Microbiology

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X-ray experiments reveal antibody to block entry of SARS-CoV-2

As scientists across the globe race to develop a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, an international team led by Davide Corti at Vir Biotechnology and David Veesler at the University of Washington has been working around the clock on a complementary approach - identifying neutralizing antibodies that could be used as a preventative treatment or as a post-exposure therapy.

20 May 2020

Researchers discover a combination punch to combat drug-resistant infections

McMaster University researchers have discovered a combination punch to treat drug-resistant infections that is showing promise based on testing in mice.

19 May 2020

Cross-neutralization of SARS and COVID-19 coronaviruses by an antibody

An antibody first identified in a blood sample from a patient who recovered from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003 inhibits related coronaviruses, including the cause of COVID-19.

19 May 2020

Study shows coronavirus does not induce cross-protective immune antibodies

According to researchers, patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) or SARS-CoV-2 generate antibodies that adhere to the other coronavirus; however, the cross-reactive antibodies are not actually cross-protective, as far as cell-culture experiments are concerned.

19 May 2020

Research reveals community structure of microorganisms living around Antarctic lakes

A research group of Assistant Prof. Yuu Hirose of the Department of Applied Chemistry and Life Science at Toyohashi University of Technology, Niigata University, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, and the National Institute of Polar Research, has revealed the community structure of microorganisms living around freshwater lakes in the Langhovde and Skarvsnes ice-free areas of Antarctica.

15 May 2020

Study identifies link between gut microbiome and neurodegenerative disease

Researchers from Harvard University have discovered a new link between the gut and the brain in ALS, a neurodegenerative disease.

14 May 2020

The microbiome regulates our immune system's fitness

Working alongside colleagues in Mainz, Bern, Hannover and Bonn, researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Berlin Institute of Health and the German Rheumatism Research Center Berlin were able to show how the microbiome helps to render the immune system capable of responding to pathogens.

13 May 2020

Microbiome 'fingerprint' method helps track microbial strains transferred from maternal to infant gut

Microbial communities in the intestine -- also known as the gut microbiome -- are vital for human digestion, metabolism and resistance to colonization by pathogens.

11 May 2020

New study sheds light on enigmatic giant microbes

In the recent past, researchers have uncovered giant viruses in some of the most enigmatic locations in the world, from Siberia’s thawing permafrost to locations unknown under the Antarctic ice.

11 May 2020

New technique reveals the proliferation and genetic exchange of bacteria

Researchers have made a breakthrough interpretation of the way bacteria move and carry out genetic exchange—that may possibly result in the development of novel antimicrobial drugs.

From University of Exeter 7 May 2020

Scientists discover new anti-phage defense mechanism in certain bacteria

Researchers from Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT's research enterprise in Singapore, have discovered a new anti-phage defence mechanism found in some bacteria, which uses previously unknown features to protect their DNA.

6 May 2020

Study discovers race-specific lupus nephritis biomarkers for early diagnosis and treatment

Chandra Mohan, a Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Endowed Professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Houston, and his colleagues have identified a race-specific variance in the urinary biomarker proteins of lupus nephritis (LN) in patients.

6 May 2020

Virus-specific antibodies are generated by many newly discharged COVID-19 patients

A majority of the recently discharged patients who have currently recovered from the COVID-19 infection create virus-specific T cells and antibodies.

6 May 2020

New tool may shed more light on neurodegenerative diseases

About 350 years ago, Robert Hooke provided an initial description of a cell in Micrographia, and since then, microscopy has played a major role in figuring out life’s rules.

6 May 2020

Researchers design novel cell culture model of human intestine to study COVID-19

Scientists have identified that the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, known to cause COVID-19, infects intestinal cells and undergo proliferation there.

4 May 2020

New antimicrobial peptide proves more effective in fighting drug-resistant bacteria

Through serendipity, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health considerably reduced the toxicity of a potential antibiotic against the most feared drug-resistant bacteria, while also improving its stability in fighting infections.

4 May 2020