Pathogen News and Research

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New, inexpensive nano-biosensor can detect Listeria monocytogenes in food

The foodborne bacteria Listeria monocytogenes sickens about 2,500 people in the U.S. each year and many more worldwide, killing about 25-30% of those infected. Listeriosis is caused by eating food contaminated with L. monocytogenes, and current methods for detecting the bacteria are costly and time consuming.

13 Mar 2013

Pneumococcal vaccine pre-clinical development supported by £0.2 million award from Biomedical Catalyst

ImmBio (Immunobiology Ltd), a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative vaccines against serious infectious diseases, today announced that the UK government-backed Biomedical Catalyst has awarded the company approximately £0.2 million ($0.3 million) to support pre-clinical development of its pneumococcal vaccine, PnuBioVax™, which targets a wide range of strains of the bacteria.

12 Mar 2013

Study helps explain why viruses often spread through the brain in patchwork patterns

Viruses often spread through the brain in patchwork patterns, infecting some cells but missing others. New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis helps explain why. The scientists showed that natural immune defenses that resist viral infection are turned on in some brain cells but switched off in others.

8 Mar 2013

Southeast Asia's commercial trade plays a central role in spread of amphibian pathogens

A team of scientists led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the National University of Singapore (NUS), revealed in a new study, for the first time, the presence of the pathogenic chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) in amphibians sampled in Singapore. And the American bullfrog may be a central player in the spread of the disease.

8 Mar 2013

Idera announces new data from IMO-3100 and IMO-8400 preclinical study on psoriasis

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the presentation of new data showing that its selective Toll-like receptor antagonists, IMO-3100 and IMO-8400, normalized the gene expression of important cytokines in a preclinical study of skin inflammation that is commonly used as a model of psoriasis.

4 Mar 2013

Intralytix’s SalmoFresh food safety product receives GRAS recognition from FDA

Intralytix, Inc. announced today that its latest food safety product, SalmoFresh, has received GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) recognition from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

28 Feb 2013

Princeton metabolic model can predict how parasites would fare in altered climates

Knowing the temperatures that viruses, bacteria, worms and all other parasites need to grow and survive could help determine the future range of infectious diseases under climate change, according to new research.

27 Feb 2013

Dietary impacts, health changes and oral pathogen genomic evolution

DNA preserved in calcified bacteria on the teeth of ancient human skeletons has shed light on the health consequences of the evolving diet and behaviour from the Stone Age to the modern day.

18 Feb 2013

Researchers create new ultra-sensitive tool for chemical, DNA and protein analysis

Utilizing optical characteristics first demonstrated by the ancient Romans, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have created a novel, ultra-sensitive tool for chemical, DNA, and protein analysis.

16 Feb 2013

Biodiversity in large-scale ecosystems may also provide protection against diseases

The richer the assortment of amphibian species in a pond, the more protection that community of frogs, toads and salamanders has against a parasitic infection that can cause severe deformities, including the growth of extra legs.

16 Feb 2013

New research focuses on rapid identification of disease outbreaks

EcoHealth Alliance, the nonprofit organization that focuses on local conservation and global health issues, announced new research focused on the rapid identification of disease outbreaks in the peer reviewed publication, Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

15 Feb 2013

Researchers call for botulism testing in sick and healthy cows

Evidence of Clostridium botulinum and its toxin in milk and udder tissue samples from dairy cows has led German researchers to call for “statistically relevant testing of healthy and sick cows from healthy and affected farms.”

14 Feb 2013

DNAzymes and gold nanoparticles used to detect infectious diseases

Infectious diseases such as malaria and syphilis can be diagnosed rapidly and reliably in the field by using a simple test developed by Canadian scientists. The test is based on the use of DNAzymes and gold nanoparticles. As the researchers report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, their test allows for the sensitive detection of bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

12 Feb 2013

Oral Candida infection weakens tooth enamel

Oral infection with Candida albicans is associated with demineralization of tooth enamel, potentially increasing susceptibility to caries, research shows.

11 Feb 2013

Virginia Tech researchers reveal how 'bad' gut bacteria may help control diabetes

A stomach bacterium believed to cause health problems such as gastritis, ulcers, and gastric cancer may play a dual role by balancing the stomach's ecosystem and controlling body weight and glucose tolerance, according to immunologists at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute of Virginia Tech.

10 Feb 2013

Viral conjunctivitis: potential new treatment

Viral conjunctivitis is a highly contagious infection, often causing major ophthalmic epidemics. There is no approved acute treatment currently approved by the FDA for viral conjunctivitis. A safe broad-spectrum antiviral agent is needed to treat this unmet medical need.

5 Feb 2013

Luminex consolidated fourth quarter revenue increases 16% to $55.5 million

Luminex Corporation today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2012.

From Luminex 4 Feb 2013

Study shows how placental circulation can influence malarial parasite behavior and infection

Malaria in pregnancy causes a range of adverse effects, including abortions, stillbirths, premature delivery and low infant birth weight. Many of these effects are thought to derive from a placental inflammatory response resulting from interaction of infected red blood cells with the placental tissue.

3 Feb 2013

C. albicans capable of sexual reproduction

Like many fungi and one-celled organisms, Candida albicans, a normally harmless microbe that can turn deadly, has long been thought to reproduce without sexual mating. But a new study by Professor Judith Berman and colleagues at the University of Minnesota and Tel Aviv University shows that C. albicans is capable of sexual reproduction.

31 Jan 2013

GSU associate professor receives federal grant to bolster flu vaccine research

Sang-Moo Kang, associate professor at Georgia State University's Center for Inflammation, Immunity and Infection, has received a federal five-year, $3.4 million grant to bolster research that will lead to better flu vaccines and vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a disease for which there is no immunization.