Antibiotic Resistance News and Research

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New portable device could be used to assess microbes in the environment

Imagine a device that could swiftly analyze microbes in oceans and other aquatic environments, revealing the health of these organisms - too tiny to be seen by the naked eye - and their response to threats to their ecosystems.

27 Jan 2020

Indoor dust carrying bacteria that could be harbouring antibiotic resistance

Bacteria enter our homes on our the skin, or through the air, but once inside they may transfer antibiotic resistance traits to other bacteria residing in the indoor dust, a possibility raised by a new study

26 Jan 2020

Aging of urine fertilizer prevents transfer of antibiotic resistance

The use of human urine as fertilizer is an important step towards sustainable agriculture because the starting reagent is free, plentiful and useless in most other contexts. It has been used as such for centuries, but with the current focus on environmental sustainability, the possibility of creating a nutrient cycle is under scrutiny. In other words, sourcing fertilizer from urine can be a green way to supply plants with the nutrients they need.

22 Jan 2020

Chinese people buying antibiotics in pharmacies even without a prescription

People in China can acquire antibiotics from retail pharmacies without a prescription, even though dispensing the medicine without a prescription isn’t allowed by regulations, a new study found.

15 Jan 2020

KU Leuven researchers develop new antibacterial strategy that weakens bacteria

Bioscience engineers from KU Leuven in Belgium have developed a new antibacterial strategy that weakens bacteria by preventing them from cooperating. Unlike with antibiotics, there is no resistance to this strategy, because the non-resistant bacteria outnumber resistant ones.

14 Jan 2020

Probiotic drink could offer novel way to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria

A probiotic drink could become a promising new weapon in the battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, after a team of Birmingham scientists engineered and patented a key genetic element that can tackle the genetic basis of resistance.

14 Jan 2020

New bacteria-destroying technology to combat drug-resistant superbugs

Researchers have used liquid metals to develop new bacteria-destroying technology that could be the answer to the deadly problem of antibiotic resistance.

13 Jan 2020

Evolution of Antibiotic Tolerance Promotes Resistance to Combination Regimens

A new study suggests that the evolution of antibiotic tolerance requires further investigation if newly designed antibiotic treatments are going to be able to prevent drug-resistant infections.

10 Jan 2020

Study shows how sewage plants can remove pharmaceuticals from wastewater

Corals depend on their symbiotic relationships with the algae that they host. But how do they keep algal population growth in check?

9 Jan 2020

New hydrogel prevents and treats infections in wounds

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have developed a new hydrogel based on the body's natural peptide defense.

8 Jan 2020

Persistent TB infection of macrophages puts the brakes on immune engines, study shows

Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have discovered both how TB puts the brakes on our immune engines and how we can kick-start those engines back into gear - providing hope that improved treatment options could soon be on the horizon.

8 Jan 2020

Study: Children with public insurance are more likely to receive unnecessary medical care

Children with public insurance are slightly more likely to receive medical services that they don't need than those with private insurance, a new study finds.

7 Jan 2020

Radical procedures to treat oral infections are not necessary before stem cell transplantation

A recently published study indicates that oral infections seem to have no association with the risk of stem cell transplantation patients dying of or getting a serious infection within six months of the procedure.

3 Jan 2020

Proper disposal of leftover medication can help reduce antibiotic resistance

Proper disposal of leftover medication, particularly antibiotics and opioids, can help reduce antibiotic resistance, prevent children from being poisoned and stop the misuse of addiction-forming drugs.

31 Dec 2019

Study helps explain why previous attempts to develop a staph vaccine have failed

Staph bacteria, the leading cause of potentially dangerous skin infections, are most feared for the drug-resistant strains that have become a serious threat to public health.

26 Dec 2019

Antibiotic-resistant shigella strain cases soar in Australia

A drug-resistant strain of a highly contagious sexually-transmitted bowel infection spreads in Victoria, Australia, with a vast majority of cases happening in men who have sex with men.

19 Dec 2019

Analysis shows link between high psychological safety and adoption of infection prevention practices

Hospitals reporting high levels of psychological safety are more likely to have comprehensive infection prevention and control programs, according to the results of a survey appearing in the American Journal of Infection Control, the journal of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, published by Elsevier.

16 Dec 2019

Tackling antibiotic resistance head-on with CRISPR

With modern advances in genetic engineering occurring almost every day, the latest discovery concerns antibiotic resistance. Using the powerful gene editor CRISPR, scientists reported the development of a gene-drive system that is 100 times as efficient as other current systems at inactivating a specific bacterial gene responsible for making the bacterium antibiotic-resistant and which is present as multiple copies within the same bacterial cell.

16 Dec 2019

Scientists modify approved cancer drug to develop new antibiotic

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are increasingly the source of deadly infections. A team of scientists from the Technical University of Munich and the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research in Braunschweig have now modified an approved cancer drug to develop an active agent against multidrug-resistant pathogens.

16 Dec 2019