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SLU investigators find promising candidates for new herpes virus treatments

Saint Louis University research findings published in the December issue of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy report a family of molecules known as nucleotidyltransferase superfamily (NTS) enzyme inhibitors are promising candidates for new herpes virus treatments.

19 Dec 2014

Penn, UGA scientists awarded new contract to develop genome database for microbial pathogens

At the turn of the millennium, the cost to sequence a single human genome exceeded $50 million, and the process took a decade to complete. Microbes have genomes, too, and the first reference genome for a malaria parasite was completed in 2002 at a cost of roughly $15 million. But today researchers can sequence a genome in a single afternoon for just a few thousand dollars. Related technologies make it possible to capture information about all genes in the genome, in all tissues, from multiple individuals.

18 Dec 2014

Eight researchers to receive 2015 Leibniz Prize

The new recipients of Germany's most prestigious research funding prize have been announced. In Bonn today, the Joint Committee of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) decided to award the 2015 Leibniz Prize to eight researchers.

18 Dec 2014

Diabetes drug can boost efficacy of TB medication without causing drug resistance

A more effective treatment for tuberculosis (TB) could soon be available as scientists have discovered that Metformin (MET), a drug for treating diabetes, can also be used to boost the efficacy of TB medication without inducing drug resistance.

17 Dec 2014

Researchers identify 53 existing drugs that may block Ebola virus from entering human cells

Researchers found 53 existing drugs that may keep the Ebola virus from entering human cells, a key step in the process of infection, according to a study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the National Institutes of Health, and published today in the Nature Press journal Emerging Microbes and Infections.

17 Dec 2014

Roche announces launch of cobas Liat System for on-demand testing in different settings

Roche today announced the launch of the cobas Liat System—a fast, compact , easy to use, molecular diagnostic platform, designed for on-demand testing in physician clinics, pharmacies and hospital lab settings.

16 Dec 2014

Experiments to probe bacteria virulence in low gravity of space station

The University of Colorado Boulder will fly state-of-the-art hardware on the commercial SpaceX Dragon spacecraft launching to the International Space Station Dec. 19 to support experiments designed to better understand why the virulence of some pathogens increases in the low gravity of space.

14 Dec 2014

Zylast selected as a winner of USAID Fighting Ebola Grand Challenge

Zylast products have been selected as one of only three initial winners of the USAID Fighting Ebola Grand Challenge. The announcement, made from the White House, introduces Zylast as a solution to "help healthcare workers on the front lines provide better care and stop the spread of Ebola."

14 Dec 2014

Danish researchers working on new type of vaccine that targets disease causing bacterium

When we acquire diarrhea on a vacation, it is often caused by a bacterial infection. Now a Danish research team is working on a new type of vaccine design targeting the disease causing bacterium - if it works it may very well revolutionize not only the prevention of this disease, but also offer protection against other pathogens with a heavy disease burden such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

12 Dec 2014

Pitt researcher receives NSF grant to explore how long Ebola virus survives in environment

The Ebola virus travels from person to person through direct contact with infected body fluids. But how long can the virus survive on glass surfaces or countertops? How long can it live in wastewater when liquid wastes from a patient end up in the sewage system? In an article published Dec. 9 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters, Kyle Bibby of the University of Pittsburgh reviews the latest research to find answers to these questions.

11 Dec 2014

UT Southwestern microbiologists identify key gut bacteria that promotes foodborne infections

UT Southwestern Medical Center microbiologists have identified key bacteria in the gut whose resources are hijacked to spread harmful foodborne E. coli infections and other intestinal illnesses.

11 Dec 2014

Potential new active substances for treating dengue virus

Researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg are proposing potential new active substances for treating the dengue virus. Just like Ebola, dengue fever is also caused by a virus for which there is currently no cure and no vaccine and can be fatal.

