A new understanding of how cells defend themselves against bacterial pore-forming toxins
...ey weapon in the attack arsenal of some common and virulent bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, well-known for its role in hospital-acquired infections, Streptococcus pneumonie, responsible for middle ear infections and pneumonia, and Helicobacter pylori, implicated in ulcers. Pore-forming toxins compos...HHMI hosts international scientists at Janelia Farm Research Campus
...ulosis uses to lurk in the body and reappear, more virulent than ever. On the front lines of the recent outbreak of drug-resistant TB in South Africa, she will report on her research into the molecular mechanisms that TB bacteria use to remain dormant in the body and then reactivate. Karel Svoboda, a gro...A wolf in sheep's clothing: Plague bacteria reveal one of their virulence tricks
The bacterium that causes the plague belongs to a virulent family of bacteria called Yersinia, a group that also includes a pathogen responsible for food poisoning. These bacteria insert into their host cells proteins and other virulence factors, which kill by -- among other things -- disrupting the cells' n...Consortium for Functional Glycomics awarded $40.7 million 'glue' grant
...ons that could enable adaptation of a particularly virulent form of H5N1-the avian flu virus-to spread in the human population. The study, which was published in the April 21 edition of the journal Science, was led by Scripps Research Assistant Professor James Stevens, with Wilson and Paulson. At the time ...The subtleties of tropical forest demise
...hose that have only recently appeared, such as the virulent chytrid-fungus pathogen that is decimating rainforest amphibians throughout the tropical world. (2) Those that are growing rapidly in importance, such as destructive surface fires in tropical forests. (3) Those that are poorly understood, such as the...Microscopic passengers to hitch ride on space shuttle
...n immune system and that some microbes become more virulent when grown under conditions that simulate spaceflight, thus increasing the risk of astronauts becoming sick during flight. Whatever the mission or its duration, microbes are present where there are human beings. This experiment will focus on inves...Role of protein in immune response may aid HIV research
... skin produces these proteins only when exposed to virulent or high numbers of bacteria. In contrast, the liver, whose function is to continuously monitor the blood and fight acute infection, produces PGLYRP constantly. The researchers suggest that the liver's constant protein production may help fulfill t...Producing flu vaccines will be faster and cheaper, thanks to MSU technology
...ica. It's not if, it's when." "The recent highly virulent avian flu cases in Asia and fears about a pandemic have highlighted the problems with traditional influenza vaccine production methods, particularly the length of time to produce a new vaccine and the amount of vaccine that can be produced on short n...Potato blight pathogenicity explained by genome plasticity
... present as a single, full-length copy in both the virulent and avirulent strains. They also identified multiple copies of pi3.4 only in the avirulent strain but, interestingly, these copies represented only part of the pi3.4 gene. The authors speculate that the partial gene copies could function as a...Fruit flies aboard space shuttle subjects of UCF, UC Davis study on immunity and space
...weakened immune systems or the fungi becoming more virulent in space. The future direction of Kimbrell's and von Kalm's research will depend on the results of the upcoming experiment and the level of cutbacks in funding for NASA's life sciences research. The shuttle launch will be the second NASA mission ...Bacteria, beware: New finding about E coli could block infections, lead to better treatments
...perandio found that when a person ingests the more virulent enterohemorrhagic E coli, or EHEC which is usually transmitted through contaminated food such as raw meat it travels peacefully through the digestive tract until reaching the intestine. There, however, chemicals produced by the friendly gastrointes...HIV-1's high virulence might be an accident of evolution
...to an SIV strain found in chimpanzees--is the more virulent of the two human strains and the source of the maj...great majority of primate SIVs, including the less virulent human strain HIV-2, suppress the expression of a receptor normally found on the surface of T cells, ...Tips from the journals of the American Society for Microbiology
...y to transfer antibiotic-resistant and potentially virulent bacteria say researchers Kansas State University. ...ilities carry antibiotic-resistant and potentially virulent enterococci that have the capacity for horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes to other b...White blood cells from cancer-resistant mice cure cancers in ordinary mice
...my of Sciences, successfully fought off a range of virulent transplanted cancers. "Now we know that we can tak...produced many other surprises. For one thing, if a virulent tumor was planted in a normal mouse's back, and the transplanted white blood cells were injected int...Hantavirus found in African wood mouse
...at symptoms the Sangassou virus might cause or how virulent it is," said ter Meulen, "but we have already obtained preliminary evidence that the Sangassou virus can infect humans, because we identified hantavirus-specific neutralizing antibodies in [the blood] of humans living in the area where the virus was...First analysis of recent disease outbreak in China
...break was first reported is whether a new and more virulent strain of S. suis has emerged in China. Tang and c...which appear very similar to each other) and other virulent strains of S. suis. However, more detailed studies are needed before it is clear whether any of thes...Quantum dot method rapidly identifies bacteria
... of biological weapons and antibiotic-resistant or virulent strains of bacteria--situations where speed is essential. Traditional ways of identifying infectious bacteria and their possible treatments can be time consuming and laborious, requiring the isolation and growth of the bacteria over many hours or e...Novel vaccine approach stimulates protective immunity against listeria
...rain were resistant to 40 times the lethal dose of virulent Listeria. "In theory, we could apply this vaccine strategy to other bacterial pathogens like Salmonella," said Higgins. "All we need is to use existing strains that do not replicate inside host cells." The new Listeria vaccine was based on a 2002 s...Westmead leads Australian bird flu research
...sponse to the urgent need for knowledge about this virulent flu strain, researchers at Westmead Millennium Institute (WMI) are investigating ways of rapidly and accurately detecting the virus whilst monitoring it's spread in human populations. A/Prof Jon Iredell and his team are creating a portable diagnostic......es in influenza. When the body is infected with a virulent flu virus that it hasn't encountered before, especially avian flu, the immune system goes into overdrive and creates what is know as a cytokine storm, which leads to death. Professor Clark will screen for agents that can prevent or halt a cytokine st...