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
Blocked cell wall formation stops bacterial cell division
Researchers using high-performance microscopes to observe the effect of different antibiotics on Staphylococcus aureus have clarified how exactly different antibiotics block cell division within a few minutes.
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NewsNovel 2D ultrasound-responsive antibacterial nano-sheets tackle MRSA bone tissue infection
A research team has invented a non-invasive and non-antibiotics technology to effectively reduce methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in bony tissue.
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mNGS outperforms microbiological tests to diagnose bloodstream infections
Next-generation sequencing (mNGS) leverages genetic testing advantage to save more lives and is found to be twice as effective at identifying infection cases.
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Europe set to miss 2030 SDG target for ending TB as global threat
A new paper examining progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals target for tuberculosis and associated targets warns that as it stands, the EU/EEA will not reach the set targets by 2030.
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News
AMI Trustee Dr Emmanuel Adukwu wins major RSB teaching accolade
Applied MIcrobiology International (AMI) is celebrating after Non-Exec Director and Trustee Dr Emmanuel Adukwu was awarded the Royal Society of Biology’s Higher Education Bioscience Teacher of the Year award for 2023.
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Water quality standards ‘should be reviewed to reflect AMR threat’
Water quality standards should be reviewed to reflect the threat from the spread of antibiotic resistance, a team of scientists has warned.
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Next epidemic could be spotted early in wastewater, say scientists
Researchers analysing wastewater say that routine monitoring at sewage treatment works could provide a powerful early warning system for the next flu or norovirus epidemic, alerting hospitals to prepare and providing public health agencies with vital health information.
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Gut microbes can help diagnose gestational diabetes as early as first trimester
A new study has found that gestational diabetes can be diagnosed as early as the first trimester of pregnancy – months earlier than typically detected.
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Scientists warn of rise in flesh-eating bacterial infection due to global warming
Continued warming of the climate would see a rise in the number and spread of potentially fatal infections caused by bacteria found along parts of the coast of the United States, researchers predict.
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Lethal Toxoplasma parasite strain killed California sea otters and could threaten other marine life
Necropsies of sea otters show they died of a virulent form of Toxoplasma infection first detected in mountain lions in Canada.
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Co-infection with ‘superbug’ bacteria increases SARS-CoV-2 replication up to 15 times
New research has revealed that IsdA, a protein found in all strains of Staph A., boosts SARS-CoV-2 replication by 10- to 15-fold.
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Gut microbiota may be harnessed as a tool to diagnose fatty liver disease
A recent study at the University of Jyväskylä comparing the gut microbiota and gut-derived metabolites between healthy controls and individuals with fatty liver revealed that certain microbial metabolites are associated with liver fat content.
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Researchers discover previously unknown Achilles heel of Covid virus
Scientists concluded that only a survey of neutralising antibodies can inform us about protection against new Covid infections, then disovered a previously unknown weak point of the virus when analysing specific characteristics of those antibodies.
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Healthy men who have vaginal sex have a distinct urethral microbiome
A new study shows that the urethra of healthy men is teeming with microbial life and that a specific activity - vaginal sex - can shape its composition
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Extensively drug-resistant Shigella sonnei strain emerges in France
Scientists monitoring Shigella in France have detected the emergence of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains of Shigella sonnei. Bacterial genome sequencing and case characteristics suggest that these strains, which originated in South Asia, mainly spread among men who have sex with men.
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Emerging fungal infection sees dramatic increase in cases and transmission in 2 years
A study of US national surveillance data has found that cases of Candida auris, a highly contagious fungal infection, rose drastically between 2019 and 2021, reflecting increased transmission.
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Scientists uncover what makes malaria such a wily foe
Researchers have created the first high-resolution map of the human immune response to Plasmodium falciparum, offering insight into what makes this parasite such a persistent pathogen.
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Carbon limitation boosts survival of beneficial bacterium in the human gut
Yale researchers have discovered that one of the most abundant beneficial species found in the human gut showed an increase in colonization potential when experiencing carbon limitation — a finding that could yield novel clinical interventions to support a healthy gut.
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Scientists reveal protein synthesis mechanism in Giardia parasite
Scientists from Uppsala University have used cryo-electron microscopy to reveal details of the protein synthesis mechanism in the parasite Giardia intestinalis, which causes diarrhoeal disease. The new insights could be valuable for screening specific drugs against Giardia and other protozoan parasites.
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Multi-drug resistant organisms can be transmitted between healthy dogs and cats and their hospitalised owners
Healthy dogs and cats could be passing on multidrug-resistant organisms to their hospitalised owners, and likewise humans could be transmitting these dangerous microbes to their pets - but only a small number of cases were found.
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Cannabis: The New Antiviral Hero?
Despite its long history of use, the plant remains largely misunderstood and stigmatised in many parts of the world.
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A water-dampened wipe removes Covid virus from indoor surfaces
Wiping indoor surfaces with a water-dampened wipe removes greater than 80% of Covid virus, yet pre-wetting the surface with water or detergent doesn’t make much difference, a new EPA study finds.
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WHO warns of dearth of new antibiotics, especially those targeting drug-resistant pathogens
A review from WHO on the number of new antibiotics currently in the pipeline shows that just 12 new antibiotics have entered the market in the five years from 2017-21.
