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Immune system B cells play a crucial role in the defence of pathogens; when they detect such an intruder, they produce antibodies that help to combat the enemy. They concurrently and continuously improve these molecules to more precisely recognize the pathogens. A team of scientists with participation of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) has discovered that during this process the cells are able to advance their own evolution themselves by increasing the selection pressure through previously-produced antibodies. The results are also significant for the development of new vaccination strategies.

In recent years, a body of pub­li­ca­tions in the micro­bi­ology field has chal­lenged all pre­vious knowl­edge of how antibi­otics kill bac­teria. A slew of papers came out studying this phe­nom­enon, sug­gesting that there is a gen­eral mech­a­nism of killing by antibi­otics, says Kim Lewis, Uni­ver­sity Dis­tin­guished Pro­fessor in the Depart­ment of Biology and director of Northeasterns Antimi­cro­bial Dis­covery Center.

Activities to stop the spread of the intestinal superbug Clostridium difficile are on the rise, but they are not yielding large improvements, according to a nationwide survey of infection preventionists released today by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

Through the creation of a library of more than 2,000 mutant strains of the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, the University of Nebraska Medical Center has provided an important tool for scientists around the world seeking answers for how to better deal with staph infections.