Feature Channels: Infectious Diseases

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Released: 6-Jul-2016 3:05 PM EDT
Researchers Harness DNA in a Super-Efficient Sensor That Detects Bacteria, Viruses, Metals and Drugs
McMaster University

Researchers at McMaster University have established a way to harness DNA as the engine of a microscopic “machine” they can turn on to detect trace amounts of substances that range from viruses and bacteria to cocaine and metals.

   
Released: 6-Jul-2016 2:05 PM EDT
Research Brings New Understanding of Chronic Inflammatory Disease
University of Manchester

Research from life scientists at The University of Manchester has shone new light on the way cells tune in to different inflammatory signals to understand what is happening in the body.

Released: 6-Jul-2016 2:05 PM EDT
Quick, Early Test for Ebola Could Prevent Epidemics
Princeton University

Researchers from Princeton University are joining with colleagues from U.S. government laboratories in an effort to dramatically improve the test for the Ebola virus. The goal is to offer a quick, accurate and inexpensive method to help contain future epidemics.

Released: 6-Jul-2016 10:25 AM EDT
Researchers Begin Promising Malaria Vaccine Trial in Burkina Faso
University of Maryland Medical Center

Malaria is one of the world’s deadliest diseases: it infects hundreds of millions of people every year, and kills about half a million, most of them under five years of age. There is no vaccine. Now, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine are testing a malaria vaccine that has shown success in early tests.

Released: 6-Jul-2016 5:05 AM EDT
School of Medicine Expert Receives Two Innovation Grants in Pursuit of AIDS Cure
Case Western Reserve University

Jonathan Karn, PhD, an HIV/AIDS expert from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has received two Innovation research grants out of seven allocated in the United States and Canada as part of an international effort to find a scientific basis for a cure of HIV/AIDS by 2020

Released: 5-Jul-2016 12:05 PM EDT
Day-Biting Invasive Mosquito Species Spreading Its Range in Austria
University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna

Until a few years ago the Asian bush mosquito, Aedes japonicus, was not yet present in Europe. Now it is spreading its range in several European countries, including Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Ae. japonicus no longer is an exotic guest - it is here to stay.

30-Jun-2016 4:45 PM EDT
LJI Researchers Reveal Dominant Player in Human T Helper Cell Maturation
La Jolla Institute for Immunology

A powerful arm of the immune system is production of antibodies that circulate through the blood and neutralize invading pathogens. Although B cells actually manufacture antibody proteins, the process is aided by neighboring T cells, which shower B cells with cytokines to make them churn out high-quality antibody proteins—and remember how to do so. Given the essential function of "helper" T cells, researchers have long sought to define biological signals that encourage their development.

Released: 1-Jul-2016 1:05 PM EDT
Gene Amplification -- the Fast Track to Infection
Umea University

Researchers at Umeå University in Sweden are first to discover that bacteria can multiply disease-inducing genes which are needed to rapidly cause infection. The results were published in Science on June 30, 2016.

Released: 1-Jul-2016 11:30 AM EDT
Individual Mycobacteria Respond Differently to Antibiotics Based on Growth and Timing
Tufts University

Tufts scientists have identified factors linked to why individual mycobacteria of the same genetic background can respond differently to antibiotics. The findings shed light on the complexity of antibiotic tolerance and may improve the future design of drug regimens.

   
30-Jun-2016 3:05 PM EDT
Benign Bacteria Block Mosquitoes From Transmitting Zika, Chikungunya Viruses
University of Wisconsin–Madison

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have confirmed that a benign bacterium called Wolbachia pipientis can completely block transmission of Zika virus in Aedes aegypti. Matthew Aliota, a scientist at the UW–Madison School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), says the bacteria could present a “novel biological control mechanism,” aiding efforts to stop the spread of Zika virus.

24-Jun-2016 9:00 AM EDT
Air Pollution Linked to Increased Rates of Kidney Disease
American Society of Nephrology (ASN)

• The likelihood of developing membranous nephropathy, an immune disorder of the kidneys that can lead to kidney failure, increased 13% annually over 11 years in China. • Regions with high levels of fine particulate air pollution had the highest rates of membranous nephropathy.

