Microbiology

Time To Reassess Salmonella's Infection Strategy

With the publication of a new study in Cellular Microbiology, an international team of researchers has shed new light on the infection strategy of Salmonella, suggesting that scientists will have to reassess their understanding of how the pathogens invade ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 17 2009 - 12:30pm

The Angry Lonely Bacterium

This is a fascinating article about how behavior at different levels of organization show strong parallels. “Humans in solitary confinement can go crazy, talking to themselves and trying to break free. Now scientists from New Mexico and New Hampshire are ...

Blog Post - Asha John - Dec 18 2009 - 4:16pm

Rifampin- The Antibiotic That Tuberculosis Thrives On

Scientists have identified a strain of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis that thrives in the presence of rifampin, a front-line drug in the treatment of tuberculosis. The bacterium was identified in a Chinese patient, and the researchers say his condition ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 22 2009 - 5:33pm

Benzalkonium Chloride Promotes Antibiotic Resistance

Bacteria exposed to a common disinfectant called benzalkonium chloride may develop resistance to certain antibiotics as well as the disinfectant itself, according to research published in the January issue of Microbiology. The authors of the study say the ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 28 2009 - 12:12pm

Biologists Release First Volume Of Microbial Encyclopedia

Despite the multitudes of microbes that reside on earth, our knowledge of them is quite limited. Of the estimated nonillion (10 30) that exist, scientists have or are in the process of decoding 2,000 microbial genomes,  which means there is a vast unknown ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 29 2009 - 2:09pm

Licorice Root Helps Treat Antibiotic-Resistant Infections

Researchers from the University of Texas and Shriners Hospitals for Children say a compound from licorice root (glycyrrhizin from Glycyrrhiza glabra) might be an effective treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections resulting from severe burns. Their new ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 4 2010 - 1:11pm

Listening To Bacteria Socialize Could Improve Chronic Wound Care

A team of researchers at Binghamton University who were able identify specific types of chronic wound bacteria and test their ability to produce cell-cell signaling molecules say listening in on bacterial conversations could be one way of improving chronic ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 4 2010 - 7:44pm

Sharing Hopsital Rooms Increases Spread Of 'Super Bugs'

Staying in a multi-bed hospital room dramatically increases the risk of acquiring a serious infectious disease,  according to the findings of a study published on-line in the American Journal of Infection Control. The authors say the chance of acquiring se ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 5 2010 - 6:03pm

Scientists Predict In-Flight Transmission Of H1N1

Reporting in the current online edition of the journal BMC Medicine, researchers from UCLA say they can predict the number of H1N1 flu infections that could occur during a commercial flight using novel mathematical modeling techniques. They found that tran ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 7 2010 - 3:05pm

Science 2020: Prospecting For Nanopores

I think that in many ways, the motivation of scientists is similar to that of prospectors in the 1800s. The prospectors had gold fever, grubstakes, the ability to persevere against long odds of success, and the rare peak experience of striking the mother l ...

Article - Dave Deamer - Jan 20 2010 - 2:02am