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    Cultures of contact lenses may sometimes identify the organisms involved in cases of corneal eye infection, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
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A surprising new cell suicide theory developed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, suggesting that some bacterial cells act as “suicide bombers,” could aid future research in developing drugs that can skirt the potentially catastrophic problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Read More...

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The results of what may be the most extensive comparison of two common disinfectants used by municipal water systems suggest that, from a security standpoint, traditional chlorination may be more effective than treatment with monochloramine. Read More...

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An international group of scientists has announced a major expansion of a lingua franca used to describe the activities of genes in living organisms. The expansion provides terms that scientists can use to describe the complex events that occur when a pathogenic or beneficial microbe encounters its host. Understanding these events is crucial for developing new interventions for preventing infections by disease-causing microbes while preserving or encouraging the presence of beneficial microbes. The unified language under development in this effort is called The Gene Ontology (GO). The new terms added to the GO will significantly bolster what is already a powerful tool for scientists to compare the functions of genes and proteins in a wide range of disease-related organisms. The ongoing initiative is part of the Plant-Associated Microbe Gene Ontology (PAMGO) project, a recently-established interest group of the worldwide Gene Ontology Consortium. Read More...

A Montana State University professor has won a prestigious $400,000 Career Award from the National Science Foundation for her work in magnetic resonance microscopy, a technique that allows researchers to see the inner workings of devices as small as one-tenth of a millimeter in size. Read More...

Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory review several of the latest technologies in the most recent issue (Issue 3, 2007), of the British journal “The Analyst, Read More...

Yale engineers who study both flow hydrodynamics and how bacteria propel themselves report that one reason for the high incidence of infections associated with catheters in hospital patients may be that some pathogenic bacteria swim "to the left," in a study published in Physical Review Letters. Read More...

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Diabetic ulcers. Gunshot wounds. Bedsores. The treatment of these and other wounds may improve, thanks to a new initiative of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Read More...

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University of Georgia scientists have found bacteria that kill listeria in processing plant floor drains, where the pathogen is known to settle and multiply. Read More...

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105th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology Read More...

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Innovative Coating Could Give Medical Implants a Longer Life Read More...

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ORNL, UC Berkeley Unravel Real-World Clues to Earth's Mysteries Read More...

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A Prognostic Marker for Outcome in Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Read More...

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National Science Foundation awards MSU student $121,500 Read More...

Decoding a Sulfate-Breathing Bug Read More...

The Global Genome Question: Microbes as the Key to Understanding Evolution and Ecology Read More...

Molasses and Whey Mix with Mine Tailings Read More...

Defence work sheds light on hospital bacteria Read More...

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Shower curtains awash with potentially harmful bacteria Read More...

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Microbial biofilm yields community genomes, metabolic clues Read More...

Scientists film bacteria changing, collaborating to defeat bladder cell defenses Read More...

Down in the Mouth by Abram Katz , Register Science Editor 01/18/2004 Copyright 2004 New Haven Register - Reprinted with permission www.newhavenregister.com Read More...

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Many species of bacteria live in a social, coordinated fashion, and they'll even die to keep it that way. Read More...

The voice is one of the most distinctive features of an individual, conveying much more than words alone; it also gives clues about age, sex and emotions. But after a laryngectomy, patients may be left with only a deep, gravelly rasp or nothing more than a toneless whisper. Now, with inspiration from a range of ordinary objects, Dutch researchers are developing prosthetic voice-producing devices to help laryngectomy patients regain a more normal sound and a better quality of life. Read More...

Some microorganisms have the ability to form a microbial community that attaches to surfaces and is generally referred to as a biofilm. These films are highly resistant to antibiotics, on the order of 10–1000 times, making them hard to control and dangerous in medical settings. But despite this importance, the mechanisms behind biofilm resistance have been unclear. In the November 20 Nature, Thien-Fah Mah and colleagues at Dartmouth Medical School have identified a genetic component of biofilm resistance in the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Nature, 426:306-310, November 20, 2003). Read More...