Released: 30-Jun-2016 2:05 PM EDT
U.S. Needs Greater Preparation for Next Severe Public Health Threats, Independent Panel Finds
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences

An Independent Panel formed to review the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s response to Ebola calls for increased coordination both within HHS and across all involved federal agencies and strengthened coordination and collaboration with state and local governments and their private-sector partners.

Released: 30-Jun-2016 11:05 AM EDT
Saint Louis University to Conduct Zika Research
Saint Louis University Medical Center

With mosquito season underway, SLU vaccine researchers have received NIH funding to study the body’s immune response to Zika.

Released: 30-Jun-2016 11:05 AM EDT
Researchers to Use Innovative Alternative to Autopsy to Better Understand Child Mortality
University of Maryland School of Medicine

The Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) has been awarded a large grant for research that will help determine why so many children under five are dying in the world’s poorest countries. The grant will fund use of an innovative alternative to traditional autopsy known as minimally invasive tissue sampling.

Released: 30-Jun-2016 11:05 AM EDT
Scientists Develop Computer Models to Unravel the Complexities of TB Infection
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

NIBIB-funded scientists used computers to model the formation of tuberculosis granulomas in the lung -- the non-active (latent) form of infection found in 2 billion individuals worldwide (11 million in the U.S.) that can activate to become a life-threatening infection. Employing a computer model aims to speed analysis of TB’s complex life-cycle and to identify potential new antibiotics, antibiotic targets, and biomarkers that can predict transition to active infection.

Released: 30-Jun-2016 10:05 AM EDT
Likelihood of Widespread Zika Outbreak in United States Low
University of Alabama at Birmingham

High mosquito and human population densities, combined with mosquito breeding conditions, are the central cause for Zika virus.

Released: 29-Jun-2016 3:05 PM EDT
NIH Awards $11 Million to UTHealth Researchers to Study Deadly Prion Diseases
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Led by Claudio Soto, Ph.D., researchers from McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have been awarded $11 million from the NIAID to study the pathogenesis, transmission and detection of prion diseases – such as chronic wasting disease in deer – that can potentially spread to humans.

Released: 29-Jun-2016 1:05 PM EDT
Rice University Lab Runs Crowd-Sourced Competition to Create 'Big Data' Diagnostic Tools
Rice University

Big data has a bright future in personalized medicine, as demonstrated by an international competition centered at Rice University that suggested ways forward for treatment of patients with leukemia.

Released: 29-Jun-2016 11:05 AM EDT
Allergy-Causing 'Bad Guy' Cells Unexpectedly Prove Life-Saving in C. difficile
University of Virginia Health System

Researchers have identified immune cells vital for protecting us from potentially fatal C. difficile infection. Surprisingly, those cells are often vilified for their role in causing asthma and allergies. But when it comes to C. difficile, they could be the difference in life and death.

Released: 29-Jun-2016 7:00 AM EDT
Testing for Malaria—or Cancer—at Home, via Cheap Paper Strips
Ohio State University

Chemists at The Ohio State University are developing paper strips that detect diseases including cancer and malaria—for a cost of 50 cents per strip.

Released: 28-Jun-2016 2:05 PM EDT
TSRI Scientists Stabilize HIV Structure, Design Potential AIDS Vaccine Candidates
Scripps Research Institute

Two new studies led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute advance efforts to produce HIV vaccine candidates, potentially suitable for large-scale production.

24-Jun-2016 11:05 AM EDT
Monkey Study Shows Zika Infection Prolonged in Pregnancy
University of Wisconsin–Madison

University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers studying monkeys have shown that one infection with Zika virus protects against future infection, though pregnancy may drastically prolong the time the virus stays in the body.

27-Jun-2016 12:35 PM EDT
New Research Shows Vaccine Protection Against Zika Virus
Beth Israel Lahey Health

The rapid development of a safe and effective vaccine to prevent the Zika virus (ZIKV) is a global priority, as infection in pregnant women has been shown to lead to fetal microcephaly and other major birth defects. The World Health Organization declared the Zika virus epidemic a global public health emergency on February 1, 2016.

