By guiding an enzyme down a new evolutionary pathway, a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers has created a new form of an enzyme capable of producing a range of potential new therapeutic agents with anti-cancer and antibiotic properties.
Scientists have what could be some very bad news for disease-causing bacteria. All three major classes of antibiotics that kill infectious bacteria do so in part by ramping up the production of harmful free radicals, researchers report in the September 7, 2007, issue of Cell, a publication of Cell Press. Because those different types of antibiotics each initially hit different targets, it had been believed they worked by independent means.
Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) can kill bacteria like the common pathogen E. coli by severely damaging their cell walls, according to a recent report from Yale researchers in the American Chemical Society journal Langmuir.
With infections increasingly resistant to even the most modern antibiotics, researchers at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed) report in the September issue of Nature Reviews Microbiology on new clues they have uncovered in immune system molecules that defend against infection.
Some scientific results are hard to spot, especially in genetic research. Often scientists are unable to physically see if the gene they inserted into a cell has produced the desired trait.
More than at any previous time in history, global public health security depends on international cooperation and the willingness of all countries to act effectively in tackling new and emerging threats.
With new diseases emerging at an unprecedented rate in an increasingly interconnected world, often with the ability to cross borders rapidly, global public health security depends on international cooperation and surveillance more than at any previous time in history, the United Nations health agency warned in its annual report today.
Two items high on the list of public concerns are the need for greater food safety and a growing demand for natural or organic food products. Understanding this, chemists and food scientists at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, joined forces to develop natural approaches to the prevention of food contamination and spoilage.
By creating “Teflon” versions of natural antibiotics found in frog skin, a research team led by biological chemist E. Neil Marsh has made the potential drugs better at thwarting bacterial defenses, an improvement that could enhance their effectiveness. Marsh will discuss the work Aug. 20 at the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston.
Computer analysis of existing drugs may be key to fighting new infectious agents and antibiotic-resistant pathogens like deadly tuberculosis strains and staph “superbugs.” Researchers in Canada say the use of such “emergency discovery” technology could save time, money and lives during a sudden outbreak or a bioterrorism attack. The study will be presented in August at the American Chemical Society national meeting in Boston.