Pathogen News and Research

RSS

Early adherence step in intestinal transit of Shigella discovered

The bacterial pathogen Shigella, often spread through contaminated food or water, is a leading cause of mortality in both children and older adults in the developing world.

4 Dec 2019

Ground breaking discovery could lead to new anti TB drugs

New drugs to treat strains of TB which have become resistant to treatment are now a possibility following a ground breaking discovery from the University of Surrey.

4 Dec 2019

New study could help prevent fatal infections in babies

Premature infants born before 28-30 weeks of life are at high risk for many complications, among which the chances of dying from an infection starting in the intestine are very great. A new study published in the journal Nature Medicine reports that such infections are very much more likely if something interferes with the normal microbial accumulation in the gut. Adding certain bacterial strains protects against such infections, on the other hand.

3 Dec 2019

Justinianic plague did not wipe out the Romans as history books tell us

A new study has revealed that it was not plague that killed half of the world’s population and thus proved to be the downfall of the Roman Empire as we know from history. The study was published this week in the latest issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study involved scholars from different fields including history, archaeology and science. The study is titled, “The Justinianic Plague: An inconsequential pandemic?”

3 Dec 2019

New model for late-onset sepsis explores potential treatments for neonatal infection

Extremely premature infants are at risk for life-threatening infections that spread into their bodies from the intestine. Infections after the first three days of life are called late-onset sepsis, or LOS.

3 Dec 2019

Leaky gut and space flight – the mechanism revealed

A new study on the effects of simulated microgravity, the condition that astronauts face in space, interferes with the epithelial barrier of the intestine, and the effect persists even after the astronaut returns to a normal environment. The research is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

28 Nov 2019

Scientists sheds light on small protein and its role in immune response

The immune system is the body’s defense against disease-causing pathogens. It works by warding off disease and potentially-damaging foreign bodies. Now, a team of researchers have developed a new method to shed light on the basic defense mechanism of the immune system.

27 Nov 2019

Attacking HIV at the source

A new study published on November 26, 2019, in the journal Cell Reports, details a new discovery that may help avert HIV infection right at the start. The virus is known to take a long time to infect a person, and the scientists say they have found a period during which it can be weakened or killed, in the very first hours after it has entered a host. They call this the window of vulnerability.

26 Nov 2019

Space travel can affect intestinal function of astronauts

Bacteria, fungi, and viruses can enter our gut through the food we eat. Fortunately, the epithelial cells that line our intestines serve as a robust barrier to prevent these microorganisms from invading the rest of our bodies.

26 Nov 2019

Simple precautions to avoid food poisoning during the holiday season

Preparing a holiday feast can begin as soon as you get home from the grocery store. But if you want to serve family and friends a delicious meal that keeps them coming back for more, food safety guidelines need to be part of the recipe.

26 Nov 2019

New way to thwart HIV infection at early stages

1.7 million. That's how many people are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) each year worldwide. 1.7 million people who are condemned to lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) or risk developing fatal AIDS . Out of the 37.9 million people living with HIV (PLWH), 22.3 million have access to ART, allowing them to have an almost normal lifespan.

26 Nov 2019

Researchers trace the origins and global spread of S. aureus lineages

Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen prone to developing antibiotic resistance, causing 120,000 cases of bloodstream infections every year in the United States and over 5000 in Australia; the mortality rate is around 25 per cent from each case.

26 Nov 2019

Researchers turn to older treatment methods for new health challenges

The last thing anyone wants during a stay in the hospital is a hospital-acquired infection. Nosocomial infections, as they are called, are on the rise as more pathogens become resistant to drugs currently available.

21 Nov 2019

Researchers discover new pathway to 'reprogram' killer cells

Killer cells of the immune system detect and kill infected cells or cancer cells. Researchers at the Institute of Pathology at the University of Bern have now discovered that the mechanism by which certain immune cells kill their target cells can also be used to control the killer cells themselves.

19 Nov 2019

New database helps identify therapeutic targets to fight infectious diseases

Infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms capable of entering, colonizing and growing within a host organism, thus producing an infection. Bacterial infections have been on the rise worldwide in recent years, but many mechanisms underlying bacterial pathogenesis are still poorly understood.

19 Nov 2019

The Black Death still lurks all over the world

Beijing, the capital of the economic giant, China, is in the news currently for a far different reason – two patients have developed pneumonic plague. The patients, who hail from Inner Mongolia’s northwestern corner, are being treated at a high-level hospital there, amidst 21 million other people. The health authorities say they have put in place adequate protection and control measures to keep the plague from spreading.

17 Nov 2019

Altering malarial parasite genes to prevent malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by the parasitic organism called Plasmodium, of which there are several types that cause the different kinds of malarial fever. This age-old infection still kills over 400,000 people every year, all over the world. A new study published in the journal Cell on November 14, 2019, shows how a simple tweaking of the genes of this organism could quite conceivably lead to the elimination of this disease altogether.

14 Nov 2019

Bacteriophages could treat E. coli without damaging the gut, new study says

Researchers in the US have developed a new therapy that uses a unique bacteriophage to treat E. coli infections.

13 Nov 2019

Bio–nano interactions help kill deadly microbes

Nanotechnology has been part of the changing world today. Nanoparticles, for instance, can help make materials lighter and stronger. They have been widely used across several industries, such as computers and medical technology.

11 Nov 2019

New way to measure white blood cell function provides prognostic information about patients with sepsis

Caring for a patient with sepsis requires walking a treatment tightrope. Clinicians must identify the pathogen that is causing a patient's infection, carefully monitor the patient's response to antibiotics and supportive measures and race against the clock to prevent potential organ failure and death.

11 Nov 2019