Pathogen News and Research

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Fetal immune cells are fast-acting first responders to microbes in adulthood

Cornell University researchers have discovered there is a division of labor among immune cells that fight invading pathogens in the body.

20 Jun 2018

Water-limited landscapes can facilitate disease transmission

In water-limited landscapes sick animals can have increased contact with healthy individuals, which can facilitate disease transmission. Scientists from the German Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research present these findings in the British Ecological Society journal Functional Ecology.

20 Jun 2018

Scientists create universal assembly method to enhance cancer therapy and diagnostics

Biophysicists have developed a method for modifying the surface of micro- and nanoparticles — tiny structures measuring between a thousandth and a millionth of a millimeter — by covering them with biological molecules. Engineered in this way, the particles can serve as both therapeutic and diagnostic agents, delivering drugs to cancer cells.

19 Jun 2018

Study demonstrates increased levels of gum disease in people at risk of rheumatoid arthritis

The results of a study presented at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology demonstrates increased levels of gum disease, and disease-causing bacteria, in individuals at risk of rheumatoid arthritis.

18 Jun 2018

Scientists discover vaccine that may rapidly fight cholera-causing bacteria

A tricked-out cholera vaccine starts protecting against the deadly disease within a day, experiments in rabbits suggest.

14 Jun 2018

Customising T-cells for cancer immunotherapy

T-cell immunotherapy is revolutionizing cancer treatments. CD8+ T cells are modified to recognize tumor-specific antigens and induce an immune response.

12 Jun 2018

Translate Bio collaborates with Sanofi to develop mRNA vaccines for infectious diseases

Translate Bio, a clinical-stage messenger RNA therapeutics company developing a new class of potentially transformative medicines to treat diseases caused by protein or gene dysfunction, announced today a multi-year research and development collaboration and exclusive licensing agreement with Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines global business unit of Sanofi, to develop mRNA vaccines for up to five undisclosed infectious disease pathogens.

11 Jun 2018

DHS accelerates development of new methods to detect emerging biothreats

Biothreats - harmful pathogens that are either naturally or deliberately released - pose a risk to national security and public health, and identifying new detection methods is a top priority for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate.

8 Jun 2018

Discovering Antibodies with Universal Specificity

Professor Hedda Wardemann discusses our current knowledge of antibody specificity and how her research team are challenging this, through the discovery of anti-bacterial antibodies with universal specificity.

1 Jun 2018

Bacterium causing nosocomial infections uses tiny finger-like structures to infect medical tools

The antibiotic-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii bacterium is one of the most globally harmful bacteria that causes nosocomial infections.

1 Jun 2018

Preventing Campylobacter infections from chicken eggs

Eggs are a popular food. In fact, Germans consumed almost 20 billion of them in 2016, which equates to a per capita consumption of 235 eggs.

31 May 2018

Study: Disease-causing stomach bacterium shuts down energy production in host cells

Researchers report in a new study that the bacterium Helicobacter pylori - a major contributor to gastritis, ulcers and stomach cancer - resists the body's immune defenses by shutting down energy production within the cells of the stomach lining that serve as a barrier to infection.

31 May 2018

Report establishes framework to identify microorganisms that could become global pandemic

Infectious disease preparedness work focuses predominantly on an historical list of pathogens derived from biological warfare agents, political considerations, and recent outbreaks.

29 May 2018

New environmental monitoring project finds increased numbers of deer ticks in Southern Indiana

A new environmental monitoring project at Indiana University has found increased numbers of the ticks that carry Lyme disease in Southern Indiana.

25 May 2018

NIH commences first-in-human trial evaluating experimental treatment for Ebola

A first-in-human trial evaluating an experimental treatment for Ebola virus disease has begun at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

24 May 2018

Pfizer starts Phase 1/2 study of RSV vaccine candidate in healthy adult volunteers

Pfizer Inc. today announced that it has started a Phase 1/2 trial of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine candidate in healthy adult volunteers. RSV is a common respiratory virus that affects the lungs and airways, with significant impact on young children and older adults.

22 May 2018

ECDC whole genome sequencing study helps understand prevalence of drug-resistant gonorrhea

Can whole genome sequencing illustrate changes in drug susceptibility of gonorrhoea to antimicrobials used for treatment and so help to define more effective treatment regimens? The first study of this kind within an international surveillance programme for sexually transmitted infections shows distribution of drug-resistant gonorrhoea strains across Europe.

17 May 2018