The acidity of urine -- as well as the presence of small molecules related to diet -- may influence how well bacteria can grow in the urinary tract, a new study shows. 

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) often are caused by a strain of bacteria called Escherichia coli (E. coli), and doctors long have relied on antibiotics to kill the microbes. But increasing bacterial resistance to these drugs is leading researchers to look for alternative treatment strategies.

A new study is helping to shed light on latent tuberculosis and the bacteria's ability to hide in stem cells.

Some bone marrow stem cells reside in low oxygen (hypoxia) zones. These specialized zones are secured as immune cells and toxic chemicals cannot reach this zone. Hypoxia- activated cell signaling pathways may also protect the stem cells from dying or ageing.

A new study led by Forsyth Scientist Dr. Bikul Das has found that Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) hijack this protective hypoxic zone to hide intracellular to a special stem cell type. 

Use of reinforced ring is small but noteworthy advance for those with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, according to reports in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery

In this important study use of a ring-reinforced shunt improved surgical outcomes in children born with a serious heart defect: hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Children with this condition undergo a series of reconstructive procedures, and getting through the first stage of surgery can be challenging. The results of this study highlight that significant progress is often built upon a multitude of small refinements. An accompanying editorial by Dr. Charles Fraser emphasizes the potential benefits that might be achieved by this small step in a long journey.

Using biofuel is one way to decrease the United States' dependence on oil. And switchgrass is an excellent candidate for biofuel production. It is an adaptable plant that can grow on millions of acres of U.S. lands that cannot support crop or food production. It is also a renewable resource but growing it and making it profitable can be complicated. 

It lacks qualities, such as high biomass yield, needed to maximize biofuel production. Alternative breeding methods may be the answer.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can change the brain function of people with Tourette syndrome, said researchers at the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal and the University of Montreal at the First World Congress on Tourette Syndrome and Tic Disorders in London.

Teenagers are very familiar with the risks of smoking cigarettes but thanks to misinformation campaigns by advocates regarding marijuana, and campaigns against the poorly-named "e-cigarettes" by pharmaceutical companies selling competing smoking cessation tools like gums and patches, they are less likely to buy into advertised claims.

"Kids were really good at describing the harmful things that happen with cigarette smoking, but when we asked about other products, there was a lot of confusion," said the study's lead author, Maria Roditis, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in adolescent health at the Stanford University School of Medicine..