DNA sequencing tracks details of TB outbreak
September 4th, 2012 - 4:01 pm ICT by IANS
Toronto, Sep 4 (IANS) DNA sequencing can reconstruct the spread of killer diseases from person to person, besides quickly identifying the origin and movement of pathogens.A team from the British ... Read more...
Posted in Health |
Coconut oil combats tooth decay
September 3rd, 2012 - 12:29 pm ICT by IANS
London, Sep 3 (IANS) Coconut oil is a natural antibiotic that attacks the bacteria causing tooth decay. It could be incorporated into commercial dental care products, say scientists.Researchers from the ... Read more...
Posted in Health |
Immunise chicken to fight food-borne illness
March 26th, 2012 - 3:04 pm ICT by IANS
London, March 26 (IANS) The simple expedient of vaccinating chickens against the bug C. jejuni could cut down the incidence of food poisoning.If C. jejuni contaminated poultry is not prepared ... Read more...
Posted in Uncategorized |
Viruses show promise in defeating superbugs
March 26th, 2012 - 3:03 pm ICT by IANS
London, March 26 (IANS) Scientists are harnessing viruses to beat extremely resistant bacterial infections, which are fast becoming the bane of public health.
Bacteriophages are viruses that can infect bacteria ... Read more...
Posted in World |
Dental bugs may trigger fatal heart condition
March 26th, 2012 - 12:28 pm ICT by IANS
London, March 26 (IANS) Mouth bugs seeping into the bloodstream can cause blood clots and trigger endocarditis or inflammation of heart's inner tissues, which could be fatal.Infective endocarditis is treated ... Read more...
Posted in World |
E.coli, salmonella target ripening fruits
March 26th, 2012 - 11:43 am ICT by IANS
London, March 26 (IANS) Food poisoning bugs E. coli and salmonella could be especially targeting ripening fruits and vegetables such as melons, jalapenos and serrano peppers, basil, lettuce, horseradish sprouts ... Read more...
Posted in World |
‘Harmless’ soil bacteria can help kill tumours
September 5th, 2011 - 2:46 pm ICT by IANS
London, Sep 5 (IANS) Scientists are harnessing a harmless soil bug to kill tumours by using it as a drug delivery vehicle.The therapy uses Clostridia sporogenes -- a bug found ... Read more...
Posted in World |
Viral infection likely to encourage pneumonia spread: Study
April 11th, 2011 - 5:33 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, April 11 (ANI): Bacteria that cause pneumonia and meningitis are only able to spread when individuals are infected with flu, according to a new study.The finding could have implications for the ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Ozone-enriched environments reduce fungal spoilage of fruits, vegetables
April 11th, 2011 - 4:06 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, Apr 11 (ANI): A scientists has said that storing fruits and vegetables in ozone-enriched environments reduces spoilage.At the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Harrogate, Dr Ian Singleton explained how ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Arctic bacteria may have the longest life cycle on Earth
September 21st, 2010 - 1:14 pm ICT by ANI
London, Sep 21 (ANI): Bacteria discovered on the Arctic sea floor may have longest life cycle of any known organism, as it has a hibernation period of up to 100 million years.Casey ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Household microbes can be both beneficial and detrimental to health
September 9th, 2010 - 5:43 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, Sep 09 (ANI): A scientist has revealed that household dust contains up to 1000 different species of microbes, with tens of millions of individual bacterial cells in each gram, but not ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Yeast offers clues to Parkinson’s disease
September 9th, 2010 - 5:10 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, Sept 9 (ANI): Yeast can be simple model to study molecular basis of Parkinson's disease, says a scientist.Dr Tiago Fleming Outeiro from the Instituto de Medicina Molecular in Lisbon, Portugal says ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Blocking bacteria’s ‘death signal’ could treat severe bone disease
September 7th, 2010 - 2:12 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, Sept 7 (ANI): Scientists have discovered that a surface molecule on bacteria which instructs bone cells to die could be the target for new treatments for bone disease.Blocking the death signal ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Backstabbing bacteria ditch dangerous pals to help lessen infection
September 6th, 2010 - 4:57 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, Sep 6 (ANI): Backstabbing bacterial cells that act in their own interests and do not cooperate with their infection-causing colleagues can actually reduce the severity of infection.The selfish behaviour of these ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Cockroaches could help fight MRSA, E.coli
September 5th, 2010 - 11:54 am ICT by ANI
London, Sept 5 (ANI): Cockroaches and locusts, which are widely reviled for their dirty image, could actually be more of a health benefit than a health risk, say scientists.Scientists at Nottingham University ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Bugs can help rid oceans of plastic pollution
March 29th, 2010 - 3:36 pm ICT by IANS
London, March 29 (IANS) Bits of plastic floating in the ocean are not just unsightly but are also a potential threat to marine life and our eco-system. But there is some hope, ... Read more...
Posted in Environment |
Producing better wine by taking the stress off yeast
September 9th, 2009 - 12:45 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, Sept 9 (ANI): Times can be stressful for yeast when grape juice is being turned into wine. Now, a researcher from the University of Valencia, Spain has identified the genes in ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Getting bugs to clean up dirty oil fast
September 8th, 2009 - 3:33 pm ICT by IANS
London, Sep 8 (IANS) Microbiologists have used bugs to break down and remove toxic compounds from crude oil and tar sands.