27-Jun-2016 8:00 AM EDT
Next Flu Pandemic Could Double Past Cost Estimates
Society for Risk Analysis (SRA)

Policy makers’ and public health officials’ proper reactions could hold down the total costs to U.S. GDP of an influenza outbreak. Otherwise, costs could be nearly double previous estimates.

Released: 28-Jun-2016 5:05 AM EDT
Researcher Receives Grant to Understand Why Some HIV+ Individuals Avoid the “Duet of Death”
Case Western Reserve University

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine experts and colleagues in the United States and Africa have received an $11 million, five-year NIH grant to understand why some people living with HIV in Africa avoid becoming infected with the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB) despite exposure to high-TB-risk circumstances.

Released: 28-Jun-2016 12:05 AM EDT
Relapse of Leukemia After Bone Marrow Transplantation:Cytomegalovirus Infection Has No Protective Effect
Universite de Montreal

Recent studies on a small number of patients with leukemia treated with bone marrow transplantation have suggested that the presence of the common cytomegalovirus (CMV) in patients or their donors may protect against relapse or even death after the transplant. A large international study published in the journal Blood now shows the opposite. The virus not only does not prevent leukemia relapse, but also remains a major factor associated with the risk of death.

Released: 27-Jun-2016 4:05 PM EDT
Penn-CHOP Named CDC Prevention Epicenter Site
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have been awarded over $5 million to serve as a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Prevention Epicenter site to help develop and test innovative approaches to preventing superbugs and improving patient safety.

Released: 27-Jun-2016 2:05 PM EDT
Researchers Discover the 2009 Swine Flu Pandemic Originated in Mexico
Mount Sinai Health System

The 2009 swine H1N1 flu pandemic — responsible for more than 17,000 deaths worldwide — originated in pigs from a very small region in central Mexico, a research team headed by investigators at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is reporting.

Released: 27-Jun-2016 2:05 PM EDT
Teaching an Old Drug New Tricks to Fight Cytomegalovirus
Johns Hopkins Medicine

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that an old drug once mostly used to treat amebiasis — a disease caused by a parasite — and induce vomiting in cases of poisoning appears to also halt replication of cytomegalovirus (CMV), a herpesvirus that can cause serious disease in immunocompromised individuals, including those with HIV or organ transplant recipients.

Released: 27-Jun-2016 2:00 PM EDT
Mobile, Phone-Based Microscopes Work Well in the Field with Minimal Training
University Health Network (UHN)

Handheld, mobile phone-based microscopes can be used in developing countries after minimal training of community laboratory technicians to diagnose intestinal parasites quickly and accurately.

Released: 27-Jun-2016 11:05 AM EDT
Political Pitfalls in Handling Ebola May Carry Over to Zika
University of Michigan

If the United States responds to Zika the way it did to Ebola—and early indications are that in many ways it is—the country can expect missteps brought about by a lack of health care coordination and a lot of political finger pointing, according to an analysis by the University of Michigan.

   
23-Jun-2016 11:05 AM EDT
Researchers Uncover Global, Evolving, and Historic Make-Up of Malaria Species
New York University

A team of scientists has uncovered the global, evolving, and historic make-up of Plasmodium vivax, one of the five species of malaria that infect humans. The research, which links the spread of the parasite back to colonial seafaring, among other phenomena, underscores the challenges health experts face in controlling the parasite.

Released: 27-Jun-2016 9:05 AM EDT
Zika Virus Research at Biosecurity Research Institute Aims to Control, Fight Mosquitoes
Kansas State University

Kansas State University is helping the fight against Zika virus through mosquito research at the Biosecurity Research Institute.

24-Jun-2016 10:05 AM EDT
Righting the Wrongs of Misfolded Proteins
University of Alberta

UAlberta scientists study compounds with anti-prion properties to address rare but fatal diseases.

Released: 24-Jun-2016 5:05 PM EDT
Health Tips for Traveling Abroad with Kids
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences

Before your family heads to Mexico, Asia or beyond, do a little planning ahead of time to keep everyone healthy during their journey. Dr. Nava Yeganeh, an assistant professor of pediatric infectious diseases and director of the Pediatric International Travel and Adoption Clinic at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, explains three important strategies.

