One health
Communicable diseases remain one of the major causes of mortality worldwide. There are disparities in the numbers of individuals affected by disease between low-and-middle-income countries and those in developed nations. Microbes will play in important role in drug discovery: producing anticancer drugs and antimicrobials. Applying One Health principles, to understand the interaction of pathogens and the human host, development of diagnostics, treatments, and disease prevention, applied microbiologists can shape global health and wellbeing outcomes.
News
KU secures $5.8 million NIH grant to advance infectious disease research
The National Institutes of Health recently awarded the University of Kansas $5.8 million for Phase 3 of KU’s Chemical Biology of Infectious Disease center, an NIH Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) that was established in 2016. The center recruits, mentors and supports investigators across KU, KU Medical Center, Kansas State, Wichita State and other regional partners as they address urgent challenges in infectious disease and antibiotic resistance using chemical-biology approaches. A Phase 3 award is intended to help a research center along a sustainable path beyond COBRE support at the federal level.
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NewsNew type of human jumping gene found in a poxvirus
Until now, no one has observed a human gene that is both mobile and required for bodily functions. Scientists have found a human genetic element in a poxvirus and discovered it was both an important gene for brain function and a jumping gene capable of moving and inserting itself in genomes.
NewsA natural defence against skin-infecting fungi: Mediterranean rockrose extract
A polyphenol-rich extract from Cistus salviifolius demonstrated fungicidal activity against several dermatophytes and decreased fungal infection in a laboratory model of human epidermis.
NewsNew tool closes gap on untapped potential of phages
A new tool to mutate bacteriophages – viruses that infect bacteria – provides a big leap forward in both our understanding of how they function, and our ability to harness their full potential. The new method allows for genome-wide mutagenesis of bacteriophages using CRISPR-Cas technology.
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Cellular break-in: Parasite strategies for host invasion
Before the parasite Toxoplasma gondii can invade a cell, it has to know it has reached the right place. New research from the Whitehead Institute reveals that the parasite doesn’t simply recognize a ready-made doorway into the cell. Instead, it helps create the conditions for its own entry.
NewsResearch advances understanding of tick-borne Powassan virus
Researchers characterized changes in brain microRNAs during Powassan virus infection. MicroRNAs are tiny, natural molecules that help regulate how cells function by controlling protein production. The researchers found that these important regulators were widely disrupted as the infection progressed.
NewsResearchers develop AI tool that reveals hidden clues in the gut microbiome
Researchers are using artificial intelligence to uncover hidden clues among the trillions of bacteria living in the human gut, including changes that could one day help scientists detect diseases earlier.
NewsResearchers identify new vaccine target in malaria parasite
Researchers identified a previously uncharacterized site on the parasite’s major surface protein that antibodies can target to block liver infection, potentially preventing the dormant forms responsible for malaria relapses.
NewsDrug helps bladder cells to clear urinary infections
Researchers have identified a way to strengthen the bladder cells’ ability to eliminate urinary tract infection bacteria sheltered in the cells of the epiithelium. The drug OM-89, marketed as Uro-Vaxom®, activates cellular degradation pathways in bladder epithelial cells while also increasing the amount of antibiotic that enters them.
NewsBlood test shows whether newborns with fever have bacterial or viral infection
A new study suggests a test that compares the levels of two molecules in the blood is able to accurately distinguish between bacterial and viral infections in newborn babies with fever.
NewsSafer water: From single-target tests to real-time multipathogen surveillance
A new perspective outlines how integrated biosensing systems could move aquatic pathogen surveillance from periodic single-target testing toward rapid, online monitoring of multiple pathogens at once.
NewsFAO renews university’s designation as Reference Centre on Antimicrobial Resistance and Aquaculture Biosecurity
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is redesignating Mississippi State University as an FAO Reference Centre on Antimicrobial Resistance and Aquaculture Biosecurity.
NewsChina’s microecology journey points to a one health future
Microbes are often associated with disease, but the trillions of microorganisms living in and around us also help support health, food production and environmental balance. A new review in Microbiome and One Health examines the development of China’s microecology field across more than 70 years and its contribution to the ...
NewsGut microbiome can reveal risk of type 2 diabetes
Changes in the composition of bacteria in the gut could provide early warning of type 2 diabetes (T2D), new research has found. The analysis of data from hundreds of thousands of individuals identified hundreds of changes in the composition of the gut microbiome that can be detected before the onset of any changes in blood glucose measures.
NewsGut bacteria-derived metabolite contributes to host lifespan extension
Researchers use genetically engineered Escherichia coli to reveal how gut bacteria-derived polyamines extend the lifespan of fruit flies.
NewsA new mechanism of action against an old enemy
Researchers identified corramycin as a promising candidate against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In the laboratory, the natural compound is effective against various forms of the tuberculosis pathogen, including strains from clinical samples that are already resistant to common antibiotics.
NewsHow human impacts increase risk of emerging infectious disease outbreaks
Global fragmentation of ecosystems and changing patterns of rainfall have increased the risk of diseases spreading to humans from animals, mosquitoes and ticks, finds a study.
NewsResearchers uncover what could make some bacteria-killing viruses more effective than others
Bacteriophages — or phages, for short — are viruses that kill bacteria, and scientists have been studying them for decades as a possible solution to antibiotic-resistant infections. But phages are notoriously picky eaters — a phage that can eradicate one bacterial strain is often powerless against others, even if the ...
NewsResearchers reveal snapshots of a key molecular machine in tropical parasites
A study reveals, with near-atomic precision, the three-dimensional structure and function of a gigantic molecular machine essential to the survival of trypanosomatid parasites, which cause serious diseases in humans, animals and plants.
NewsResearchers use computational design to engineer immune cells to fight cancer and viruses
Researchers have used advanced computational design methods to enhance the ability of genetically engineered immune cells to recognize and attack cancer and viral targets.
NewsA shorter, better-tolerated treatment for chagas disease is possible
A 30-day course of benznidazole taken once a day could offer people with chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection a safer and more practical option than the current standard treatment, taken twice a day for 60 days.
NewsTarget identified in treatment of neuroHIV
NeuroHIV occurs when HIV infection affects the function and structural integrity of the brain and, to some extent, the spinal cord and peripheral nervous system. New research has identified a brain protein driving this damage, pointing toward a possible treatment.
NewsCould these pills help people with anorexia? A new study aims to find out
A new clinical trial is recruiting people diagnosed with anorexia nervosa as researchers hope to discover if fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) capsules could help better manage this eating disorder.