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Children with chronic otitis media have biofilms in their middle ears

Direct evidence of bacterial biofilms has been found on the middle ear tissue of children who suffer from chronic ear infections

12 Jul 2006

External catheters reduce risk of urinary tract infection in men

It's one of the things about a hospital stay that men loathe, and that infectious bacteria love: the urinary catheter. Now, a new study shows that a less-unpleasant option for male hospital patients is also a much safer one.

3 Jul 2006

Listeriosis and pregnancy

For years, doctors have puzzled over why pregnant women are 20 times more likely than others to be infected by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, now think they have the answer, and it isn't pretty.

3 Jul 2006

New guidelines for healthy swimming

The World Health Organization (WHO) is launching the world's first-ever international guidelines on how to create safe places to swim and bathe.

28 Jun 2006

Researchers identify gene used to recognize pathogens

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have identified a gene in the Anopheles gambiae mosquito's DNA that is central to the insect's ability to defend against infectious pathogens, including Plasmodium, the parasite that causes malaria in humans.

27 Jun 2006

Structure of bacteriophage shown to resemble a human virus

New research has revealed that the structure of a bacteriophage, a virus infecting bacteria, resembles that of certain dangerous viruses that infect people.

26 Jun 2006

Staphylococcus-killing substances from fish slime

How would you feel about taking medicine made from fish slime? Researchers have found that the slime that covers the flat-fish plaice contains a substance that kills staphylococcus.

26 Jun 2006

The protein that makes you mad

In recent years our feeding habits have been the focus of ongoing polemics. Everybody will remember the "mad cow" crisis.

26 Jun 2006

Cadbury kept quiet about contaminated chocolate

Chocolate manufacturer Cadbury Schweppes has been forced to recall thousands of chocolate bars because of claims they are contaminated by salmonella.

26 Jun 2006

No wonder Brits worry more about MRSA than waiting lists

Scientists say they believe as many as 53 million people may carry the superbug MRSA.

21 Jun 2006

Researchers identify gene used to recognize pathogens

Researchers have identified a gene in the Anopheles gambiae mosquito's DNA that is central to the insect's ability to defend against infectious pathogens, including Plasmodium, the parasite that causes malaria in humans.

20 Jun 2006

Surveillance could cut number of blood stream infections

A study from Imperial College London and Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust shows how a surveillance programme designed to monitor blood stream infections in dialysis units could cut the number of infections among patients.

19 Jun 2006

Chlorhexidine decreases risk of acquiring hospital-related ventilator-associated pneumonia

Researchers found that administering the topical antiseptic chlorhexidine to critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation greatly decreased their daily risk of acquiring deadly hospital-related ventilator-associated pneumonia.

18 Jun 2006

From DNA to RNA to protein

Of the thousands of proteins produced in our cells, few are as important as the enzyme RNA polymerase (RNAP), which has the unique ability to faithfully copy genetic information from DNA.

18 Jun 2006

Researchers identify new keys to regulation of bacterial gene expression

The cellular process of transcription, in which the enzyme RNA polymerase constructs chains of RNA from information contained in DNA, depends upon previously underappreciated sections of both the DNA promoter region and RNA polymerase

18 Jun 2006

Brits call for ban on imported eggs

According to a report by the European Food Safety Authority many poultry farms in EU countries are contaminated with salmonella, and eggs imported to Britain carry a food poisoning risk.

18 Jun 2006

Scientists watch the behavior of a single gene in real time

Scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have observed for the first time that gene expression can occur in the form of discrete "pulses" of gene activity.

14 Jun 2006

Are we over-dosing on antibiotics?

Dutch researchers say that a three day course of antibiotics is just as effective as the usual seven to 10 days course when it comes to treating common pneumonia.

12 Jun 2006

Research explains how pathogenic bacteria evolved over millions of years

Bacteria like Salmonella have a complicated immune system that helps them recognize and isolate foreign DNA trying to invade their cell membrane, according to a University of Washington-led study in the June 8 issue of Science Express.

9 Jun 2006

The antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin protects the urinary tract against invasive bacterial infection

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have succeeded in explaining how the body protects itself against urinary tract infections; with the help of an endogenous antibiotic.

9 Jun 2006