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.
Bacteria
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.
Article • Detecting several different diseases
Multiplex diagnostics: next-generation techniques for new challenges
With the rise of syndrome-style infections, co-infections and the current antimicrobial resistance challenges, the need for multiplexed diagnostics is now more important than ever.
News • Infection control
Legionnaire's disease: genetic analysis key to understanding risk
Routine sampling of water supplies and genomic sequencing of Legionella bacteria could play a key role in identifying the source of Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks, research suggests.
News • Streptococcus pneumoniae
Technique helps discover whether bacteria are antibiotic resistant
A new study could one day help health workers determine whether bacteria of the species Streptococcus pneumoniae, which cause meningitis, are resistant to antibiotics.
News • Live bacterial therapeutics
Engineering the microbiome to potentially cure disease
Development of effective live bacterial therapeutics may depend more on using and re-introducing native microbes that can stick around than how the microbes are modified.
News • Green revolution
Bacteria could power medical sensors
Engineers have developed a biofilm capable of producing long-term, continuous electricity from an individuals' sweat.
News • Greenhouse gas emissions
How climate change impacts human pathogenic diseases
A comprehensive assessment of scientific literature has uncovered empirical evidence that more than 58% of human diseases caused by pathogens, such as dengue, hepatitis, pneumonia, malaria, Zika, have been aggravated by climatic hazards.
News • Rare but dangerous infectious disease
New target to combat Melioidosis
Researchers have identified an enzyme that is a promising new therapeutic target to combat the dangerous bacterial disease melioidosis.
News • CD4-PP vs. UTI
Reducing the risk of infection for patients with urinary catheters
Indwelling catheters through the urethra often cause bacterial infections. A newly discovered synthetic peptide is a promising treatment option, even against antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
News • Protective coating
Researchers develop spray-on 'Covid shield'
A sprayable coating that can prevent the surface spread of infection from bacteria and viruses – including Covid-19 – over a sustained period has been developed by Australian researchers.
News • Model to predict efficacy
Phage therapy: a viable alternative to antibiotics?
Bacteriophages – viruses that kill bacteria – could be a solution for fighting antibiotic-resistant pathogens, French researchers have developed a model to better predict their efficacy.
Sponsored • Product of the month
New test with simplified preanalytics for simultaneous detection of GDH and toxins of Clostridioides difficile in compliance with recommendations
Sofia 2 C. difficile FIA is a new solution to provide reliable and rapid test results with high clinical relevance before empiric therapy decisions are implemented.
News • mhealth
Smartphone-powered microchip for at-home diagnostic testing
Researchers developed a new microfluidic chip with broad applications for detecting viruses, pathogens, bacteria and other biomarkers in liquid samples.
