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Loss of normal microbial diversity may be culprit behind chronic sinusitis

A common bacteria ever-present on the human skin and previously considered harmless, may, in fact, be the culprit behind chronic sinusitis, a painful, recurring swelling of the sinuses that strikes more than one in ten Americans each year, according to a study by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco.

13 Sep 2012

Case Western Reserve researcher discovers new antivirulence drugs against MRSA and strep

Menachem Shoham, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has discovered novel antivirulence drugs that, without killing the bacteria, render Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and Streptococcus pyogenes, commonly referred to as strep, harmless by preventing the production of toxins that cause disease.

13 Sep 2012

Synthetic biology pioneer wins 2012 Heinz Award

Jay Keasling, a leading authority and pioneer on synthetic biology who has engineered microbial "factories" to manufacture an affordable version of a frontline antimalarial drug and biofuel substitutes for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, has won a 2012 Heinz Award, which is presented by the Heinz Family Foundation and carries with it a cash prize of $250,000.

13 Sep 2012

RPS honors Aston University professor with Pharmaceutical Scientist of the Year Award

Professor Yvonne Perrie, Chair in Drug Delivery at Aston University, Birmingham UK has won the prestigious Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Pharmaceutical Scientist of the Year Award for her contribution to developing a new tuberculosis vaccine.

13 Sep 2012

Positive data from Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals’ eravacycline Phase 2 trial on cIAI

Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage life science company developing novel antibiotics effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, presented new, positive Phase 2 clinical data on its lead drug candidate, eravacycline (TP-434), on September 11, 2012, at the 52nd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco, CA.

13 Sep 2012

PrimeraDx’s ICEPlex system and C. difficile detection assay receive CE mark

PrimeraDx, a molecular diagnostics company, announced today that the ICEPlex system, a quantitative multiplex PCR system, and their C. difficile detection assay both received the CE mark.

12 Sep 2012

IRIN reports on flooding in Africa

In three separate articles, IRIN reports on the implications of flooding taking place in Africa. "Tens of thousands of people have been affected by flooding in parts of central, eastern and southern Chad following heavy rains in August," the news service writes in the first article, adding that the floods have affected 445,725 people and destroyed 255,720 hectares of cropland.

12 Sep 2012

VOA news examines AIDS among marginalized groups in Burma

VOA News examines AIDS among high-risk groups in Burma, also known as Myanmar. "Burma's AIDS epidemic mostly affects marginalized groups, such as the gay community," the news service writes, adding, "About one percent of Burma's population is HIV-positive," but "among high-risk groups, such as men who have sex with men, health workers estimate as many as 11 percent have HIV."

12 Sep 2012

Leading dengue fever vaccine candidate 30% effective in first large clinical trial

"The leading candidate to become the world's first vaccine against dengue fever was only 30 percent effective in its first large clinical trial, dealing at least a temporary setback to efforts to control a disease that threatens half the world's population," the New York Times reports.

12 Sep 2012

AusAID draft strategy includes more support for research into neglected diseases

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) "is planning to boost support for medical research, technology and innovations," as well as "encourage collaboration and capacity building aimed at poverty-related and neglected tropical diseases," SciDev.Net reports.

12 Sep 2012

Researchers present new results from RV144 HIV vaccine trial at AIDS Vaccine 2012

"A paper published in Nature on Monday sheds light on how a vaccine can turn the immune system against [HIV] and so offer protection from infection," Nature News reports, noting "[t]he results are also being presented at the AIDS Vaccine 2012 conference in Boston, Massachusetts, this week."

12 Sep 2012

Researchers identify novel genes that make some children cope with malaria

Researchers from Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center and University of Montreal have identified several novel genes that make some children more efficient than others in the way their immune system responds to malaria infection.

12 Sep 2012

Diet could avert toxic effects of quinine in patients with malaria

Scientists at The University of Nottingham say adverse side-effects caused by the anti-parasitic drug quinine in the treatment of malaria could be controlled by what we eat.

12 Sep 2012

Researchers investigate whether altruism influences parental decisions to vaccinate children

As outbreaks of preventable diseases such as whooping cough and measles increase in the United States, researchers from the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine are investigating whether altruism, known to influence adults' decisions to immunize themselves, influences parental decisions to vaccinate their children.

12 Sep 2012

AIDS activists in China protest for better care for those affected by 1990s blood-selling schemes

The Economist reports on a demonstration by about 300 people living with HIV and activists outside the headquarters of China's Henan provincial government in Zhengzhou on August 27.

12 Sep 2012

Novel method could help advance fight against persistent 'HIV latency'

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have gotten us one step closer to understanding and overcoming one of the least-understood mechanisms of HIV infection-by devising a method to precisely track the life cycle of individual cells infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

12 Sep 2012

Devex news analysis examines Democratic, Republican party platforms on foreign policy, including global health

A Devex news analysis examines the Democratic and Republican platform positions on foreign policy following the party conventions, writing, "Even as pocketbook concerns continue to overshadow foreign policy issues on the campaign trail, in both Charlotte and Tampa, top-billed speakers made the case for the U.S. foreign aid program."

12 Sep 2012

Religious groups play positive and critical roles in fighting AIDS epidemic

While the Western press often targets religious groups for their roles in handling the African AIDS crisis, these groups tend to play positive -- and critical -- roles in fighting the epidemic, according to sociologists.

12 Sep 2012

Positive results from Santarus rifamycin SV MMX Phase III study on travelers' diarrhea

Santarus, Inc. today announced that its Phase III clinical study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the investigational drug, rifamycin SV MMX, met the primary endpoint of reducing time to last unformed stool (TLUS) in patients with travelers' diarrhea.

12 Sep 2012

Durata Therapeutics completes dalbavancin Phase 3 trials on ABSSSI

Durata Therapeutics today announced results from its QT study of the company's lead product candidate, dalbavancin. Dalbavancin is currently under investigation in two ongoing, global, Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI).

11 Sep 2012

Disease/Infection News

Loss of normal microbial diversity may be culprit behind chronic sinusitis

Case Western Reserve researcher discovers new antivirulence drugs against MRSA and strep

Synthetic biology pioneer wins 2012 Heinz Award

RPS honors Aston University professor with Pharmaceutical Scientist of the Year Award

Positive data from Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals’ eravacycline Phase 2 trial on cIAI

PrimeraDx’s ICEPlex system and C. difficile detection assay receive CE mark

IRIN reports on flooding in Africa

VOA news examines AIDS among marginalized groups in Burma

Leading dengue fever vaccine candidate 30% effective in first large clinical trial

AusAID draft strategy includes more support for research into neglected diseases

Researchers present new results from RV144 HIV vaccine trial at AIDS Vaccine 2012

Researchers identify novel genes that make some children cope with malaria

Diet could avert toxic effects of quinine in patients with malaria

Researchers investigate whether altruism influences parental decisions to vaccinate children

AIDS activists in China protest for better care for those affected by 1990s blood-selling schemes

Novel method could help advance fight against persistent 'HIV latency'

Devex news analysis examines Democratic, Republican party platforms on foreign policy, including global health

Religious groups play positive and critical roles in fighting AIDS epidemic

Positive results from Santarus rifamycin SV MMX Phase III study on travelers' diarrhea

Durata Therapeutics completes dalbavancin Phase 3 trials on ABSSSI

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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