News

Researchers from UConn Health are advancing the understanding of how the causative bacterial agent of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), survives in ticks and mammals.

The human microbiome -- the trillions of tiny bacteria that live in and on our bodies -- is emerging as an increasingly important player in health and wellness. But, our co-existence with these organisms is complex, and scientists are learning that even minor changes in this relationship can lead to big problems with our health.

A new approach tested by researchers at the University of Iowa shows that de-identified data from a "smart thermometer" connected to a mobile phone app can track flu activity in real time at both population and individual levels and the data can be used to significantly improve flu forecasting.

The Veterans Health Administration, the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States, is leading efforts to prevent the spread of dangerous multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), as detailed in a series of articles published in the February issue of Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

Ebola virus can infect the reproductive organs of male and female macaques, according to a study published in the American Journal of Pathology, suggesting that humans could be similarly infected

Despite efforts the elimination of yaws in a high-endemic community in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is yet to be achieved. The research identifies relapsing, untreated infections and the emergence of antibiotic resistance as contributing to ongoing yaws infection in the community. Researchers from Spain, PNG, the U.S., Australia, and international colleagues led the study.

A new blood test seems to perform as well as, if not better than, traditional blood cultures at detecting a type of fungal yeast infection that commonly strikes hospital patients, according to an analysis led by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPMC).

Indiana University researchers have made an important step forward in the design of drugs that fight the hepatitis B virus, which can cause liver failure and liver cancer.

Ants, like humans, deal with disease. To deal with the bacteria that cause some of these diseases, some ants produce their own antibiotics. A new comparative study identified some ant species that make use of powerful antimicrobial agents - but found that 40 percent of ant species tested didn't appear to produce antibiotics. The study has applications regarding the search for new antibiotics that can be used in humans.

As the fight against drug-resistant infections continues, University of Leeds scientists are looking back at previously discarded chemical compounds, to see if any could be developed for new antibiotics.

A new study indicates that the drug fosfomycin may be effective for treating multidrug-resistant bacterial infections.

A study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry is the first to describe a signaling pathway that affects communication -- a process called quorum sensing -- between Streptococcus bacteria cells.

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has signed a five-year cooperative agreement worth up to $28 million with Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) to develop methods for preventing the global spread of viruses like chikungunya and Zika.

An astonishing number of viruses are circulating around the Earth's atmosphere -- and falling from it -- according to new research from scientists in Canada, Spain and the U.S.

Influenza vaccination coverage among high-risk groups has dropped in the European Region over the last seven years, and half the countries report a decrease in the number of vaccine doses available.