Richard Johnson, a microbiology doctoral researcher at the University of Essex, ... Read more...
Posted in Sci-Tech |
How to mount a multi-layered attack on fungal infections
September 8th, 2009 - 3:01 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, September 8 (ANI): A gathering of scientists in Scotland on Tuesday heard that effective new treatments to fight potentially lethal fungal infections in people with cancer, or those with weakened natural ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Bacteria can help convert waste to power
September 7th, 2009 - 3:16 pm ICT by IANS
Washington, Sep 7 (IANS) Bacteria that generate power could be used in microbial fuel cells to convert waste into electricity, according to the latest research.
University of Massachusetts (U-M) researchers isolated ... Read more...
Posted in Sci-Tech |
Researchers make bacteria to produce useful proteins
September 7th, 2009 - 2:40 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, Sep 7 (ANI): Researchers at the University of British Columbia have turned the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus into a protein production factory by adapting a single protein on its surface, thus making ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Researchers use waste material to extract uranium
September 7th, 2009 - 2:05 pm ICT by IANS
London, Sep 7 (IANS) Using bacteria and inositol phosphate, a chemical residue of cheap waste material from plants, researchers have recovered uranium from effluents discharged by uranium mines.
"By using a cheap ... Read more...
Posted in Sci-Tech |
Serratia bacteria can help build durable bone implants
September 7th, 2009 - 1:38 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, Sept 7 (ANI): Can bacteria help build bones implants? Well, at least scientists at the University of Birmingham say "Yes".Lead researcher Lynne Macaskie suggests that Serratia bacteria that manufacture hydroxyapatite ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Secret behind how manuka honey fights infection revealed
September 7th, 2009 - 1:19 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, Sep 7 (ANI): Scientists at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, have uncovered how manuka honey can help fight infection-by destroying key bacterial proteins.Led by Dr. Rowena Jenkins, the research team ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Diets rich in meat and fats and low in carbohydrates up colon cancer risk
March 31st, 2009 - 1:58 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, March 31 (ANI): Diets rich in meat and fats and low in complex carbohydrates may increase the risk of colon cancer, say U.S. researchers.Speaking at the Society for General Microbiology ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Better oral hygiene may help reduce pregnancy complications
March 31st, 2009 - 1:24 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, Mar 31 (ANI): Expecting mothers could reduce the risk of complications in their pregnancies and new-born babies by paying closer attention to oral hygiene, scientist have suggested.Bacteria from a mother's mouth ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Handwashing may be best way to fight MRSA
March 31st, 2009 - 1:16 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, Mar 31 (ANI): Regular handwashing by hospital staff and visitors could be more effective at controlling the spread of the hospital superbug MRSA than isolating infected patients, according to a new ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Drug resistant HIV ’spreads between people without anti-retroviral treatment’
March 30th, 2009 - 5:56 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, Mar 30 (ANI): A professor from University College, London has said that drug-resistant forms of HIV can be spread between individuals who have not received anti-retroviral treatment.Professor Deenan Pillay from University ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
World War disease’s bug may adversely affect poultry, diabetics
March 30th, 2009 - 5:56 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, Mar 30 (ANI): The bacterium responsible for gas gangrene, the notorious infectious disease of two world wars, can also cause necrotic enteritis in intensively raised chickens.The frequently fatal disease has significant ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Tea tree oil, silver act like antiseptics when combined
March 30th, 2009 - 3:03 pm ICT by IANS
London, March 30 (IANS) Tea tree oil and silver, when combined and applied to infected skin wounds, seem to act like a potent antiseptic.
Both tea tree oil and silver (as silver nitrate) ... Read more...
Posted in Sci-Tech |
Tea tree oil, silver combo can make for effective antiseptics
March 30th, 2009 - 1:20 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, Mar 30 (ANI): A combination of tea tree oil and silver can make for an effective antiseptic for skin wounds, says a new study.The research team led by Wan Li Low ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Discovery of slow-growing TB bacteria may pave way for new drugs
March 30th, 2009 - 11:29 am ICT by ANI
Washington, March 30 (ANI): Scientists have found a large number of slow-growing Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria in the lungs of TB patients, which can pave the way for new medicines for treating the ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
New bacteria contaminates even refrigerated milk
November 17th, 2008 - 3:17 pm ICT by IANS
London, Nov 17 (IANS) A new species of microbes, isolated by scientists, can contaminate raw milk even under refrigeration. Many countries have outlawed raw milk because of its potential contamination by harmful ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Contact lenses might harbour pathogens
October 21st, 2008 - 1:28 pm ICT by IANS
Washington, Oct 21 (IANS) Most contact lenses are contaminated with acanthamoeba, increasing the risk of infection that can cause blindness. Acanthamoeba is one of the most common types of protozoa in soil ... Read more...
Posted in Health Science |
Scientists trace bone infection to new bacteria species
October 18th, 2008 - 11:21 am ICT by IANS
Washington, Oct 18 (IANS) Scientists have traced a bone infection to a newly described species of bacteria related to the tuberculosis pathogen. The discovery may help improve diagnosis and treatment of similar ... Read more...
Posted in World |