News

When human cells are exposed to titanium dioxide without the presence of UV light from the sun, the risk for bacterial infection more than doubles. This finding by a Stony Brook University-led research team, published early online in the Journal of Nanobiotechnology, raises concerns about exposure to titanium dioxide, a nanoparticle commonly used in millions of products worldwide ranging from cosmetics to toothpaste, gum, food coloring and medicines.

There are many reasons why bed bugs have made a comeback in recent decades, and their resistance to commonly used insecticides is one of the most widely accepted explanations. In a new paper published in the Journal of Economic Entomology, scientists from the University of Sydney and NSW Health Pathology describe how bed bugs are able to resist pyrethroid insecticides via metabolic detoxification, the process by which bed bugs break down insecticides.

Research scientists from A.N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, the Lomonosov Moscow State University demonstrated how it is possible to suppress the resistance of fungi to antifungal drugs. The results of the work which can serve as a basis for the development of effective antifungal pharmaceuticals have been published in the journal FEMS Yeast Research.

During World Immunization Week 2016, held April 24-30, the World Health Organization (WHO) highlights recent gains in immunization coverage, and outlines further steps countries can take to “Close the Immunization Gap” and meet global vaccination targets by 2020.