Foot and Mouth Disease :: Smiths Detection to launch a portable diagnostic system for foot-and-mouth disease and avian flu

Smiths Detection, part of the global technology business Smiths Group, today announces it is to launch a portable detection system that will enable veterinarians to carry out on-site diagnosis of animal diseases such as foot-and-mouth and avian flu. This new technology means vets will be able to diagnose diseases in livestock and birds in the field in less than 90 minutes rather than having to send samples for laboratory analysis.

Health :: Quick technique to identify adenoviruses can improve patient care

Grantees of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have adapted a rapid and accurate new molecular typing strategy and used it to conduct one of the most comprehensive studies of adenoviruses ever performed in the United States.

HIV :: Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise names Alan Bernstein as Inaugural Executive Director

At the Keystone Symposium in Cape Town, the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise announced the appointment of its first executive director and the opening of a new secretariat in New York City. Dr. Alan Bernstein, founding president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, will lead the international alliance of researchers, funders and advocates dedicated to speeding the search for an HIV vaccine.

Mosquito :: MIT Holding, Georgia Southern University, and MEVLABS successfully test the PROVECTOR

MIT Holding, Inc. (OTCBB: MITD), in collaboration with MEVLABS and Georgia Southern University, have successfully tested prototype designs of the patent pending PROVECTOR™. This small dispensable device is designed to stop the development of pathogens and parasites found in mosquitoes that carry deadly diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and West Nile virus.

Antibiotic :: GSK & Anacor Pharmaceuticals form alliance to develop systemic antivirals and antibiotics

GlaxoSmithKline and Anacor Pharmaceuticals announced that they have entered into a worldwide strategic alliance for the discovery, development and commercialisation of novel medicines for viral and bacterial diseases. The collaboration provides GlaxoSmithKline access to Anacor’s proprietary boron-based chemistry for use against selected targets.

E Coli :: U.Va. Researcher Obrig Defends Against E. Coli’s Deadly Kidney Punch

Many Americans are familiar with the E. coli bacterium. Tales of tainted spinach and recalled hamburger sending hundreds of people to the hospital are becoming an all-too-common occurrence. In 2006, three people died and hundreds more were sickened across the country after eating E. coli-contaminated spinach.