All Infection Prevention & Control articles – Page 2
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NewsThe International Space Station is overly sterile - so making it ‘dirtier’ could improve astronaut health
The International Space Station (ISS) has a much lower diversity of microbes compared to human-built environments on Earth, and the microbes that are present are mostly species carried by humans onto the ISS, suggesting that the presence of more microbes from nature could help improve human health in the space station.
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NewsNew insights into how specific gut cells respond to bacterial toxins
Researchers have characterized a specific gut cell type, BEST4/CA7+ cells, with the ability to interact with immune cytokine interferon-γ (IFNγ), and its regulation in cellular electrolyte and water balance, in response to bacterial toxins.
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NewsBacteria consumed by immune cells become part of the cell
Immune cells that eat bacteria in the body don’t stash them in specialized compartments as once thought, but turn them into critical nutrients that build proteins, create energy and keep the cells alive, according to a new study.
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NewsSuperbugs in our food: a new hope for tackling drug resistance
Researchers highlight the potential of quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs) as a novel approach to tackle Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The study explores the mechanisms of action of various QSIs and potential applications in food safety and healthcare.
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NewsBeacon Technology Solutions, Illinois Tech awarded grant to advance far-UVC disinfection research
Beacon Technology Solutions, with collaborators at Illinois Institute of Technology, has been awarded a grant to support a novel study on how Far-UVC technology can help mitigate the spread of infectious diseases in public spaces.
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NewsResearch suggests common viral infection worsens deadly condition among premature babies
Researchers say they found that infection with a common virus that can be transmitted from mother to fetus before birth significantly worsens an often-fatal complication of premature birth called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in experiments with mice.
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NewsScientists invent new drug candidates to treat antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Researchers designed a new family of antibiotics that’s a variation of an existing drug called vancomycin, which is used as a last resort for extremely ill patients. The new version of vancomycin targets, bonds to and renders inactive two different parts of a molecule on the surfaces of pathogenic bacteria.
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NewsPromising antibody may prove useful against deadly Ebola virus outbreaks
New research reveals the workings of a human antibody called mAb 3A6, which may prove to be an important component for Ebola virus therapeutics.
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NewsStudy calls for better measures of poverty to strengthen tuberculosis research
A new review examines existing methods for assessing socioeconomic status in TB studies and highlights their shortcomings. The authors call for better, standardized poverty metrics to improve research and policy.
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NewsChlorine plus UV light degrades toxins caused by harmful algae blooms
Scientists examining the combination of ultraviolet light and chlorine to detoxify water laden with toxins from cyanobacteria have demonstrated that this combination significantly enhanced the degradation of toxins compared to chlorine alone.
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NewsPaxlovid’s impact on hospitalization and death in COVID-vaccinated older adults far weaker than previously thought
A new study overturns the assumption that Paxlovid’s effectiveness in reducing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in unvaccinated adults also applies to vaccinated adults.
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NewsScientists warn of increased mpox transmission
International researchers warn that the ongoing mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has the potential to spread across borders more rapidly. The mpox virus has mutated, and the new variant, clade 1b, has become more infectious.
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NewsScientists uncover how bacterial resistance to synergistic drug treatments is arising
Scientists investigating the potential of combined and more powerful drug treatments have found that antimicrobial resistance to these is arising via the vitamin B2 synthesis pathway.
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NewsDigging into a decades-old hepatitis B mystery suggests a new potential treatment
In their effort to answer a decades-old biological question about how the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is able to establish infection of liver cells, researchers have identified a vulnerability that opens the door to new treatments.
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NewsNovel antibiotic BTZ-043 also reaches tuberculosis bacteria hiding in dead lung tissue
Researchers have shown that the novel antibiotic BTZ-043 effectively penetrates tubercolous lesions and accumulates there in high concentrations. Consequently, the drug can fight Mtb bacteria even in hard-to-reach areas.
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News1 in 5 older adults get infections after heart surgery, and women have a 60% higher risk
One in five older adults gets an infection up to six months after heart surgery, with women far more likely to develop one, according to two studies which examined thousands of cases of coronary artery bypass grafting.
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NewsRapid diagnostic tests improve diagnosis access to indigenous Paraguayan community for Chagas disease
A study has shown that combining rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) with conventional serological tests proves to be a useful strategy for diagnosing Chagas disease in an indigenous community in the Paraguayan Chaco with its higher prevalence of the disease.
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NewsMass polio vaccination campaign to continue in the Gaza Strip
The emergency polio outbreak response in the Gaza Strip is continuing, with a mass vaccination campaign scheduled from 22 to 26 February 2025. The novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) will be administered to over 591,000 children under 10 years of age.
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NewsUltrasound cleaning promotes phenolic synthesis in fresh-cut red cabbages
Not only can ultrasonic cleaning technology enhance the quality of fruits and vegetables and reduce microbial contamination on their surfaces but it can also serve as an abiotic stressor, inducing the synthesis and accumulation of bioactive compounds.
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NewsResearchers uncover how Staphylococcus aureus ‘steals’ iron from our blood during infections
Researchers have revealed how Staphylococcus aureus bacteria extract iron from hemoglobin – a process crucial to their survival during infections. The study has identified the full sequence of protein–protein interactions during this iron ‘theft’.