain

A molecule thought crucial to ferrying the deadly rabies virus into the brain, where it eventually kills, apparently isn't.

20 Apr 2007

Method of mass-producing disease-fighting antibodies entirely within bacteria

The group led by Dr. George Georgiou developed the new antibody-production approach to improve upon processes used previously to identify new drugs.

19 Apr 2007

Researchers use bacterium to obtain biopreservatives from food

The research group "Estudio de sustancias antagonistas producidas por microorganismos" (Antagonistic substances produced by microorganisms), part of the Microbiology Department of the University of Granada, has succeeded in isolating enterocin AS-48, which could have a medium-term use as food biopreservative.

18 Apr 2007

LaeA gene shown to be an ideal prospect for new ways to fight infection

For the growing number of people with diminished immune systems - cancer patients, transplant recipients, those with HIV/AIDS - infection by a ubiquitous mold known as Aspergillus fumigatus can be a death sentence.

15 Apr 2007

First successful attempt to determine the structure of RfaH transcription factor

The results of a new study suggest that bacteria that cause diseases like bubonic plague and serious gastric illness can turn the genes that make them infectious on or off.

15 Apr 2007

Avista Capital acquires BioReliance from Invitrogen

Avista Capital Partners has announced it has completed its acquisition of BioReliance Corporation, a business unit of Invitrogen Corporation for approximately $210 million.

15 Apr 2007

FDA approves GlaxoSmithKline's antibacterial Altabax

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its antibacterial Altabax for the topical treatment of impetigo due to susceptible strains of Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pyogenes, the two most common types of bacteria in this kind of infection.

14 Apr 2007

Freedom from the egg holds much promise for new flu vaccines

An experimental flu vaccine made in insect cells – not in eggs, where flu vaccines currently available in the United States are grown – is safe and as effective as conventional vaccines in protecting people against the flu, according to results published in the April 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association .

11 Apr 2007

CD4 Initiative to develop easy to use device that can measure CD4+ T-lymphocytes in HIV+ patients

Researchers at Rush University Medical Center have been selected to participate in a collaborative initiative to develop a simple, affordable and rapid test to measure the immune systems of people infected with HIV/AIDS in developing countries.

4 Apr 2007

Need for a national database of epidural complications

Researchers have called for a national database to be set up to identify major complications arising from epidural pain relief after a small number of serious problems were identified during a six-year UK study, according to the April issue of Anaesthesia.

4 Apr 2007

Recognition for cancer researchers

World-class cancer researchers whose science has significantly contributed to progress in the fight against cancer will be recognized April 14-18, 2007, by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) at its 2007 Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, Calif.

3 Apr 2007

Rabies vaccine approach against HIV shows promise

Rabies, a relentless, ancient scourge, may hold a key to defeating another implacable foe: HIV. Scientists at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia have used a drastically weakened rabies virus to ferry HIV-related proteins into animals, in essence, vaccinating them against an AIDS-like disease.

3 Apr 2007