Infectious Diseases – Page 6 – PossibleThreat Articles

Ancient genomes provide insight into the genetic history of the second plague pandemic

October 2, 2019 0 Comments Anthropology, Bird Flu, Bird Flu Research, Evolution, Evolutionary Biology, Infectious Diseases, Influenza, Microbes and More, Origin of Life

Researchers have analyzed remains from ten archaeological sites in England, France, Germany, Russia, and Switzerland to gain insight into the different stages of the second plague pandemic and the genetic diversity of Yersinia pestis during and after the Black Death. The researchers reconstructed 34 Y. pestis genomes, tracing the genetic history of the bacterium, which revealed key insights into the initiation and progression of the second plague pandemic in Europe.

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Tenfold increase in number of adolescents on HIV treatment in South Africa since 2010, but many still untreated

October 2, 2019 0 Comments Diseases and Conditions, HIV and AIDS, Infectious Diseases, Patient Education and Counseling, Sexual Health, STD, Teen Health, Today's Healthcare

A new study of more than 700,000 one to 19-year olds being treated for HIV infection suggests a ten-fold increase in the number of adolescents aged 15 to 19 receiving HIV treatment in South Africa.

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Cheap, quick test identifies pneumonia patients at risk of respiratory failure or sepsis

October 2, 2019 0 Comments Asthma, Diseases and Conditions, Infectious Diseases, Kidney Disease, Lung Disease, Patient Education and Counseling, Today's Healthcare, Wounds and Healing

Researchers have now identified specific fragments of genetic material that play a role in the development of respiratory failure and sepsis in pneumonia patients. The findings could enable doctors to test quickly for these biological markers when a patient is admitted to hospital with pneumonia, so that they could anticipate complications and provide more intensive support and monitoring.

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Protozoans and pathogens make for an infectious mix

October 1, 2019 0 Comments Bacteria, Diseases and Conditions, Extreme Survival, Foodborne Illness, Infectious Diseases, Microbes and More, Microbiology, STD

The new observation that strains of V. cholerae can be expelled into the environment after being ingested by protozoa, and that these bacteria are then primed for colonization and infection in humans, could help explain why cholera is so persistent in aquatic environments. The disease-causing bacteria are protected in the protozoan gut and ejected into the environment in membrane-bound expelled food vacuoles (EFVs).

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Babies have fewer respiratory infections if they have well-connected bacterial networks

October 1, 2019 0 Comments Asthma, Bacteria, Infant's Health, Infectious Diseases, Lung Disease, Microbes and More, Microbiology, Veterinary Medicine

Microscopic bacteria, which are present in all humans, cluster together and form communities in different parts of the body, such as the gut, lungs, nose and mouth. Now, for the first time, researchers have shown the extent to which these microbial communities are linked to each other across the body, and how these networks are associated with susceptibility to respiratory infections in babies.

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AI system accurately detects key findings in chest X-rays of pneumonia patients within 10 seconds

September 30, 2019 0 Comments Diseases and Conditions, Infectious Diseases, Lung Disease, Medical Imaging, Mesothelioma, Patient Education and Counseling, Pneumonia, Today's Healthcare

From 20 minutes or more to 10 seconds. Researchers from Intermountain Healthcare and Stanford University say 10 seconds is about how quickly a new system they studied that utilizes artificial intelligence took to accurately identify key findings in chest X-rays of patients in the emergency department suspected of having pneumonia.

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Delivery system can make RNA vaccines more powerful

September 30, 2019 0 Comments Cancer, Genes, Human Biology, Immune System, Infectious Diseases, Medical Topics, Skin Cancer, Vaccines

MIT chemical engineers have developed a new type of lipid nanoparticle that can be used to deliver RNA vaccines. The particles also trigger the release of powerful immune signaling proteins that boost the vaccines' effectiveness.

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Potent antibody curbs Nipah and Hendra virus attack

September 30, 2019 0 Comments Cell Biology, Genetics, Herpes, HIV and AIDS, Infectious Diseases, Microbes and More, Virology, Viruses

A monoclonal antibody has been shown to impede the fusion machinery henipaviruses use to merge with the membrane of cells they are attempting to breach. The antibody halts the attack by blocking membrane fusion and the injection of the viral genome into the host cell. Researchers hope this discovery will pave the way toward preventing or treating Nipah or Hendra virus infections, which now have no vaccines or therapies for people. The main carriers are large bats called flying foxes.

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Powerful new synthetic vaccines to combat epidemics

September 27, 2019 0 Comments Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Bird Flu Research, Chikungunya, Infectious Diseases, Microbes and More, Vaccines, Virology, Viruses

A new type of vaccine that can be stored at warmer temperatures, removing the need for refrigeration, has been developed for mosquito-borne virus Chikungunya in a major advance in vaccine technology. The findings reveal exceptionally promising results for the Chikungunya vaccine candidate, which has been engineered using a synthetic protein scaffold that could revolutionise the way vaccines are designed, produced and stored.

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How fungus-farming ants could help solve our antibiotic resistance problem

September 27, 2019 0 Comments Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Diseases and Conditions, Foodborne Illness, Genes, Infectious Diseases, Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacology, Today's Healthcare

For the last 60 million years, fungus-growing ants have farmed fungi for food. In their cultivation of those fungi, they've successfully relied on bacteria-produced antimicrobial ingredients to protect their crops from other species of parasitic fungi. Now, researchers say they are looking to these ants to find new ways to stop or slow the evolution of antibiotic resistance that now presents a threat to modern medicine.