Method to Identify Bacteria in Blood Samples Works in Hours Instead of Days
February 8th 2017Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a desktop diagnosis tool that detects the presence of harmful bacteria in a blood sample in a matter of hours instead of days. The breakthrough was made possible by a combination of proprietary chemistry, innovative electrical engineering and high-end imaging and analysis techniques powered by machine learning. The team details their work in the Feb. 8 issue of Scientific Reports.
Compound From Deep-Water Marine Sponge Could Provide Antibacterial Solutions for MRSA
February 8th 2017A compound extracted from a deep-water marine sponge collected near the Bahamas is showing potent antibacterial activity against the drug resistant bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Results of the study, led by researchers at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, are published in the current issue of the journal Marine Drugs.
Decision-Making Process of Viruses Could Lead to New Antibiotic Treatments
February 7th 2017Humans face hundreds of decisions every day. But we're not alone. Even the tiniest viruses also make decisions, and scientists are researching how they do so, to help lead to better treatments for some diseases. In a study published Feb. 6 in the journal Nature Communications, Dr. Lanying Zeng and her team at Texas A&M AgriLife Research discovered how the lambda phage decides what actions to take in its host, the E. coli bacterium.
Scientists Find Clue to Why Zika, but Not Its Close Relatives, Causes Birth Defects
February 7th 2017The most frightening aspect of Zika virus has been its ability to produce severe fetal birth defects during pregnancy, especially microcephaly--a small head. Now, scientists from the Florida campus of the Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have uncovered the details behind the virus's unique ability to cross the placental barrier and expose the fetus to a range of birth defects that often go beyond microcephaly to include eye and joint injury, and even other types of brain damage.
Bacterial Survival Strategy: Splitting Into Virulent and Non-Virulent Subtypes
February 7th 2017Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered a survival strategy that harmful bacteria can use to outsmart the human immune response, resulting in more severe and persistent infections and more effective spreading from person to person.
Routinely Prescribed Antibiotic May Not Be Best for Treating Severe C. diff Infections
February 7th 2017Over the past two decades there has been a sharp rise in the number and severity of infections caused by the bacteria Clostridium difficile, now the most common hospital acquired infection in the United States. But a new study suggests that the most routinely prescribed antibiotic is not the best treatment for severe cases. Scientists at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System and University of Utah School of Medicine report that patients with a severe C. diff infection (CDI) were less likely to die when treated with the antibiotic vancomycin compared to the standard treatment of metronidazole. The findings will be published online on Feb. 6 on the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine website.
Researchers Use Tiny 3-D Spheres to Combat Tuberculosis
February 7th 2017Researchers at the University of Southampton have developed a new 3D system to study human infection in the laboratory. The team, which includes infection researchers, engineers and bioinformaticians in Southampton and University College London, have used an electrostatic encapsulation technique to make tiny 3D spheres within which human cells are infected with tuberculosis (TB) bacteria to generate conditions that more closely reflect events in patients.
Atomic-Scale View of Bacterial Proteins Offers Path to New TB Drugs
February 3rd 2017With the first detailed analysis of a cellular component from a close relative of the pathogen that causes tuberculosis, Rockefeller scientists are suggesting strategies for new drugs to curb this growing health problem. Each year, nearly half a million people around the world are infected with mutant TB strains capable of evading existing antibiotics.
Salicylic Acid Promotes Nasal Mucosa Colonization
February 3rd 2017Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) can colonize the upper respiratory tract of around one quarter of the human population. As an opportunistic bacteria S. aureus usually does not harm its host. If the host is healthy and the bacteria obtain sufficient nutrients, the bacteria remain quiet and are kept under control by the immune system. They may, however, become active in response to infections by another pathogen or illness weakening the host immune system.
Researchers Awarded Grant to Refine Malaria Drug
February 3rd 2017As long as parasites continue to mount resistance to malaria drugs, scientists will be faced with the task of developing new, improved pharmaceuticals. A research team from the Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery has received a $431,126 two-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to make improved versions of a promising compound called MMV008138, or 8138 for short.
Johns Hopkins Team Aims to Make 'Micro-Soldiers' That Seek Out and Subdue Pathogens
February 2nd 2017Drawing on their expertise in control systems and cell biology, Johns Hopkins University researchers are setting out to design and test troops of self-directed microscopic warriors that can locate and neutralize dangerous strains of bacteria.
SLU Researchers Receive $416,000 to Further Work Toward Hepatitis B Cure
February 2nd 2017With a $416,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), SLU scientists will continue work to cure hepatitis B, building on significant findings published in two recent papers. John Tavis, PhD, professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Saint Louis University, aims to advance our understanding of how the hepatitis B drug replicates in order to develop a new drug that, in combination with other medications, could cure the viral infection.