One health
Communicable diseases remain one of the major causes of mortality worldwide. There are disparities in the numbers of individuals affected by disease between low-and-middle-income countries and those in developed nations. Microbes will play in important role in drug discovery: producing anticancer drugs and antimicrobials. Applying One Health principles, to understand the interaction of pathogens and the human host, development of diagnostics, treatments, and disease prevention, applied microbiologists can shape global health and wellbeing outcomes.
News
Research funding to improve treatment for invasive fungal infections
The Federal Joint Committee is funding a new Germany-wide research project aimed at improving care for patients with invasive fungal infections.
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NewsResearchers investigate case of soft-tick borne relapsing fever in Austin area
Researchers report a likely case of soft tick-borne relapsing fever (STRF) in an Austin-area resident.
NewsEarly surgery for bacterial eye infection offers hope to patients
A new clinical trial shows that early vitrectomy surgery for acute endophthalmitis could be more beneficial to patients’ vision compared with the current antibiotic-first approach.
NewsReshaping the gut microbiome can boost chemotherapy delivery to tumors
A common antibiotic reshaped gut bacteria in preclinical models, significantly reducing liver clearance and doubling how long chemotherapy remained in circulation to reach tumors.
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News
Scientists fight drug-resistant parasites with nature-inspired drugs
As parasites become increasingly resistant to existing drugs, researchers are working to develop a new generation of treatments for two serious infectious diseases: malaria and babesiosis.
NewsShort-chain fatty acids and bile acids signaling in chronic hepatitis B
Current therapies suppress chronic hepatitis but rarely achieve functional cure (sustained HBsAg loss). Emerging gut‑liver axis evidence shows that microbial metabolites modulate HBV replication and immunity.
NewsBioactive metabolite boosts HIV treatment response, reverses gut dysfunction
Scientists have identified a naturally occurring metabolite that repairs gut damage caused by HIV infection and significantly improves the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy in the nonhuman primate model of HIV/AIDS.
NewsTwo deadly flowers have big medical potential
Two plants that cause neurotoxicity and paralysis in the tiniest doses are also known to counter pain, malaria, cancer and pests. For the first time, researchers have discovered a way to recreate these powerful compounds in the lab - with the help of yeast.
NewsThe amino acid arginine helps the body fight tumors and viral infections
Scientists have discovered that an arginine-deficient diet impacts the immune system by stalling the production of the MHC-1 protein, which alerts the immune system to dangers such as a mutating cell or an invading virus.
NewsScientists bring Florida high school students to the front lines of pandemic preparedness
Thirty outstanding high school students from 18 communities across Florida arrived in Tampa last week for the Global Virus Network (GVN) Global Guardians for Pandemic Preparedness Program, curious about viruses and considering careers in science.
NewsTuberculosis drug discovery gets smarter with AI
Scientists have built an artificial intelligence tool to help scientists focus their efforts after initial screening of potential tuberculosis drugs. The team is also using AI to organize years of collaborative data into a searchable form.
NewsHighly reliable LFIA based on selenium nanoparticle reveals long-term real-world dynamics of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2
SDS modified selenium nanoparticles enable reliable lateral flow immunoassay, showing that neurological and hematological patients lose vaccine induced immunity much faster.
NewsLeishmania: When tropical parasites use immune cells as a taxi
Tom Beneke intends to clarify, as part of the new Emmy Noether Research Group ‘LeishMove’, exactly how the Leishmania parasites control their host cells and which variations in the parasites are necessary for this.
NewsHepatitis B virus infection or reactivation and HBV-related liver dysfunction in patients with inflammatory bowel disease receiving infliximab
A real-world study examines HBV infection and reactivation rates in a large cohort of Chinese IBD patients treated with infliximab.
NewsLeaky gut might make food allergies worse
A “leaky gut” might increase the severity of food allergies, according to new research conducted in mice and published in The Journal of Immunology. The researchers found that changes to the gut microbiome in mice were linked to increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut), and an increase in food allergy severity.
NewsImmune system: the farm effect is clearer than ever thanks to bacteria
An international research team has identified for the first time which bacteria in barn air are responsible for the ‘farm effect’ that can protect against allergies, asthma, and hay fever.
NewsClimate change is redrawing the malaria map in Africa, study finds
A study quantifying climate change’s historical and future impact in sub-Saharan Africa’s children finds that climate change has slightly increased malaria overall. Rising temperatures could increase the malaria risk in southern and East Africa while reducing it where it is most rampant today.
NewsResearch study investigates how maternal viral infections shape lifelong immune health in offspring
A $2.4 million grant will support research that aims to uncover how viral infections during pregnancy reprogram the developing immune system of the fetus, influencing susceptibility to infectious diseases throughout life.
NewsBiofilm clue opens route to anti-infection treatments of the future
A multidisciplinary study has uncovered a critical component in the formation of biofilms, the complex structures used by bacteria to colonise surfaces. The research may have implications for future infection treatments, including for people with cystic fibrosis.
NewsThe hepatitis E virus cannot infect mice - and here’s why
It has long been known that the hepatitis E virus cannot establish an infection in mice, but the reasons were unknown. Scientists have therefore systematically examined the replication cycle of the virus in liver cell cultures of mice.
NewsResearchers propose PIEM concept to reshape microbiome research
A new review introduces a new concept—Persistent Intracellular Extraintestinal Microbes (PIEMs)—that extends microbiome research from body surfaces into internal tissues.
NewsNIH grants $2.8M to develop tools for study of mosquito-microbe interactions
Researchers will use the funding to develop new tools to investigate the genetics underpinning the relationships between mosquitoes and various microbes.
NewsDeadly superbug CR-hvKP: new framework says ‘watch virulence, not just resistance genes’
Carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-hvKP) represents one of the most alarming evolutionary developments in modern infectious diseases—a “superbug” that combines high-level antibiotic resistance with enhanced virulence.