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Annual flu vaccine may offer protection regardless of any viral strain, says Penn State physician

Every year at this time, we hear it's time to get the flu shot. After last year's vaccine missed the mark, how does the Center for Disease Control regain the public's confidence that their predictions will hold up this year? With the facts.

26 Sep 2015

Discovery may lead to global battle against malaria

Tropical medicine experts from Tübingen have discovered malaria parasites of the Plasmodium brasilianum species in Yanomami indigenous Indians on the border between Venezuela and Brazil. These had only been found in monkeys in the past. The parasites are also described as quartan plasmodia, as they cause outbreaks of fever every four days. The infection can lead to complications and chronic sicknesses.

26 Sep 2015

Soft palate study reveals how flu viruses acquire the ability to move between people

National Institutes of Health scientists and their colleagues identified a previously unappreciated role for the soft palate during research to better understand how influenza (flu) viruses acquire the ability to move efficiently between people.

26 Sep 2015

Creating a new paradigm for management of yeast infections

Yeasts are unicellular microorganisms classified within the Fungi kingdom. They are well known for their use in baking, winemaking and beer brewing fermentation, but some species of yeast are opportunistic pathogens that can cause infections in humans. "Today, yeast infections are poorly understood, difficult to diagnose, and are becoming increasingly frequent and serious, affecting over 300 million people worldwide.

26 Sep 2015

H7N9 influenza vaccine failure may be due to immune camouflage, study reveals

The avian influenza A (H7N9) virus has been a major concern since the first outbreak in China in 2013. Due to its high rate of lethality and pandemic potential, H7N9 vaccine development has become a priority for public health officials. However, candidate vaccines have failed to elicit the strong immune responses necessary to protect from infection.

25 Sep 2015

Researchers develop chip-based instrument for reliable detection of Ebola virus

A team led by researchers at UC Santa Cruz has developed chip-based technology for reliable detection of Ebola virus and other viral pathogens. The system uses direct optical detection of viral molecules and can be integrated into a simple, portable instrument for use in field situations where rapid, accurate detection of Ebola infections is needed to control outbreaks.

25 Sep 2015

HIV cure research may shift from single-therapy development model to combination therapy trials

The next five years of HIV research should shift gears from the classic single-therapy development model to moving directly from in vitro studies to combination therapy trials, authors argue in a new paper published online today.

25 Sep 2015

BD Life Sciences announces FDA clearance for BD MAX Enteric Parasite Panel

BD Life Sciences, a segment of global medical technology company BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), today announced the availability of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared BD MAX Enteric Parasite Panel for use on the BD MAX System.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 24 Sep 2015

Researchers reveal potential new treatment methods for fatal brain disease

Researchers from the University of Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich reveal possible new treatment methods for a rare, usually fatal brain disease. Thanks to their discovery that specific antibodies play a key role in combating the viral infection, a vaccine against the disease "progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy" could now be developed.

24 Sep 2015

People who visit South London parks at risk of coming into contact with ticks linked to Lyme disease

Visitors to 2 popular parks in South London are at risk of coming into contact with ticks that can transmit Lyme disease to humans, according to a new study in Medical and Veterinary Entomology.

24 Sep 2015

Stanford researchers successfully defeat C. difficile bacteria

Stanford University School of Medicine scientists successfully defeated a dangerous intestinal pathogen, Clostridium difficile, with a drug targeting its toxins rather than its life.

24 Sep 2015

Soft palate plays key role in viruses' ability to spread

Flu viruses come in many strains, and some are better equipped than others to spread from person to person. Scientists have now discovered that the soft palate -- the soft tissue at the back of the roof of the mouth -- plays a key role in viruses' ability to travel through the air from one person to another.

24 Sep 2015

MIT researchers devise new system to genetically engineer viruses to combat harmful bacteria

In the hunt for new ways to kill harmful bacteria, scientists have turned to a natural predator: viruses that infect bacteria. By tweaking the genomes of these viruses, known as bacteriophages, researchers hope to customize them to target any type of pathogenic bacteria.

