Infectious Disease
Biomaterial Enhances Critical Immune Responses
March 6, 2013 11:09 am | News | CommentsBiomedical engineering researchers have encapsulated two types of protein antigens in chitosan and demonstrated that the combined material enables or improves three important immune responses.
Scientists Say Baby Born with HIV Apparently Cured
March 3, 2013 6:29 pm | by LAURAN NEERGAARD - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsA baby born with the AIDS virus appears to have been cured, scientists announced Sunday, describing the case of a child from Mississippi who's now 2½ and has been off medication for about a year with no signs of infection. There's no guarantee the child will remain healthy, although sophisticated testing uncovered just traces of the virus' genetic material still lingering.
Bacteria Can Trick, Hijack Immune System
March 1, 2013 11:16 am | News | CommentsIn a study, researchers demonstrated that certain cunning bacteria—including the type that causes tuberculosis—can pretend to be viruses when infecting humans, allowing them to hijack the body’s immune response.
Mutation Enables Bird Flu Infection of Mammals
March 1, 2013 10:41 am | News | CommentsA single mutation in the H5N1 avian influenza virus that affects the pH at which the hemagglutinin surface protein is activated simultaneously reduces its capacity to infect ducks and enhances its capacity to grow in mice according to new research.
Stolen Proteins Crucial to HIV Surivival
February 28, 2013 10:29 am | News | CommentsStudying HIV-1, the most common and infectious HIV subtype, scientists have identified 25 human proteins ‘stolen’ by the virus that may be critical to its ability to infect new cells.
Superbug Has Protein Soft Spot
February 27, 2013 9:24 am | News | CommentsThe overuse of antibiotics has created strains of bacteria resistant to medication, making the diseases they cause difficult to treat, or even deadly. Now, a research team has identified a weakness in at least one superbug that scientists may be able to medically exploit.
International space station plays host to innovative infectious disease research
February 19, 2013 12:25 pm | by Arizona State University | News | CommentsASU's Cheryl Nickerson presented her research findings and charted the course for future investigations aboard the ISS at the 2013 annual meeting for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. read more
Nasal Spray Developed from Seaweed Bacteria
February 19, 2013 11:22 am | News | CommentsA team of scientists and surgeons are developing a new nasal spray from a marine microbe to help clear chronic sinusitis.
UK patient dies from SARS-like coronavirus
February 19, 2013 6:42 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA patient being treated for a mysterious SARS-like virus has died, a British hospital said Tuesday. Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, central England, said the coronavirus victim was also being treated for "a long-term, complex unrelated health problem" and already had a compromised immune...
New Drugs Target Malaria's 'Achilles Heel'
February 14, 2013 12:24 pm | News | CommentsResearchers have discovered how a new class of antimalarial drugs, spiroindolones, kills the malaria parasite, showing that the drugs block a pump at the parasite surface, causing it to fill with salt.
Deprived Bacteria Unable to Resist Antibiotics
February 12, 2013 11:42 am | News | CommentsResearchers “cured” a strain of bacteria of its ability to resist an antibiotic in an experiment that has implications for a long-standing public health crisis.
Newly Identified Protein Blocks HIV, Other Viruses
February 12, 2013 11:23 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers has identified a protein with broad virus-fighting properties that potentially could be used as a weapon against deadly human pathogenic viruses such as HIV, Ebola, Rift Valley Fever, Nipah and others.
Scientists Debate CDC Recommendations During Meningitis Outbreak
February 6, 2013 11:39 am | News | CommentsA pair of commentaries to appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy highlight a debate within the public health community surrounding Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for treatment of exposed individuals during last year’s fungal meningitis outbreak.
Can You Predict How a Disease Will Spread in a Population?
February 5, 2013 10:37 am | News | CommentsHow, when and where a pathogen is transmitted between two individuals in a population is crucial in understanding and predicting how a disease will spread. New research has laid the foundation for a new generation of zoonotic disease spreading models, which could allow for more targeted prevention strategies.
A Safer Way to Vaccinate
January 29, 2013 11:26 am | News | CommentsVaccines usually consist of inactivated viruses that prompt the immune system to remember the invader and launch a strong defense if it later encounters the real thing. However, this approach can be too risky with certain viruses, including HIV.
At Least One in Five Were Infected in Flu Pandemic, International Study Suggests
January 25, 2013 10:20 am | News | CommentsAt least one in five people in countries for which data are available were infected with influenza during the first year of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, according to a new study. The highest rates of infection were in children, with 47 per cent of those aged five to 19 showing signs of having caught the virus.
Ornamental Fish Industry Faces Increasing Problems with Antibiotic Resistance
January 16, 2013 11:48 am | News | CommentsThe $15 billion ornamental fish industry faces a global problem with antibiotic resistance, a new study concludes, raising concern that treatments for fish diseases may not work when needed – and creating yet another mechanism for exposing humans to antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Designer Bacteria May Lead to Better Vaccines
January 15, 2013 11:42 am | News | CommentsResearchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a menu of 61 new strains of genetically engineered bacteria that may improve the efficacy of vaccines for diseases such as flu, pertussis, cholera and HPV. The strains of E. coli are part of a new class of biological “adjuvants” that is poised to transform vaccine design.
Infect to Protect
January 10, 2013 1:16 pm | by Skip Derra | Articles | CommentsRoy Curtiss wants to vaccinate children and animals alike in the far regions of the world from the most basic scourges of the Earth—typhoid fever, pneumonia, influenza, tuberculosis. But to do that, he must get them to swallow Salmonella-laced liquids.
New Method To Make One-Way Flu Vaccine Discovered
December 19, 2012 11:55 am | News | CommentsA new process to make a one-time, universal influenza vaccine has been discovered by a researcher at Georgia State University. The researcher and collaborators have found a way to make the one-time vaccine by using recombinant genetic engineering technology that does not use a seasonal virus.
Researchers Discover How Hepatitis C Virus Reprograms Human Liver Cells
December 19, 2012 10:40 am | News | CommentsHepatitis C virus has evolved to invade and hijack the basic machinery of the human liver cell to ensure its survival and spread. Researchers at the University of North have discovered how hepatitis C binds with and repurposes a basic component of cellular metabolism known as a microRNA to help protect and replicate the virus.
Fungus Responsible for 5 deaths in the Wake of Massive Tornado
December 17, 2012 11:32 am | News | CommentsA fast growing, flesh-eating fungus killed 5 people following a massive tornado that devastated Joplin, Mo., according to two new studies based on genomic sequencing. Health officials should be aware of infections caused by the fungus Apophysomyces, according to the studies, which tracked 13 people infected by the pathogen during the Class EF-5 tornado.
Intestinal immune cells play an unexpected role in immune surveillance of the bloodstream
December 14, 2012 2:18 pm | by Mass General | News | CommentsA type of immune cell found in the small intestine plays a previously unsuspected role in monitoring antigens circulating in the bloodstream. The findings clarify how dendritic cells in the intestinal lining collect antigens from both intestinal contents and the circulation.
No mosquito, no malaria?
July 18, 2011 11:09 am | Blogs | CommentsMosquitoes are generally known as the sneaky pest that creeps up and bites, leaving you with an itchy bump on the surface of your skin. A nuisance to be sure, but in some areas of the world, they can be dangerous because the bugs carry malaria.
FDA Gives Bio-Rad the Go-ahead
August 4, 2010 11:36 am | by Edited for tone and content by Lily Barback | Articles | CommentsBio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. and the American Red Cross announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has notified Bio-Rad that it may proceed with its Investigational New Drug (IND) study for the Bio-Rad Dengue NS1 Ag microplate assay
