Plague News and Research

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A selection of today's opinions and editorials

"The American people deserve facts and a fair discussion of what's most important as Congress tackles healthcare reform. AARP and the American Medical Association are committed to preserving the best of our current system and to working to improve it with policies that expand coverage, improve quality and make insurance more affordable" (Jennie Chin Hansen and J. James Rohack, 10/19).

19 Oct 2009

NIH awards Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center $38.2M in grants

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has been awarded $38.2 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

12 Oct 2009

Experts to develop effective surveillance system to monitor emerging infections at global level

Avian influenza (H5N1), rabies, plague, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), and more recently swine flu (H1N1) are all examples of diseases that have made the leap from animals to humans.

8 Oct 2009

Universal Detection signs deal with U.S. to become Featured U.S. Exporter of bioterrorism monitoring equipment in France

Universal Detection Technology, a developer of early-warning monitoring technologies to protect people from bioterrorism and other infectious health threats and provider of counter-terrorism consulting and training services, announced today that the company has entered an agreement with U.S. Department of Commerce's Commercial Service to become a Featured U.S. Exporter (FUSE) of bioterrorism monitoring equipment in France.

6 Oct 2009

Non-human primate study results of Restanza released

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc., today announced positive top-line results from a pivotal, non-human primate study involving its novel, once-a-day, oral antibiotic Restanza(TM) (cethromycin) demonstrating statistical significance at a 90% survival rate against an inhaled lethal dose of plague.

30 Sep 2009

Universal Detection Technology to showcase its TS-10-5-agent biodetection kit

Universal Detection Technology, a developer of early-warning monitoring technologies and counter-terrorism training programs to protect people from bioterrorism and other infectious health threats, announced today that it will be showcasing its TS-10-5-agent biodetection kit at ASIS International 2009 in Anaheim, California.

18 Sep 2009

Book on the effects of antibiotic-resistant microbes

In RISING PLAGUE: THE GLOBAL THREAT FROM DEADLY BACTERIA AND OUR DWINDLING ARSENAL TO FIGHT THEM (Prometheus Books, $26), Dr. Brad Spellberg-an infectious diseases specialist and member of a national task force charged with attacking antibiotic resistant infections-tells the story of this potentially grave public health crisis.

18 Sep 2009

FDA grants orphan drug status to Advanced Life Sciences' Restanza

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: ADLS) today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to Restanza(TM) (cethromycin), its novel, once daily oral antibiotic, for the prophylactic treatment of plague and tularemia. Both tularemia and plague are classified by the Centers for Disease Control as Category A Bioterrorism Agents, which is the highest priority classification.

16 Sep 2009

Death stench is a warning sign to prevent diseases

The smell of recent death or injury that repels living relatives of insects has been identified as a truly ancient signal that functions to avoid disease or predators, biologists have discovered.

14 Sep 2009

Scientist awarded grant to study the role of VENs in quick decision making

A scientist at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the James S. McDonnell Foundation to help study a rare cell type that is believed to play a role in quick decision making and intuition. Abnormalities in this cell type have been seen in people suffering from autism and dementia.

10 Sep 2009

Polymedix And UMass receive Phase I STTR contract for research on drug-resistant bacteria treatments

PolyMedix, Inc. (OTC BB: PYMX, www.polymedix.com), an emerging biotechnology company developing acute care products for infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, and the University of Massachusetts, have received a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contract in the amount of $100,000 to support research to identify lead antimicrobial compounds to effectively treat multi-drug resistant and biofilm-embedded bacteria.

28 Aug 2009

New findings to prevent urinary tract infections

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center may have a new way to stop and even prevent the urinary tract infections (UTIs) that plague more than a third of all adults, some of them repeatedly.

21 Aug 2009

Scientists create new method to detect genetic causes of complex diseases

Computational biologists at Carnegie Mellon University have developed an analytical technique to detect the multiple genetic variations that contribute to complex disease syndromes such as diabetes, asthma and cancer, which are characterized by multiple clinical and molecular traits.

14 Aug 2009

Bloomberg examines China plague cases, potential for disease spread

"Plague-spreading fleas are expanding their territory, putting more people at risk of catching the lethal illness, a WHO official said," Bloomberg reports, in an article that examines the recent deaths of three people in China from the pneumonic plague.

6 Aug 2009

Plague in China; U.S. contribution to clean water initiatives; TB vaccine trial; HIV in Mozambique; New HIV strain

A third person died of pneumonic plague in China on Monday, local health authorities said, Xinhua reports. The outbreak began on July 30 and an additional nine people in the town of Ziketan are reportedly ill (8/3). "Pneumonic plague, which attacks the lungs, is closely related to bubonic plague," writes the New York Times.

4 Aug 2009

Seattle-area health cooperative offers alternative health system model

Innovations in care by a Seattle-area cooperative and clinic are shaping debate about what health care reform around America should look like, The New York Times reports.

7 Jul 2009

Race disparities plague treatment and outcomes in health care

CNN examines race disparities in health care during a 4-minute segment that is part of the station's week-long focus on health care issues.

21 Jun 2009

Bacteria of the Yersinia genus possess a unique protein thermometer

Bacteria are experts at adaptation: as soon as they have infected an organism, they adapt their metabolism to that of their host and produce substances which protect them from the body's immune defences. How they do this is still unknown in the case of many types of bacteria.

20 May 2009

New understanding of 3D structure of bacterial secretion proteins

New details of the composition and structure of a needlelike protein complex on the surface of certain bacteria may help scientists develop new strategies to thwart infection.

26 Apr 2009

Breakthrough in generating safer, therapeutic stem cells from adult cells

The new technique solves one of the most challenging safety hurdles associated with personalized stem cell-based medicine because for the first time it enables scientists to make stem cells in the laboratory from adult cells without genetically altering them.

23 Apr 2009