MicrobeWorld

Bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego have developed a computational model of 1,366 genes in E. coli that includes 3D protein structures and has enabled them to compute the temperature sensitivity of the bacterium's proteins. The study, published June 7 in the journal Science, ... Read More

Sandia National Laboratories is developing a suite of complementary technologies to help the emerging algae industry detect and quickly recover from algal pond crashes, an obstacle to large-scale algae cultivation for future biofuels. The research, which focuses on monitoring and diagnosing alga... Read More

For decades, health officials have battled malaria with insecticides, bed nets and drugs. Now, scientists say there might be a potent new tool to fight the deadly mosquito-borne disease: the stench of human feet.

In a laboratory study, researchers found that mosquitoes infected with the tropi... Read More

Virus particles of the same type had been thought to have identical structures, like a mass-produced toy, but a new visualization technique developed by a Purdue University researcher revealed otherwise.

Wen Jiang, an associate professor of biological sciences, found that an important viral s... Read More

The Polio virus has been found in a sewage sample from Israel for the first time since 2002, the World Health Organization announced on Monday. But no children or adults newly paralyzed by polio have been identified in Israel or in Gaza or the West Bank.

The sample was from Rahat, a city in t... Read More

The bacteria that cause acne live on everyone’s skin, yet one in five people is lucky enough to develop only an occasional pimple over a lifetime. What’s the secret?

In a boon for teenagers everywhere, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the University of Cal... Read More

In the mid-19th century, if you had wanted to have a scientific fight, you could have picked no better subject than palaeontology. Fossils pouring out of the mines, quarries and railway cuttings of the industrial revolution were undermining the biblical accounts of creation and early history, th... Read More

Exposing packaged liquids, fruits and vegetables to an electrical field for just minutes might eliminate all traces of foodborne pathogens on those foods, according to a Purdue University study.

Kevin Keener, a professor of food science, looks for new ways to kill harmful bacteria, such as E.... Read More

Following up on our coverage of the work of John Rogers, who is leading efforts at University of Illinois to develop flexible and bioresorbable electronic systems, there’s news now of new findings evaluating such implants in animal models.

Presented at the 245th National Meeting & Exposition ... Read More

For what may be the first time, researchers have discovered a virus inside a host with a non-standard nuclear genetic code — one that differs from the standard genetic code that almost all living things use to produce proteins.


“The finding is significant because it shows that these viruses... Read More

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit Read More

Recognize an outstanding colleague, student, or mentor by nominating him/her for an asm2014 achievement award. The ASM Awards Program strives to honor the best in research, service, and education, and needs your help to do so! The deadline for awards to be presented at asm2014 is July 1, 2013. P... Read More

Hep C may be thwarted by muting its ability to replicate. Also this week: a promising approach to preserve muscle in ALS, and the body's microbiota fight a sexually-transmitted disease.

Stopping HCV in Its Tracks

Researchers have identified a possible new approach to stopping hepatitis C v... Read More

Living cells are surrounded by a membrane that tightly regulates what gets in and out of the cell. This barrier is necessary for cells to control their internal environment, but it makes it more difficult for scientists to deliver large molecules such as nanoparticles for imaging, or proteins th... Read More

A new technique designed to make current antibiotics more effective works by disabling select genes in bacteria.

Described in the journal Nature Biotechnology, the technique systematically identifies genes within E. coli bacteria that inhibit the production of molecules called reactive oxygen... Read More

Nearly half of the world's population is at risk of infection by the dengue virus, yet there is no specific treatment for the disease. Now a therapy to protect people from the virus could finally be a step closer, thanks to a team at MIT.

In a paper published today in the Proceedings of the N... Read More

The FDA reports finding of bacteria and fungus in drug vials from a Tennessee compound pharmacy that recalled all of its injectable medicines last month. The CDC is evaluating these and other sterile products produced by Main Street Family Pharmacy in Newbern, TN. A fungal meningitis outbreak in... Read More

National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists studying an emerging coronavirus have found that a combination of two licensed antiviral drugs, ribavirin and interferon-alpha 2b, can stop the virus from replicating in laboratory-grown cells. These results suggest that the drug combination could b... Read More

Researchers from CNRS, Université Toulouse III -- Paul Sabatier and IRD have elucidated new molecular mechanisms involved in resistance to visceral leishmaniasis, a serious parasitic infection. They have shown that dectin-1 and mannose receptors participate in the protection against the parasite... Read More

Bird flu viruses are potentially highly lethal and pose a global threat, but relatively little is known about why certain strains spread more easily to humans than others. Two studies published by Cell Press June 6th in the journal Cell identify mutations that increase the infectivity of H5N1 an... Read More