Released: 24-Jun-2016 2:05 PM EDT
WIU Faculty, Students Studying Zika Virus
Western Illinois University

A group of Western Illinois University student and faculty researchers are spending the summer conducting surveillance of tick-borne diseases and mosquito-borne arboviruses in regional counties.

Released: 24-Jun-2016 1:05 PM EDT
Zika Virus Alerts May Have Prompted Uptick in Abortion Requests in Latin America
Princeton University

Pregnant women in Latin American countries were more likely to seek an abortion after receiving health alerts about Zika virus, according to a study co-authored by Princeton University researchers and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Released: 24-Jun-2016 12:05 PM EDT
Faster Detection of Pathogens in the Lungs
University of Zurich

What used to take several weeks is now possible in two days: thanks to new molecular-based methods, mycobacterial pathogens that cause pulmonary infections or tuberculosis can now be detected much more quickly. Time-consuming bacteria cultures no longer need to be taken from the patient samples, meaning that a suitable therapy can be started quickly.

Released: 24-Jun-2016 9:00 AM EDT
Nation’s Leader in Mosquito Elimination Challenges Americans to Be Vigilant, Follow CDC Recommendations
Mosquito Squad

The American Mosquito Control Association’s annual National Mosquito Control Awareness Week aims to educate about the significance of mosquitoes and the importance of eliminating them. Amy Lawhorne, vice president and brand leader at Mosquito Squad, the largest and most experienced home and commercial mosquito control firm in the country, is putting mosquitoes on notice.

Released: 23-Jun-2016 4:05 PM EDT
Stopping Zika: Saint Louis University to Launch Human Vaccine Trial
Saint Louis University Medical Center

Saint Louis University's vaccine center has been tapped by the National Institutes of Health to conduct a human clinical trial of a vaccine to prevent the Zika virus, which can cause devastating birth defects in babies.

Released: 23-Jun-2016 2:05 PM EDT
Dengue Virus Exposure May Amplify Zika Infection
Imperial College London

Previous exposure to the dengue virus may increase the potency of Zika infection, according to research from Imperial College London.

Released: 23-Jun-2016 1:35 PM EDT
RTI International to Serve as Data Coordinating Center for Study of Pregnant Women in Areas Affected by Zika
RTI International

RTI International will serve as the data coordinating center for a multi-country study to evaluate the magnitude of health risks that Zika virus infection poses to pregnant women and their developing fetuses and infants. The study is led by the National Institutes of Health and Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz.

Released: 23-Jun-2016 11:05 AM EDT
Some Viruses Could Survive on Children’s Toys for Hours and Cause Infection, Study Finds
Georgia State University

Certain viruses, such as influenza, could survive on children’s toys long enough to result in exposures, placing children at risk for getting infectious diseases, according to researchers at Georgia State University.

22-Jun-2016 8:00 AM EDT
Memory Loss Caused by West Nile Virus Explained
Washington University in St. Louis

Many West Nile encephalitis survivors suffer long-term neurological problems such as memory loss. New research from Washington University School of Medicine shows that the patients’ own immune systems may have destroyed parts of their neurons, and that intervening in the immune response may help.

Released: 22-Jun-2016 11:05 AM EDT
Johns Hopkins Students Design Ebola Protection Suit Improvements
 Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University engineering students working to develop a better suit to protect health care workers in Ebola outbreaks have developed prototypes for a more comfortable hood and face mask that make breathing easier, and for a battery-powered system that curbs humidity in the suit.

Released: 22-Jun-2016 9:05 AM EDT
Get a clue: Biochemist studies fruit fly to understand Parkinson's disease, muscle wasting
Kansas State University

By studying the fruit fly, Kansas State University researchers have found a connection between a gene called clueless and genes that cause Parkinson's disease.

   
Released: 22-Jun-2016 9:05 AM EDT
Treatment of Humans and Pigs May Reduce Endemic Tapeworm Infection
Georgia State University

The transmission of Taenia solium, a pork tapeworm species that infects humans and causes late-onset seizures and epilepsy, can be stopped on a population-wide level with mass treatments of both pigs and humans, researchers have shown.



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