World-first nanotechnology developed by the University of South Australia could change the lives of thousands of people living with cystic fibrosis (CF) as groundbreaking research shows it can improve the effectiveness of the CF antibiotic Tobramycin, increasing its efficacy by up to 100,000-fold. The new technology uses a biomimetic nanostructured material to augment Tobramycin – the antibiotic prescribed to treat chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infections in severe cases of CF – eradicating the infection in as little as two doses….
The advance, researchers say, is like the discovery of the Rosetta stone and could eventually lead to new treatments for diseases. UCLA life scientists have identified six “words” that specific immune cells use to call up immune defense genes — an important step toward understanding the language the body uses to marshal responses to threats. In addition, they discovered that the incorrect use of two of these words can activate the wrong genes, resulting in the autoimmune disease known as…
Protein remodels intracellular membrane to help bacteria survive in host cells. Scientists at UT Southwestern have discovered a key protein that helps the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease to set up house in the cells of humans and other hosts. The findings, published in Science, could offer insights into how other bacteria are able to survive inside cells, knowledge that could lead to new treatments for a wide variety of infections. “Many infectious bacteria, from listeria to chlamydia to salmonella,…
A team of turbulence researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria led by Björn Hof reports that a small difference in epidemic mitigation levels can cause a discontinuous jump in infection numbers. In the article published in Nature Communications and co-authored by Marc Timme from the TU Dresden, the researchers show that limits in testing and contact tracing are responsible for this sudden change in the epidemic outcome. Testing followed up by contact tracing is extremely efficient in…
Since February 2021, the canton of Grisons is using saliva-based PCR mass testing within its mobile workforce as a potential means to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and reduce infection rates. Empa researchers are now leading the analysis of data from the first eight weeks of the testing regime. They observed a reduction in the incidence rate between 20 and 50%, depending on the business sector, and a noticeable reduction in the test positivity rate among those who were regularly tested….
Researchers have created a probe that glows when it detects an enzyme associated with issues that can lead to blood clots and strokes. The team of researchers, from the Department of Chemistry and the National Lung and Heart Institute at Imperial College London, demonstrated that their probe quickly and accurately detects the enzyme in modified E. Coli cells. They are now expanding this proof-of-concept study, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and funded by the British Heart…
Girls with mutations in the gene EPHB2 may be at increased risk of autism. After reviewing a database of gene mutations in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a team of Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) researchers decided to study a specific gene mutation that likely caused ASD in a girl. They demonstrated that the mutation was damaging to the gene, and that female, but not male, mice lacking a working copy of the gene also showed ASD-associated symptoms….
First 3D model with patient cells … Myotonic dystrophy is a hereditary degenerative neuromuscular disease that occurs mainly in adults, affecting about 50,000 people only in Spain. Symptoms range from difficulty walking and myotonia (great difficulty in relaxing the contracted muscles) to severe neurological problems, leading to progressive disability that unfortunately puts many of those affected in a wheelchair. This disease is very heterogeneous among patients (age of onset, progression, hereditary transmission, affected muscles), which makes the development of generic…
Scientists have revealed how an antibiotic of ‘last resort’ kills bacteria. The findings, from Imperial College London and the University of Texas, may also reveal a potential way to make the antibiotic more powerful. The antibiotic colistin has become a last resort treatment for infections caused by some of the world’s nastiest superbugs. However, despite being discovered over 70 years ago, the process by which this antibiotic kills bacteria has, until now, been something of a mystery. Now, researchers have…
New optical diffraction tomography method increases imaging speed and resolution for improved diagnostics in histopathology. Histology is the study of biological tissues at a microscopic level. Also called microscopic anatomy, histology is widely used to provide diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. For example, tissue samples obtained during surgery might help to determine whether further surgical action is needed, and further surgery may be avoided if a diagnosis can be rapidly obtained during an operation. Traditional methods in histopathology are…
Removing pathogens from drinking water is especially difficult when the germs are too tiny to be caught by conventional filters. Researchers at Empa and Eawag are developing new materials and processes to free water from pathogenic microorganisms such as viruses Water is life, biology teaches us. Reality teaches us something different: Water contaminated with pathogens causes hundreds of thousands of deaths each year in places where water treatment is lacking or poorly functioning. To put an end to this, the…
A genetically encoded sensor to detect hallucinogenic compounds has been developed by researchers at the University of California, Davis. Named psychLight, the sensor could be used in discovering new treatments for mental illness, in neuroscience research and to detect drugs of abuse. The work is published April 28 in the journal Cell. Compounds related to psychedelic drugs such as LSD and dimethyltryptamine (DMT) show great promise for treating disorders such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorder. These…
Potential COVID-19 treatment pairs nanoparticles with human immune system to search and destroy viruses. Researchers at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) at the University of Chicago have designed a completely novel potential treatment for COVID-19: nanoparticles that capture SARS-CoV-2 viruses within the body and then use the body’s own immune system to destroy it. These “Nanotraps” attract the virus by mimicking the target cells the virus infects. When the virus binds to the Nanotraps, the traps then sequester…
Scientists transform human intestinal cells into ‘mini guts’ to follow infection process. In an effort to determine the potential for COVID-19 to begin in a person’s gut, and to better understand how human cells respond to SARS-CoV-2, the scientists used human intestinal cells to create organoids – 3D tissue cultures derived from human cells, which mimic the tissue or organ from which the cells originate. Their conclusions, published in the journal Molecular Systems Biology, indicate the potential for infection to…
Researchers at MUSC use AI software to predict coronary artery plaque composition and significance without the risks of invasive procedures. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common form of heart disease and is present in about 18.2 million American adults. This disease is defined by narrowing of the vessels that supply the heart with critical oxygen and nutrients, typically caused by plaque blockages and inflammation. But not all plaques have the same composition, and while blockages in the heart…
MK-4482 shows potential to prevent and treat SARS-CoV-2 infection. The experimental antiviral drug MK-4482 significantly decreased levels of virus and disease damage in the lungs of hamsters treated for SARS-CoV-2 infection, according to a new study from National Institutes of Health scientists. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19. MK-4482, delivered orally, is now in human clinical trials. Remdesivir, an antiviral drug already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use against COVID-19, must be provided intravenously, making…
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