Pathogen News and Research

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UAB discovery may offer new therapeutic approaches to asthma

University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers have found a previously unknown step in the pathway that leads to asthma, a discovery that may offer new therapeutic approaches to this incurable disease. Asthma affects more than 25 million people in the United States, including about 7 million children.

27 Jan 2016

Neurons protect intestinal tissue from over-inflammation

The immune system exercises constant vigilance to protect the body from external threats--including what we eat and drink. A careful balancing act plays out as digested food travels through the intestine. Immune cells must remain alert to protect against harmful pathogens like Salmonella, but their activity also needs to be tempered since an overreaction can lead to too much inflammation and permanent tissue damage.

25 Jan 2016

New machine-learning technique could be used to uncover previously unknown features of organisms

A powerful new machine-learning technique can be applied to large datasets in the biological sciences to uncover previously unknown features of organisms and their genes, according to a team led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

22 Jan 2016

New technique may accelerate development of novel vaccines

An interdisciplinary team of Oxford University researchers has devised a new technique to speed up the development of novel vaccines.

20 Jan 2016

Rice scientists develop new tool to analyze thermal behaviors of DNA and RNA strands

Rice University scientists have developed a tool to speed the design of molecular diagnostics that depend on the specific recognition of pathogen DNA and RNA.

20 Jan 2016

Profectus begins Phase 1 clinical study of VesiculoVax-vectored Ebola virus vaccine

Profectus BioSciences, Inc., a clinical-stage vaccine company developing novel vaccines for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and the treatment of cancer, announced today the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical study of Profectus' VesiculoVax-vectored Ebola virus vaccine.

19 Jan 2016

Antivirulence antibiotics could evade resistance longer than traditional antibiotics

We've all seen the headlines. "Man found to be shedding virulent strain of polio"; "Virulent flu strain in Europe hits the economy"; "Most virulent strain of E. coli ever seen contains DNA sequences from plague bacteria."

19 Jan 2016

Researchers engineer antibodies that could potently neutralize two deadliest strains of Ebola virus

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases have engineered the first antibodies that can potently neutralize the two deadliest strains of the virus that causes Ebola hemorrhagic fever.

13 Jan 2016

Researcher seeks to identify probiotic mixes to treat Clostridium difficile infections

Antibiotics that fight infection can adversely affect the digestive tract and give destructive bacteria a chance to flourish, said assistant professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences Joy Scaria of South Dakota State University. His research seeks to identify probiotic mixes to treat intestinal infections, such as Clostridium difficile.

12 Jan 2016

UA researchers find genetic mutations associated with respiratory disease

Asthma affects more than 278 million people worldwide and can lead to serious consequences later in life. While current approved therapies address symptoms, they do not halt disease progression.

11 Jan 2016

Virginia Tech scientists find potential way to influence memory formation in the immune system

Scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have found a potential way to influence long-term memory formation in the immune system. The researchers published their results today in Nature Communications.

11 Jan 2016

Mosquitoes known to transmit dengue, chikungunya more likely to lay eggs in water sources near flowers

Certain mosquitoes are more likely to lay eggs in water sources near flowers than in water sources without flowers, according to an article published in the Journal of Medical Entomology.

6 Jan 2016

Good bacteria can help inhibit growth of S. pneumoniae

A new study from the Forsyth Institute is helping to shed more light on the important connections among the diverse bacteria in our microbiome. According to research published in mBio, scientists at Forsyth, led by Dr. Katherine P. Lemon, along with their collaborator at Vanderbilt University, have demonstrated that a harmless bacterium found in the nose and on skin may negatively impact the growth of a pathogen that commonly causes middle ear infections in children and pneumonia in children and older adults.

6 Jan 2016

Body can control pathogen-induced inflammatory response, find Georgia State researchers

The body can control inflammatory response triggered by invasions of microbial pathogens, such as bacteria and viruses, a discovery that could lead to the development of new therapeutic agents for uncontrolled inflammation, according to researchers at Georgia State University.

29 Dec 2015

Newly discovered molecular mechanism may provide alternative explanation for antibiotic resistance

The bacterium B. cereus had so far been considered to be exclusively endospore-forming. In response to harsh conditions, the bacteria form protective endospores enabling them to remain dormant for extended periods. When conditions are more favourable, the endospores reactivate to become fully functioning bacteria.

28 Dec 2015

Study shows why immune system fails to develop immunity during malaria infection

Australian scientists have for the first time revealed how malaria parasites cause an inflammatory reaction that sabotages our body's ability to protect itself against the disease.

26 Dec 2015

Study shows pathogens can survive in dry foods for long periods of time

Researchers at the University of Georgia found that pathogens, like salmonella, can survive for at least six months in cookies and crackers.

23 Dec 2015

New easy-to-use computer program can quickly identify drug-resistant infections

Scientists have developed an easy-to-use computer program that can quickly analyse bacterial DNA from a patient's infection and predict which antibiotics will work, and which will fail due to drug resistance. The software is currently being trialled in three UK hospitals to see whether it could help speed up diagnosis of drug-resistant infections and enable doctors to better target the prescription of antibiotics.

21 Dec 2015

Australian researchers develop new technique to combat chronic bacterial infections in hospitals

One of the scourges of infections in hospitals – biofilms formed by bacteria that stick to each other on living tissue and medical instruments, making them harder to remove – can be tricked into dispersing with the targeted application of nanoparticles and heat, researchers have found.