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.
Read moreNew findings reveal many different structural models for viruses, which can eventually lead to developing more targeted antiviral vaccines, by improving our understanding of how viruses form, evolve and infect their hosts.
Read moreViruses are mainly known as pathogens – often causing death. However, scientists are now showing how viruses influence the biology of living marine predators. This sheds new light on the general role of viruses in ocean ecosystems. For these insights, the scientists integrated a suite of innovative and high technology methods that have not been applied simultaneously in the study of marine ecosystems.
Read moreWestern Australia's famous 3.5-billion-year-old stromatolites contain microbial remains of some of the earliest life on Earth, scientists have found.
Read moreFor the first time, scientists were able to observe bacteria forming pearl chains that protrude from the cell surface. These pearl chains serve to better absorb and store substances from the environment.
Read moreInfections that are treatable in healthy people can often be fatal in immunocompromised individuals (people with a weak immune system), and hence, they require specialized treatment. Eushearilide is already known to be active against a wide range of pathogenic fungi and yeasts, but its antibacterial properties have not been explored. Now, scientists have derived a new compound from eushearilide and demonstrated its antibacterial and antifungal properties. It can be used to treat lung infections, meningitis, and encephalitis.
Read moreWhile viruses are typically known for their pathogenic properties, new research findings now also demonstrate a positive influence of bacteriophages on the interaction of host organisms with bacteria. A new study sheds new light on the symbiosis between multicellular organisms and their microbial communities, which may be regulated by bacteriophages in a tripartite relationship.
Read moreFor the first time ever, researchers have mapped how bacterial cells trigger their defense against outside attacks. This could affect how diseases are fought in the future.
Read moreScientists have developed a new class of antibiotic drug candidates which has high potential to be developed into a new generation of antibiotics fighting against multi-drug resistant superbugs including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
Read moreOne of the WHO's 3 critical priority pathogens, Acinetobacter baumannii, for which new antibiotics are urgently needed is one step closer to being tackled, as researchers have made a breakthrough in understanding the enzymes that assemble the antibiotic enacyloxin.
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