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Los Alamos' predictive AI computer model wins FluSight Challenge

A probabilistic artificial intelligence computer model developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory provided the most accurate state, national, and regional forecasts of the flu in 2018, beating 23 other teams in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's FluSight Challenge. The CDC announced the results last week.

22 Oct 2019

E. coli bacteria study may provide clues about drug resistance

Swapping a single amino acid in a simple bacterial protein changes its structure and function, revealing the effects of complex gene evolution, finds a new study published in the journal eLife.

22 Oct 2019

Research introduces a revolutionary treatment for infections

Titanium has many properties that make it a great choice for use in implants. Its low density, high stiffness, high biomechnanical strength-to-weight ratio, and corrosion resistance have led to its use in several types of implants, from dental to joints.

22 Oct 2019

Ebola virus vaccine still effective against the infection even in low concentrations

The Ebola virus (EBOV), variant Makona, was the causative agent of the 2014-2016 West African epidemic that took over 11,000 lives and infected nearly 30,000 people. But with the combination of globally-supported containment efforts, health experts were able to track the spread of the outbreak, as well as use precautionary and quarantine procedures.

21 Oct 2019

Patients with diabetes may have worse lung infections

People with diabetes are at a higher risk of various complications, including worse respiratory diseases. One of the most dreaded lung diseases is the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

21 Oct 2019

Neutrophil extracellular traps could cause organ damage in malaria

Malaria is one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases: a small mosquito bite delivers numerous malaria parasites into the bloodstream. The human body defends itself valiantly against the parasite, which usually results in periodic flu-like symptoms and severe fever. Severe cases of the disease are accompanied by tissue damage and result in potentially fatal organ failure.

21 Oct 2019

TB care reaches 7 million says WHO report

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a report on the latest status of treatment of tuberculosis worldwide. The report shows that around the world more people are getting adequate care for tuberculosis in 2018 than ever before but some vulnerable populations are still left out.

21 Oct 2019

OPAT adherence device took top prize at IDEA Incubator competition

A device designed to improve adherence to outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy took top prize at the second IDEA Incubator, a competition showcasing inventions, products and devices to improve patient care for infectious diseases, which takes place during IDWeek.

18 Oct 2019

Highly diluted candidate Ebola vaccine remains fully protective against disease in macaques

A single dose of a highly diluted VSV-Ebola virus vaccine--approximately one-millionth of what is in the vaccine being used to help control the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)--remains fully protective against disease in experimentally infected monkeys, according to National Institutes of Health scientists.

18 Oct 2019

Researchers identify new TB enzyme target to help fight deadly infection

Researchers have found a crucial enzyme in tuberculosis (TB) to target, allowing the development of new treatments to help fight against the disease's drug resistance.

18 Oct 2019

Research could open a promising new path to control schistosomiasis

Scientists have isolated a natural chemical that acts as a potent kryptonite against parasitic worms that burrow through human skin and cause devastating health problems.

From PLOS ONE 18 Oct 2019

Does bipolar disorder increase the risk of Parkinson's disease?

A review published by the JAMA Network has found that the risk of Parkinson's disease is significantly higher in those with bipolar disorder.

18 Oct 2019

Novel approach brings researchers one step closer to universal flu vaccine

The scourge of the influenza virus devastates health and claims many lives worldwide each year. It is especially daunting because vaccines are only protective when they are well matched to the strains circulating in the population.

18 Oct 2019

Lyme vaccine on the horizon, says new study

Lyme disease is a dreaded disease caused by the bite of an infected tick. The only way to prevent it is by not getting bitten by the tick. However, this is not a practical recommendation, since even today about 300,000 thousand people are diagnosed with this infection, in the US alone, and over 100,000 in Europe, each year.

17 Oct 2019

Research could lead to new ways to fight against schistosomiasis

Scientists at the Morgridge Institute for Research have isolated a natural chemical that acts as a potent kryptonite against schistosomes, the parasitic worms that burrow through human skin and cause devastating health problems.

17 Oct 2019

Raw pet food a risk for humans and animals

The team wrote, “Feeding pets raw meat-based diets (RMBDs) has become increasingly popular but may constitute a risk due to the contamination with pathogenic and antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria.”

17 Oct 2019

WHO report finds that TB continuous to be the leading infectious disease killer

Following today's release of the World Health Organization's Global Tuberculosis Report 2019, the American Thoracic Society joins the WHO in calling for redoubled efforts to end the global TB pandemic by 2030, the goal set by the global community in the United Nations Political Declaration to End Tuberculosis on Sept. 26, 2018.

17 Oct 2019