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UC Riverside researchers identify immune protein that protects the body from infections

Researchers in the School of Medicine at the University of California, Riverside have identified an immune protein in mice that is quickly triggered in the body following infection and serves to protect the body's tissues. Called "RELMalpha," this protein, whose homologue in humans is called "resistin," is responsible more for protecting the body than attacking the parasite.

30 Mar 2016

Putative male-determining gene discovery could help develop strategies to combat malaria

A group of scientists, including one from the University of California, Riverside, have discovered a long-hypothesized male determining gene in the mosquito species that carries malaria, laying the groundwork for the development of strategies that could help control the disease.

30 Mar 2016

Research on multiple sexual behaviors among men is lacking

Sexual health research focused on men who have sex with men is lacking, according to health researchers, even in the midst of rising rates of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, in this population.

30 Mar 2016

New device can deliver diagnosis to patient in 30 minutes

When a person contracts a disease, it takes time to diagnose the symptoms. Cell culturing, immunoassay and a nucleic-acid based diagnostic cycle all take several days, if not a week to determine the results. Not only do sick patients suffer during this time period, the wait can also lead to unnecessary disease spreading and perhaps avoidable antibiotic use.

30 Mar 2016

Research describes first new mouse model for Zika infection in decades

Efforts to combat the rapid spread of Zika virus got a boost this week as researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston (UTMB) announced the first peer-reviewed publication of a mouse model for Zika infection reported in decades.

30 Mar 2016

Multiple combination therapies could prevent malaria resistance

In order to preserve first-line drugs for treating malaria, multiple combination therapies should be deployed within a population to prevent resistance from developing, according to Maciej Boni from the Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, University of Oxford, UK, and colleagues in a Policy Forum article published in this week's PLOS Medicine.

30 Mar 2016

Automated sample-to-answer system could make EVD diagnosis easier

An automated "sample-to-answer" system could provide Ebola virus disease (EVD) diagnosis more quickly and easily than the current standard test, according to research published this week in PLOS Medicine.

30 Mar 2016

Researchers explore four potential treatments for Lyme disease

The ticks that transmit Lyme disease have multiplied aggressively over the past 20 years, and now thrive in half of all counties in the U.S., according to a recent study in the Journal of Medical Entomology.

30 Mar 2016

UGA and Sanofi Pasteur researchers develop new H1N1 influenza vaccine

Researchers at the University of Georgia and Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, announced today the development of a vaccine that protects against multiple strains of both seasonal and pandemic H1N1 influenza in mouse models.

30 Mar 2016

Alternative policy for Ebola entry screening at U.S. airports

As of January 31, 2016, a total of 28,639 cases and 11,316 deaths have been attributed to Ebola, figures that are assumed to significantly underestimate the actual scope of the 2014 Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever outbreak in West Africa. In the United States, there were also two imported cases and two locally acquired cases reported in September/October 2014.

29 Mar 2016

Failure to complete antibiotics could lead to additional treatment for existing skin infection

In the first study of its kind, researchers found patients with S. aureus skin and soft tissue infections took, on average, just 57% of their prescribed antibiotic doses after leaving the hospital, resulting in nearly half of them getting a new infection or needing additional treatment for the existing skin infection.

29 Mar 2016

Researchers use novel technology to sequence Y chromosome in malaria spreading mosquitoes

A team of researchers with the Fralin Life Science Institute at Virginia Tech, working with a large international consortium, has sequenced the Y chromosome--the genetic driver of sex-determination and male fertility-- in a family of malaria spreading mosquitoes.

29 Mar 2016

Protease inhibitors may prevent cardiovascular disease risk caused by HIV medications

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 37 million people are living with HIV. Antiviral medications are used to control the disease and prevent its progression to AIDS.

29 Mar 2016

Study traces ancient history of malaria evolution

A new analysis of the prehistoric origin of malaria suggests that it evolved in insects at least 100 million years ago, and the first vertebrate hosts of this disease were probably reptiles, which at that time would have included the dinosaurs.

29 Mar 2016

New drug regimens could significantly improve treatment for tuberculosis

Researchers from UCLA and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have made an important step toward a substantially faster and more effective treatment for tuberculosis, which infects some 10 million people and causes 1.5 million deaths each year.

29 Mar 2016

UCI researchers get $8 million to help develop new vaccine for Q fever

A University of California, Irvine scientific team led by infectious diseases researchers Philip Felgner and Aaron Esser-Kahn has received $8 million from the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Threat Reduction Agency to help develop a new vaccine for Q fever.

29 Mar 2016

High-throughput RNA interference screen identifies potential drug target against henipaviruses

The closely related Hendra and Nipah viruses (referred to jointly as henipaviruses) are deadly cousins of the more common mumps, measles, and respiratory syncytial viruses, all members of the paramyxovirus family. Henipavirus outbreaks are on the rise, but little is known about them, partly because research has to be conducted under extreme level containment conditions.

28 Mar 2016

Engineered HIV vaccine protein may prevent HIV infection

Some people infected with HIV naturally produce antibodies that effectively neutralize many strains of the rapidly mutating virus, and scientists are working to develop a vaccine capable of inducing such "broadly neutralizing" antibodies that can prevent HIV infection.

28 Mar 2016

Yellow fever outbreak in Angola kills 178 people

Angola is grappling with a yellow fever outbreak, which has infected more than 450 people and killed 178 – the first epidemic of the disease to hit the country in 30 years.

28 Mar 2016

Study reveals new hypothesis on evolution of hundreds of malaria species

A study published this week in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution reveals a new hypothesis on the evolution of hundreds of species of malaria - including the form that is deadly to humans.

26 Mar 2016