News
Researchers Discover Two New Groups of Viruses
June 2nd 2015Researchers at the University of Bonn and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) have discovered two new groups of viruses within the Bunyavirus family in the tropical forest of Ivory Coast. Previously only five groups responsible for serious illnesses in humans and animals were known. Most are spread through blood-feeding insects. Based on the discovered viruses researchers conclude that the ancester to all bunyaviruses must have existed in arthropods such as insects. The results are now being published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
WHO Strengthens Laboratory Capacity During Cholera Outbreak in Tanzania
June 2nd 2015As of May 16, 2015, a cholera outbreak was confirmed in the Kigoma region, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, along the Tanzania border with Burundi. Cholera is endemic in the region, but due to a recent influx of thousands of Burundian refugees, overcrowding and poor sanitation, the situation got worse. As of May 28, 2015, a total of 4,487 suspected cholera cases have been reported so far.
Engineers Turn E. coli Into Tiny Factories for Producing New Forms of Popular Antibiotic
May 29th 2015Like a dairy farmer tending to a herd of cows to produce milk, researchers are tending to colonies of the bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) to produce new forms of antibiotics - including three that show promise in fighting drug-resistant bacteria. The research, which will be published May 29 in the journal Science Advances, was led by Blaine A. Pfeifer, an associate professor of chemical and biological engineering in the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. His team included first author Guojian Zhang, Yi Li and Lei Fang, all in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.
