Pathogen News and Research

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Research Sheds Light on Biofilm Bacteria Interactions and Competition

Biofilms -; slimy communities of bacteria -; grow on all sorts of surfaces: from glaciers and hot springs to plant roots, your bathtub and fridge, wounds, and medical devices such as catheters.

18 Oct 2024

29 Novel Antibodies Targeting Drug-Resistant Klebsiella Pneumoniae Identified

Research at UMC Utrecht has identified 29 novel antibodies against the bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae, an important cause of drug-resistant infections.

27 Sep 2024

Genome-Scale Analysis Reveals Cholera's Evolution

The genetic components that make the cholera-causing bacterium so lethal have been identified by experts using a state-of-the-art computational method, and this information may be crucial to averting the terrible illness.

24 Sep 2024

Unveiling the Molecular Mechanisms of Shigella flexneri Infection

Virginia Tech researchers have learned how bacteria manipulate molecules to infect the host organism.

23 Sep 2024

A New Understanding of the Effects of Fever on Immune Cells

Fever temperatures rev up immune cell metabolism, proliferation and activity, but they also -; in a particular subset of T cells -; cause mitochondrial stress, DNA damage and cell death, Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers have discovered.

23 Sep 2024

Harnessing the Power of Beneficial Bacteria to Fight Enterobacteriaceae

Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections often occur in patients with chronic inflammatory intestinal conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease, and in patients who have taken antibiotics for a long time. Gram-negative bacteria such as Enterobacteriaceae are a common cause of these infections and have few treatment options. Fecal microbiota transplants have shown promise to curb some of these infections, but their composition varies between batches and they aren't always successful.

23 Sep 2024

Arctic Actinobacteria Yield Novel Antivirulence Compounds Against E. coli

A novel set of techniques was created by researchers in Finland and Norway to screen unknown substances with bacterial origin for antivirulence activity.

2 Sep 2024

Pan-Pathogen Deep Sequencing: A New Strategy in Combating Nosocomial Antimicrobial Resistant Bacterial Infections

Deep sequencing of bacterial cultures reveals insights into nosocomial infections and antimicrobial resistance, enhancing pathogen surveillance in hospitals.

30 Aug 2024

Marine Bacteria Could Hold Key to Fighting Tuberculosis

The surprising discovery of a bacterium in a marine sponge from the Great Barrier Reef with striking similarity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen responsible for tuberculosis (TB), could unlock and inform future TB research and treatment strategies.

30 Aug 2024

New Screening Methods Uncover Antivirulence Compounds from Arctic Actinobacteria

Antibiotics are the linchpin of modern medicine: without them, anyone with open wounds or needing to undergo surgery would be at constant risk of dangerous infections.

27 Aug 2024

The Role of DNA Repair Pathways in Antibody Somatic Hypermutation

In a recent online publication in SCIENCE CHINA Life Sciences, researchers from the laboratory of Leng-Siew Yeap at the Shanghai Institute of Immunology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine published a review article entitled "Molecular Mechanisms of DNA Lesion and Repair During Antibody Somatic Hypermutation". This review comprehensively summarizes the mechanisms involved in the generation of antigen-specific diversified antibodies, with a particular focus on the mechanisms that generate high-frequency point mutations and low-frequency deletions and insertions (indels) in antibody genes.

22 Aug 2024

Honeybees Contribute to Bumble Bee Virus Prevalence

Honey bees might contribute to rising virus levels in wild bumble bees each spring, according to Penn State researchers who studied seasonal patterns of parasite and virus transmission in bees.

22 Aug 2024

Bad Bacteria Use Electric Signals to Find Entry Points in the Gut

How do bad bacteria find entry points in the body to cause infection? This question is fundamental for infectious disease experts and people who study bacteria.

21 Aug 2024

Fungal Pathogen Behind Banana Wipeout Identified

The fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc) tropical race 4 (TR4) is the source of the disease Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB), which is threatening to functionally wipe out the bananas in the supermarket and consumed as breakfast.

19 Aug 2024

New Approach for Targeted Genome Editing in Wild Populations

Researchers from Macquarie University and the California Institute of Technology have discovered a novel method that, when published in Nature Communications on August 13th, 2024, might make it easier and more controllable for scientists to modify the genetic composition of wild populations than when using gene drives.

14 Aug 2024

From CRISPR-Cas to Fanzor system: New frontiers in gene editing

The features of various CRISPR-Cas systems, including CRISPR-associated transposons (CASTs) and the eukaryotic equivalent of CRISPR-Cas systems, Fanzor systems.

9 Aug 2024

Study Reveals 70 Million Years of Host-Parasite Genetic Arms Race

Hosts and their parasites are in constant competition. Through genetic diversity, the host can change in such a way that infection is no longer possible.

8 Aug 2024

Genetic Analysis of Potato and Phytophthora infestans During and After the Irish Potato Famine

In an examination of the genetic material found in historic potato leaves, North Carolina State University researchers reveal more about the tit-for-tat evolutionary changes occurring in both potato plants and the pathogen that caused the 1840s Irish potato famine.

6 Aug 2024

Geographic Origin Plays Key Role in Tuberculosis Infection, Harvard Study Finds

For some forms of tuberculosis, the chances that an exposed person will get infected depend on whether the individual and the bacteria share a hometown, according to a new study comparing how different strains move through mixed populations in cosmopolitan cities.

2 Aug 2024