by Institute for Systems Biology Graphical Abstract. Credit: Cell Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112875 Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the pathogen that causes tuberculosis (TB), the world’s deadliest infectious disease. Mtb is so successful and harmful because it can adapt to different conditions inside our bodies, allowing it to evade treatment. By using a computer model to understand Mtb’s...
by University of Maine Gram-stained P. aeruginosa bacteria (pink-red rods) Credit: Wikipedia Pathogens don’t always work against drug treatments. Sometimes, they can strengthen them, according to a new University of Maine study. Diseases caused by a combination of bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites—also known as polymicrobial infections—are challenging to treat because scientists don’t fully understand...
by Beth Newcomb, University of Southern California A new study led by the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology indicates that the negative long-term metabolic effects of fighting off infections could be mitigated by tweaking how a gene called SKN-1 directs cells to respond to stressors. A previous study in Caenorhabditis elegans in the laboratory...
by German Center for Infection Research The bacterium Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a life-threatening infection in animals and humans. Contaminated food is a frequent source of infection. Elderly people, people with a weakened immune system and pregnant women are particularly at risk with a mortality rate of up to 30 per cent. An international...
by Andrew Camilli And Minmin Yen, The Conversation In the latest of a string of high-profile cases in the U.S., a cocktail of bacteria-killing viruses successfully treated a cystic fibrosis patient suffering from a deadly infection caused by a pathogen that was resistant to multiple forms of antibiotics. Curing infections is great, of course. But what about using these bacteria-killing viruses – bacteriophages – to prevent infections in the...
