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Research shows how current drugs impact bacterial physiology

Tuberculosis is a stubborn disease caused by even more stubborn bacteria. While many bacterial infections clear up within days of taking antibiotics, TB can take up to six months to clear up and, in some cases, never leave the human body. In 2020, it claimed 1.5 million lives, second only to COVID-19 in terms of infectious disease deaths.

1 Jun 2022

Researchers develop a new biochemical process to analyze plant immunity

Researchers from Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research (MPIPZ) and the University of Cologne have identified a new biochemical process that explains how immune proteins protect plants against invading microbes. Their results have been reported in Cell.

From The Max Planck Institute 27 May 2022

Researchers understand the mechanisms of deadly fungal infections

Worldwide research on Fusarium oxysporum discovered that the lack of a certain type of enzyme boosts the incidence of infection, paving the way for new ways to limit its infection.

23 May 2022

Researchers determine the ethical difficulties in microbiome research

A human rights activist and a team of anthropologists and human biologists are scrutinizing how Indigenous peoples are involved in microbiome research.

23 May 2022

Research sheds light on mechanism for skin cell death, likely to help treat cancer

Researchers at Emory University have uncovered a mechanism for skin cell death that might lead to novel therapies for “flesh-eating” infections, alopecia, hives, and possibly even melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer.

18 May 2022

Scientists detect rare genetic signs of drug-resistant tuberculosis with the aim to stop disease progression

Many people believe tuberculosis (TB) is a disease of the past. Nonetheless, it claims over a million lives each year. Furthermore, the problem is escalating as Mycobacterium tuberculosis—the pathogen that causes tuberculosis develops resistance to the antibiotics used to treat the disease.

12 May 2022

Genetic options help researchers transmit rust resistance from one plant to another

Stem rust is a major disease in wheat crops around the world, and outbreaks are expected to become more prevalent in upcoming climate change scenarios.

12 May 2022

New software device makes genetic information analysis simpler

Researchers from Texas Biomedical Research Institute and Tulane University have created a new software device that makes analyzing genetic data about a host and its microbiome at the very same time simpler, quicker, and less expensive.

10 May 2022

Researchers analyze immune system genetic diversity, likely to affect endangered toad existence

The immune system diversity of the critically endangered Wyoming toad is examined in new research, which indicates that genetic bottlenecks can affect a species’ capabilities to react to novel infections.

3 May 2022

Study addresses genetic diversity of Clostridioides difficile using systems biology technique

Researchers from Jacobs School of Engineering and the University of California San Diego School of Medicine collaborated with colleagues from Baylor College of Medicine to decode the genetic diversity of Clostridioides difficile, an especially dangerous pathogen in healthcare settings, using a systems biology technique.

29 Apr 2022

RNA binding proteins in T cells help generate an effective immune response

Two RNA binding proteins have been discovered to be the key to a greater immune reaction to influenza in mice, according to researchers at the Babraham Institute.

29 Apr 2022

Encapsulated peptide could provide a new approach to fighting bacterial infections

Antibiotic-resistant hospital pathogens are not to be underestimated as a health risk. A research team has now introduced a new approach for treating multiple-drug resistant Staphylococcus in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

21 Apr 2022

New automated system behaves as a promising tool to treat human bloodstream infections

When treating patients with acute infections, healthcare professionals must be able to quickly and properly determine which antibiotics are most effective in combating the disease.

20 Apr 2022

Discovery could help break the cycle of rapid transmission of TB

Two strains of the bacterium causing tuberculosis have only minor genetic differences but attack the lungs in completely different fashion, according to Rutgers researchers.

18 Apr 2022

Understanding the role of ORF8 viral gene in COVID-19 infection and outcomes

A research team led by Jae Jung, PhD, Director of Cleveland Clinic's Global Center for Pathogen & Human Health Research, has uncovered the critical role a viral gene, ORF8, plays in infection and disease outcomes of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19.

8 Apr 2022

Rockefeller scientists reveal how a narrow-spectrum antibiotic selectively targets C. diff

Most antibiotics are double-edged swords. Besides killing the pathogen they are prescribed for, they also decimate beneficial bacteria and change the composition of the gut microbiome.

7 Apr 2022

Researchers employ CRISPR gene-editing technology in human blood to cure HIV

Northwestern Medicine researchers are employing recent developments in CRISPR gene-editing technology to discover novel biological method that could lead to longer-lasting treatments and new therapeutic tactics for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

5 Apr 2022

CAR-T cell treatment via implantable biotechnology more effective in combating cancer

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed an implantable biotechnology that produces and releases CAR-T cells for attacking cancerous tumors.

25 Mar 2022

Hybrid immunity generates improved cell response to fight SARS-CoV-2 infections

People who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 before being vaccinated generate an immune response more specific to fighting viral infections, and produce a broader antibody response, than do people whose only protection is the vaccine, according to researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine.