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New noninvasive chemical probe detects common species of staph bacteria in the body

Chances are you won't know you've got a staph infection until the test results come in, days after the symptoms first appear. But what if your physician could identify the infection much more quickly and without having to take a biopsy and ship it off for analysis?

From Integrated DNA Technologies 3 Feb 2014

Keystone Symposia to convene conference focusing on the science of malaria eradication

Keystone Symposia, in collaboration with MESA (Malaria Eradication Scientific Alliance), is convening its first conference in Mexico – on "The Science of Malaria Eradication" at the Fiesta Americana Hotel in Merida, Yucatan. The four-day conference begins Sunday evening, February 2, 2014 and is part of the Keystone Symposia Global Health Series, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has also funded travel awards for investigators from malaria-endemic countries to attend. The conference will gather experts from 37 countries.

31 Jan 2014

Researchers develop antibiotic "smart bomb" that can identify specific strains of bacteria

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a de facto antibiotic "smart bomb" that can identify specific strains of bacteria and sever their DNA, eliminating the infection. The technique offers a potential approach to treat infections by multi-drug resistant bacteria.

31 Jan 2014

Researchers identify components of C. diff bacteria that can be used to develop better treatment

Rhode Island Hospital researchers have identified components in Clostridium difficile (C. diff) that may lead to new diagnostic tools, and ultimately more timely and effective treatment for this often fatal infection. C. diff is a spore-forming bacterium that causes severe diarrhea and is responsible for 14,000 deaths annually in the U.S. The study is published online in advance of print in the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.

31 Jan 2014

Novel approaches could lead researchers to develop new vaccine for East Coast fever, malaria

The Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute announced today that a global consortium supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been formed to develop a new vaccine against a disease that's devastating cattle herds in sub-Saharan Africa. This highly advanced cattle vaccine project could also help malaria and cancer research in humans.

31 Jan 2014

Llama-derived antibodies open door to development of new treatments for C. difficile infections

Researchers from the Alberta Glycomics Centre at the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta, in collaboration with researchers at the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa, have revealed the first molecular views showing how highly specific antibodies derived from llamas may provide a new method for controlling deadly infections from the opportunistic bacterial pathogen Clostridium difficile (C. difficile).

31 Jan 2014

Researchers gain better understanding of HIV infection through electron microscopy

The human intestinal tract, or gut, is best known for its role in digestion. But this collection of organs also plays a prominent role in the immune system. In fact, it is one of the first parts of the body that is attacked in the early stages of an HIV infection. Knowing how the virus infects cells and accumulates in this area is critical to developing new therapies for the over 33 million people worldwide living with HIV. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology are the first to have utilized high-resolution electron microscopy to look at HIV infection within the actual tissue of an infected organism, providing perhaps the most detailed characterization yet of HIV infection in the gut.

30 Jan 2014

Geranium plant extracts prevent HIV-1 from invading human cells

Extracts of the geranium plant Pelargonium sidoides inactivate human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and prevent the virus from invading human cells. In the current issue of "PLOS ONE", scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München report that these extracts represent a potential new class of anti-HIV-1 agents for the treatment of AIDS.

30 Jan 2014

Scientists to develop faster method for pathogen screening in food products

The regular appearance of food poisoning in the news, including a recent event that led to the recall of more than 33,000 pounds of chicken, drives home the need for better bacterial detection long before meats and produce make it to the dinner table.

30 Jan 2014

CONRAD receives USAID Pioneers Prize for developing tenofovir gel to reduce HIV infection in women

CONRAD, a leading reproductive health-research organization based at Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), today announced that they are a winner of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Science and Technology Pioneers Prize for their work in developing tenofovir gel.

29 Jan 2014

Researchers identify chemical substance to treat bacterial infections

Increasing numbers of bacteria are developing antibiotic resistance. This forms a significant challenge in the battle against bacterial infections. Alvin Lo and Han Remaut (VIB/Vrije Universiteit Brussel) have identified a chemical substance with the potential of acting as a new drug to treat bacterial infections, particularly urinary tract infections.

29 Jan 2014

Study suggest that unique environmental stimulus may interact with genetic trait to initiate type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is a genetically-driven autoimmune disease of pancreatic beta-cells, whose origins remain unknown. Researchers at the Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) discovered that skin cells from patients with type 1 diabetes display abnormal activity triggered by immune response mechanisms to environmental stimuli like a viral infection.

29 Jan 2014

Biologists identify protein targets for next-generation of anti-HIV drugs

People infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) can stave off the symptoms of AIDS thanks to drug cocktails that mainly target three enzymes produced by the virus, but resistant strains pop up periodically that threaten to thwart these drug combos.

29 Jan 2014

Researchers create vaginal cream using silver nanoparticles to control transmition of HIV

The product has proven efficiency in lab tests, although clinical trials are yet to be performed. After discovering that silver nanoparticles are capable of blocking the entry of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) into the organism, a group of researchers from the University of Texas, in collaboration with Humberto Lara Villegas, specialist in nanoparticles and virology from the University of Monterrey, Mexico (UDEM), create a vaginal cream to control the transmition of the virus.

28 Jan 2014

Disease/Infection News

New noninvasive chemical probe detects common species of staph bacteria in the body

Keystone Symposia to convene conference focusing on the science of malaria eradication

Researchers develop antibiotic "smart bomb" that can identify specific strains of bacteria

Researchers identify components of C. diff bacteria that can be used to develop better treatment

Novel approaches could lead researchers to develop new vaccine for East Coast fever, malaria

Llama-derived antibodies open door to development of new treatments for C. difficile infections

Researchers gain better understanding of HIV infection through electron microscopy

Geranium plant extracts prevent HIV-1 from invading human cells

Scientists to develop faster method for pathogen screening in food products

CONRAD receives USAID Pioneers Prize for developing tenofovir gel to reduce HIV infection in women

Researchers identify chemical substance to treat bacterial infections

Study suggest that unique environmental stimulus may interact with genetic trait to initiate type 1 diabetes

Biologists identify protein targets for next-generation of anti-HIV drugs

Researchers create vaginal cream using silver nanoparticles to control transmition of HIV

Patients' race or ethnicity linked with differences in prescription of HIV drug

Scientists produce new version of old antibiotic that is active against difficult-to-treat tuberculosis

Researchers discover unusually large bacteriophage that infects anthrax bacterium

FOB Synthesis enters into license agreement with AstraZeneca to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections

Scientists start clinical trial of EDP-788 oral antibiotic to treat MRSA infections

Study finds new class of semisynthetic anti-tuberculosis agents that overcome native drug efflux

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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