23 Sep 2015

TSRI scientists awarded grant from Gates Foundation to develop revolutionary alternative HIV/AIDS vaccine

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have been awarded up to nearly $6 million dollars from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a revolutionary HIV/AIDS alternative vaccine that has demonstrated great potential in animal models.

23 Sep 2015

Radboud university medical center reveals how BCG vaccine works against tuberculosis

Not only the acquired immune system but also the innate immune system has a memory. And the BCG vaccine against tuberculosis can stimulate this memory. After a BCG vaccination the innate immune system responds better to a wide range of other infections. Mihai Netea and colleagues from Radboud university medical center discovered and described how that works. They think that the old vaccine could be useful for specific target groups, such as the elderly.

23 Sep 2015

Novel mechanism may help explain the virulence of 1918 'Spanish' flu

While yearly outbreaks of flu kill about 250,000 to 500,000 people worldwide, the 1918 "Spanish" flu infected one-third of the world's population and killed 50 million to 100 million. Chad Petit, Ph.D., assistant professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, has discovered a novel mechanism for one 1918 flu virus protein that may help explain the virulence of that unusually deadly pandemic.

23 Sep 2015

TTUHSC El Paso researcher awarded $375,000 grant to develop genetically altered TB vaccines

A $375,000 grant from the Robert J. Kleberg Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation was awarded to Subramanian Dhandayuthapani, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Center of Emphasis in Infectious Diseases at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, to develop genetically altered vaccines against tuberculosis (TB).

23 Sep 2015

Optum and AMGF launch pilot collaborative to enhance adult vaccination rates

The American Medical Group Foundation (AMGF) and Optum, with support from Pfizer, are launching a pilot collaborative to improve adult vaccination rates.

23 Sep 2015

Older pneumonia patients can benefit from ICU admission

When an older person gets hospitalized for pneumonia, where's the best place to care for them? New research findings about deaths and health care costs in such patients fly in the face of conventional wisdom - and could change where doctors decide to treat them.

23 Sep 2015

Novel graphene oxide-based biosensor may speed up development of new drugs against HIV, cancer

Longing to find a cure for cancer, HIV and other yet incurable diseases, researchers have already tried out hundreds of drugs, each requiring preclinical and clinical testing with live subjects. How many chemical agents more to try? Moving at such rate, will we find the cure during our lifetime? One of the easiest ways to speed up the drug development process is to simply perform it outside of the living body (e.g., by watching the substances react with the smallest pieces of live tissue and thus quickly predicting the overall effect it will make to the body when inside).

23 Sep 2015

Disease/Infection News

Annual flu vaccine may offer protection regardless of any viral strain, says Penn State physician

Discovery may lead to global battle against malaria

Soft palate study reveals how flu viruses acquire the ability to move between people

Creating a new paradigm for management of yeast infections

H7N9 influenza vaccine failure may be due to immune camouflage, study reveals

Researchers develop chip-based instrument for reliable detection of Ebola virus

HIV cure research may shift from single-therapy development model to combination therapy trials

BD Life Sciences announces FDA clearance for BD MAX Enteric Parasite Panel

Researchers reveal potential new treatment methods for fatal brain disease

People who visit South London parks at risk of coming into contact with ticks linked to Lyme disease

Stanford researchers successfully defeat C. difficile bacteria

Soft palate plays key role in viruses' ability to spread

MIT researchers devise new system to genetically engineer viruses to combat harmful bacteria

TSRI scientists awarded grant from Gates Foundation to develop revolutionary alternative HIV/AIDS vaccine

Radboud university medical center reveals how BCG vaccine works against tuberculosis

Novel mechanism may help explain the virulence of 1918 'Spanish' flu

TTUHSC El Paso researcher awarded $375,000 grant to develop genetically altered TB vaccines

Optum and AMGF launch pilot collaborative to enhance adult vaccination rates

Older pneumonia patients can benefit from ICU admission

Novel graphene oxide-based biosensor may speed up development of new drugs against HIV, cancer

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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