11 Dec 2014

Scientists seek to improve stem cell transplant outcomes using DNA sequencing, mathematical modeling

Is the human immune system similar to the weather, a seemingly random yet dynamical system that can be modeled based on past conditions to predict future states? Scientists at VCU Massey Cancer Center's award-winning Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Program believe it is, and they recently published several studies that support the possibility of using next-generation DNA sequencing and mathematical modeling to not only understand the variability observed in clinical outcomes of stem cell transplantation, but also to provide a theoretical framework to make transplantation a possibility for more patients who do not have a related donor.

5 Dec 2014

NSF awards grants to advance Ebola research

The National Science Foundation has awarded the first of a number of rapid response grants to advance fundamental Ebola research.

5 Dec 2014

Garmatex, Diagnomics partner to develop healthcare products to prevent hospital-acquired infections

Garmatex Technologies, Inc., a leading inventor of performance fabric and apparel solution-focused technologies, has signed a Letter of Intent ("LOI") for a five year term with Diagnomics Inc., a biotech company that provides next-generation healthcare solutions from personal genomics.

3 Dec 2014

Researchers develop low-cost, electricity-free device for detecting DNA of infectious pathogens

Diagnosing HIV and other infectious diseases presents unique challenges in remote locations that lack electric power, refrigeration, and appropriately trained health care staff. To address these issues, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a low-cost, electricity-free device capable of detecting the DNA of infectious pathogens, including HIV-1.

2 Dec 2014

New research brings personalized cancer vaccine approach one step closer to reality

In the near future, physicians may treat some cancer patients with personalized vaccines that spur their immune systems to attack malignant tumors. New research led by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has brought the approach one step closer to reality.

27 Nov 2014

New microbial analysis has implications for protecting environment, energy recovery and human health

An international team of scientists from the Translational Genomics Research Institute and The Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine have completed a first-of-its-kind microbial analysis of a biological wastewater treatment plant that has broad implications for protecting the environment, energy recovery and human health.

27 Nov 2014

Unique ability helps prolific bacterium to afflict humans, animals and even plants

New research has found that one of the world's most prolific bacteria manages to afflict humans, animals and even plants by way of a mechanism not before seen in any infectious microorganism -- a sense of touch. This unique ability helps make the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa ubiquitous, but it also might leave these antibiotic-resistant organisms vulnerable to a new form of treatment.

23 Nov 2014

Infections due to Staphylococcus aureus bacterium aggravate neurodermatitis

Because the skin and its function as a barrier are severely compromised in neurodermatitis patients, a large number of bacterial species are able to multiply - including the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus.

21 Nov 2014

Pathogen News and Research

SLU investigators find promising candidates for new herpes virus treatments

Penn, UGA scientists awarded new contract to develop genome database for microbial pathogens

Eight researchers to receive 2015 Leibniz Prize

Diabetes drug can boost efficacy of TB medication without causing drug resistance

Researchers identify 53 existing drugs that may block Ebola virus from entering human cells

Roche announces launch of cobas Liat System for on-demand testing in different settings

Experiments to probe bacteria virulence in low gravity of space station

Zylast selected as a winner of USAID Fighting Ebola Grand Challenge

Danish researchers working on new type of vaccine that targets disease causing bacterium

Pitt researcher receives NSF grant to explore how long Ebola virus survives in environment

UT Southwestern microbiologists identify key gut bacteria that promotes foodborne infections

Potential new active substances for treating dengue virus

Scientists seek to improve stem cell transplant outcomes using DNA sequencing, mathematical modeling

NSF awards grants to advance Ebola research

Garmatex, Diagnomics partner to develop healthcare products to prevent hospital-acquired infections

Researchers develop low-cost, electricity-free device for detecting DNA of infectious pathogens

New research brings personalized cancer vaccine approach one step closer to reality

New microbial analysis has implications for protecting environment, energy recovery and human health

Unique ability helps prolific bacterium to afflict humans, animals and even plants

Infections due to Staphylococcus aureus bacterium aggravate neurodermatitis

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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