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SLU investigators find promising candidates for new herpes virus treatments

Saint Louis University research findings published in the December issue of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy report a family of molecules known as nucleotidyltransferase superfamily (NTS) enzyme inhibitors are promising candidates for new herpes virus treatments.

19 Dec 2014

Endogenous retroviruses also play critical role in the body's immune defense against pathogens

Retroviruses are best known for causing contagious scourges such as AIDS, or more sporadically, cancer.

19 Dec 2014

New analysis finds global improvements in life expectancy

Global life expectancy increased by 5.8 years in men and 6.6 years in women between 1990 and 2013, according to a major new analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013).

19 Dec 2014

LSDF announces $1.2 million in grants to foster advancement of promising health-related technologies

The Life Sciences Discovery Fund today announced $1.2 million in Proof of Concept grants to Washington-based organizations to foster the advancement of promising health-related technologies to commercial products. Also announced were two commercialization-focused awards, totaling $600,000, through a new funding program requiring external cash matching.

18 Dec 2014

Penn, UGA scientists awarded new contract to develop genome database for microbial pathogens

At the turn of the millennium, the cost to sequence a single human genome exceeded $50 million, and the process took a decade to complete. Microbes have genomes, too, and the first reference genome for a malaria parasite was completed in 2002 at a cost of roughly $15 million. But today researchers can sequence a genome in a single afternoon for just a few thousand dollars. Related technologies make it possible to capture information about all genes in the genome, in all tissues, from multiple individuals.

18 Dec 2014

Researchers find link between ferrets and humans

Research that provides a new understanding as to why ferrets are similar to humans is set to have major implications for the development of novel drugs and treatment strategies.

18 Dec 2014

New study highlights importance of generating awareness about HCV testing, support and care

A new study shows that many patients infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) are lost during different stages of health care to manage the disease. This real-life' view of the HCV patient care continuum in a major U.S. urban area is published in Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, and highlights the importance of generating awareness among clinicians and at-risk groups about appropriate HCV testing, referral, support and care.

18 Dec 2014

Chimerix, ContraVir collaborate to develop and commercialize antiviral drug candidate CMX157

Chimerix, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel, oral antivirals in areas of high unmet medical need, and ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of targeted antiviral therapies, announced today that the companies have entered into a strategic collaboration for the further clinical development and commercialization of CMX157.

18 Dec 2014

Researchers reveal common features responsible for antibiotic resistance

Treating bacterial infections with antibiotics is becoming increasingly difficult as bacteria develop resistance not only to the antibiotics being used against them, but also to ones they have never encountered before. By analyzing genetic and phenotypic changes in antibiotic-resistant strains of E. coli, researchers at the RIKEN Quantitative Biology Center in Japan have revealed a common set of features that appear to be responsible for the development of resistance to several types of antibiotics.

18 Dec 2014

High-dose flu vaccine better than regular flu shot for frail, older adults of long-term care facilities

The high-dose flu vaccine is significantly better than the regular flu shot at boosting the immune response to the flu virus in frail, older residents of long-term care facilities, according to the results of a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study.

18 Dec 2014

Study offers insights into mechanisms of bacterial resistance to antimicrobial peptides

Antimicrobial peptides are a distinctive class of potent, broad-spectrum antibiotics produced by the body's innate immune system--the first line of defense against disease-causing microbes.

18 Dec 2014

R. Geigy Foundation recognizes scientific endeavours in neglected disease research, public health

The R. Geigy Foundation honours two scientific endeavours in neglected disease research and public health. It confers the R. Geigy Award (10'000 CHF) to the Laotian scientists Somphou Sayasone and the Jubilee Award (70'000) to the project "Connecting the Dots" proposed by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.

18 Dec 2014

COUNTDOWN research consortium focuses on neglected tropical diseases

The COUNTDOWN research consortium has been launched today following a £7 million grant allocation from the UK Department for International Development earlier in the year.

18 Dec 2014

New research finds that more frequent hugs protect people from stress, infection

Instead of an apple, could a hug-a-day keep the doctor away? According to new research from Carnegie Mellon University, that may not be that far-fetched of an idea.

18 Dec 2014

Scientists discover how certain gut bacteria can protect themselves, others from antibiotics

Scientists from the Institute of Food Research and the University of East Anglia have discovered how certain gut bacteria can protect themselves and others in the gut from antibiotics.

18 Dec 2014

EGPAF to receive $63 million UNITAID grant to improve early infant diagnosis of HIV programs

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is pleased to announce that it has been selected by the UNITAID Executive Board to receive up to $63 million in funding to improve early infant diagnosis (EID) of HIV programs in nine African countries. This investment will pave the way for universal access to HIV testing and enable a ten-fold increase in HIV treatment, thus transforming the effort to end AIDS in children worldwide.

17 Dec 2014

Researchers identify 53 existing drugs that may block Ebola virus from entering human cells

Researchers found 53 existing drugs that may keep the Ebola virus from entering human cells, a key step in the process of infection, according to a study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the National Institutes of Health, and published today in the Nature Press journal Emerging Microbes and Infections.

17 Dec 2014

New intervention combines social media with behavioral psychology to encourage more HIV testing

Social media such as Twitter and Facebook can be valuable in the fight against HIV in the United States, where research has demonstrated they can prompt high-risk populations to request at-home testing kits for the virus that causes AIDS, suggesting a way to potentially boost testing rates.

17 Dec 2014

Tufts University researchers report that extra vitamin E can protect against pneumonia

Extra vitamin E protected older mice from a bacterial infection that commonly causes pneumonia. Microbiologists and nutrition researchers from Tufts University report that the extra vitamin E helped regulate the mice's immune system.

17 Dec 2014

DNDi awarded USAID grant to develop new treatments for river blindness, elephantiasis

The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative has been awarded US$ 10 million by the United States Agency for International Development to develop new treatments for onchocerciasis (river blindness) and lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) - the first-ever USAID grant for neglected tropical disease research and development (R&D).

17 Dec 2014

Disease/Infection News

SLU investigators find promising candidates for new herpes virus treatments

Endogenous retroviruses also play critical role in the body's immune defense against pathogens

New analysis finds global improvements in life expectancy

LSDF announces $1.2 million in grants to foster advancement of promising health-related technologies

Penn, UGA scientists awarded new contract to develop genome database for microbial pathogens

Researchers find link between ferrets and humans

New study highlights importance of generating awareness about HCV testing, support and care

Chimerix, ContraVir collaborate to develop and commercialize antiviral drug candidate CMX157

Researchers reveal common features responsible for antibiotic resistance

High-dose flu vaccine better than regular flu shot for frail, older adults of long-term care facilities

Study offers insights into mechanisms of bacterial resistance to antimicrobial peptides

R. Geigy Foundation recognizes scientific endeavours in neglected disease research, public health

COUNTDOWN research consortium focuses on neglected tropical diseases

New research finds that more frequent hugs protect people from stress, infection

Scientists discover how certain gut bacteria can protect themselves, others from antibiotics

EGPAF to receive $63 million UNITAID grant to improve early infant diagnosis of HIV programs

Researchers identify 53 existing drugs that may block Ebola virus from entering human cells

New intervention combines social media with behavioral psychology to encourage more HIV testing

Tufts University researchers report that extra vitamin E can protect against pneumonia

DNDi awarded USAID grant to develop new treatments for river blindness, elephantiasis

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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