News • Proof of Concept funding
New research to starve resistant bacteria
Researchers are developing novel active substances designed to cut off the nutrient supply of resistant bacteria, effectively starving them to death.
Bacteria
News • Potential for screening and treatments
Study links bacteria subtype to colorectal cancer growth
A specific subtype of a microbe commonly found in the mouth has been identified that is able to travel to the gut and grow within colorectal cancer tumors, driving cancer progression.
News • Trends for different bloodstream infections
AMR: age and sex identified as risk factors
A person’s age, sex and location are correlated with the chance that they have a bloodstream infection that is resistant to antibiotics, according to a new study.
News • Persistence of K. pneumoniae and E. coli
Exploring long-time colonization with resistant enterobacteria
Once a patient’s body has been colonized by resistant bacteria, they can persist for a long time, a new study by the University and University Hospital of Basel shows.
News • Novel approach to disinfection
Nano-spikes kill off viruses on surfaces
Instead of killing viruses and bacteria with chemical disinfection, a new approach uses minuscule spikes to skewer them. This could be used to prevent surface contamination in hospitals or labs.
News • Research on resistant bacteria
Emergence of 'superbugs' is not just because of antibiotics
Researchers have analysed the rise of antibiotic resistance over the last 20 years in the UK and Norway, highlighting that antibiotic use is not the only factor in the increase.
News • Potency against multidrug-resistant bacteria
Synthetic antibiotic shows promise against serious chronic infections
A new synthetic antibiotic developed by University of Liverpool researchers is shown to be more effective than established drugs against ‘superbugs’ such as MRSA, a new study shows.
News • Raman spectroscopy
Novel bacteria identification methods to speed up disease diagnosis
A new approach to the identification of harmful bacteria: A new study explores how spectroscopic techniques can be used for quick analysis directly from the skin.
News • Susceptibility detection in Escherichia coli
How AI can detect antibiotic resistance in 30 minutes
A new deep-learning approach to AMR testing has been shown to detect antimicrobial susceptibility within as little as 30 minutes - significantly faster than current gold-standard approaches.
Article • Infection control
The strain typing technologies of tomorrow
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a non-profit hospital and medical research institution in Los Angeles, is setting new standards for quality and innovation in patient care by successfully introducing typing of Candida auris species – a procedure that could prove crucial in protecting patients from infection outbreaks caused by these microbes in healthcare settings.
News • Health communication on AMR
How to improve public understanding of “antimicrobial resistance”? Rename it
A new study on public health communication shows that the term commonly used to describe bacteria resistant to current medicines or antibiotics fails to stick in people’s memories.
News • Achromobacter research
Cystic fibrosis: new bacteria discovery could lead to better treatments
A new research breakthrough could lead to the development of new treatments for people with compromised immune systems, such as those with cystic fibrosis.
News • Advanced biosensor
Researchers engineer tumor-detecting bacteria
Scientists from the University of California San Diego and their colleagues in Australia have engineered bacteria that can detect the presence of tumor DNA in a live organism.
News • Hospital pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii
More appendages = greater adaptability
German bioinformaticians have now detected an unexpected diversity of certain cell appendages in the bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii that are associated with its pathogenicity.
News • "Time-travelling" pathogens
Climate change thaws ancient frozen bacteria – how dangerous are they?
Global warming could hasten the release of ‘time-travelling’ pathogens from melting permafrost and ice that have been trapped for millennia, new research finds.
News • Molecular test for bacteria response
New method rapidly reveals antibiotic resistance
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a molecular method able to detect whether or not bacteria respond to antibiotics within minutes.
News • Infection microbiology
Researchers discover a potential cause of Parkinson’s disease
Researchers at the University of Helsinki have demonstrated that certain strains of Desulfovibrio bacteria are the likely cause of Parkinson’s disease in most cases.
News • MTX in the mix
Researchers develop novel therapy for vancomycin-resistant infections
Researchers from the US, Singapore and Geneva have developed a novel combination therapy using an anticancer agent for treating vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE).
News • Model organisms evolved too far
How lab bacteria became 'estranged' from their real-life counterparts
A model organism used in laboratories for the past 100 years has evolved so extensively that it may no longer be fit for purpose, according to a new study on bacterial strain Escherichia coli K-12.
News • Reduced postoperative complications
Colorectal cancer surgery: gut microbiota helps healing
In a promising study, Canadian researchers have shown for the first time in mice that modifying intestinal flora before surgery could reduce postoperative complications in colorectal cancer patients.
News • Infectious disease research
Hidden bacteria increases risk of antimicrobial resistant infection in hospital patients
Carriers of a specific bacteria have a 14% chance of developing an antibiotic resistant infection with 30 days of hospitalisation, according to new research from Amsterdam.
News • Unexpected reactivation
BYOB (Bring your own bacteria) as cause of hospital infections?
Some hospitalized patients’ infections may develop from their own bacteria, new research results suggest. The study in mice indicates that medical interventions can awaken dormant, hidden bacteria.
News • Intestinal distress
Multiple sclerosis: a closer look at the gut microbiome
Findings of bacteria with anti-inflammatory effects in the intestines of MS patients with no evidence of active disease indicate that diet, bacteria and disease progression are linked.
News • Driving genes of AMR in focus
Tracking the global spread of antimicrobial resistance
An international research team has provided valuable new information about what drives the global spread of genes responsible for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria.
News • Increased infection risk
AMR: drug resistant bacteria can travel from gut to lung
A new Oxford University study provides the first direct evidence of antibiotic resistant bacteria migrating from a patient’s gut microbiome to the lungs, increasing the risk of deadly infections.