MSU scientists Betsey Pitts and Phil Stewart are coauthors on a paper on bacterial resistance to antibiotics published in the Nov. 20 issue of the prestigious journal Nature. (MSU photo by Stephen Hunts) Antibiotics don't work against bacteria stuck together in tight-knit communities called biofilms. That much scientists knew. Read More...

Biofilms, slimy clusters of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, may have a genetic chink in their armor that could be exploited to combat the infections they cause. A study led by Dartmouth Medical School (DMS) researchers used a genetic-based approach to begin to understand how biofilms can withstand antibacterial treatments. Read More...

The O139 O-antigen and Ca2+ are essential for Vibrio cholerae biofilm development Read More...

       Currently, voice rehabilitation of larynx cancer patients is performed by inserting a one-way shunt valve between trachea and oesophagus that prevents food and liquid from entering the trachea. Pressing the tracheal opening with a finger forces exhaled air through the shunt valve to the oesophagus, where soft tissue structures serve as a substitute voice. However, the voice is in many cases of poor quality and the process creates a mental barrier during speaking, as patients have to literally point at their handicap.
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Microbial Communities: From Life Apart to Life Together The size of microbes belies their impact across the globe, especially when they are grouped together in microbial communities. Microbial communities have significant effects upon virtually all aspects of human and environmental health, from films inside household water pipes, to the vast communities in the oceans that process global cycling of nutrients, to the increasingly important problem of antibiotic resistance. Read More...

Ingredient in Domestic Detergent May Not Contribute to Antibiotic Resistance Read More...

       Recurring tonsil infections and sore throats are a fact of life for many children. The pediatrician prescribes antibiotics, and they help for a while, but the infection returns. The pattern repeats itself until the doctor — or the frustrated parents — finally decide that the wrinkly olive-sized ovals of inflamed tonsil tissue must come out. Why, they wonder, can't the body eliminate these infections, even with the help of antibiotics?
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Findings could suggest new ways of attacking harmful bacteria

       It turns out that bacteria are real social climbers. Or at least social wigglers.
       A study by Princeton University scientists has shown that bacteria actively move around their environments to form social organizations. The researchers placed bacteria in minute mazes and found that they sought each other out using chemical signals.
       Biologists have become increasingly aware of social interactions among bacteria, but previously believed that clusters formed only when bacteria randomly landed somewhere, then multiplied into dense populations. The discovery that they actively move into gatherings underscores the importance of bacterial interactions and could eventually lead to new drugs that disrupt the congregating behavior of harmful germs, said Jeffry Stock, a professor of molecular biology and coauthor of the paper.
       "It makes sense, but it's surprising that it's as pervasive as it now seems to be," said Stock.
       The researchers observed the gathering behavior in E. coli as well as in V. harveyi, a marine bacteria that glows when it achieves a high-density population. They found that when placed in mazes the bacteria congregated in small rooms and dead-end pathways. Once clustered, the V. harveyi turned on the genes that make them glow.
       Biologists had previously believed that bacteria's ability to move and follow chemical signals -- a process called chemotaxis -- was primarily a means of dispersing and seeking food. The new study, published in the July 11 issue of Science, shows that chemotaxis may also be important for facilitating cooperative behavior.
       The work was collaboration between Stock's lab in biology and that of Robert Austin, a professor of physics. Emil Yuzbashyan, a graduate student in Austin's lab noticed unusual clumping when he put E. coli into microscopically small mazes made of silicone. Biologists in Stock's lab supplied mutant strains of bacteria that lacked genes necessary for sensing chemical signals and chemotaxis. They found that bacteria themselves emit a key chemical attractant and that those lacking the gene for the receptor that senses that attractant did not cluster as normal bacteria did.
       Disrupting chemotaxis could be a route to attacking biofilms, a common type of bacterial interaction in which they form a colony that is resistant to antibiotic drugs and chemicals, the researchers said. Biofilms pose a common danger to patients receiving medical implants and cause trouble for ships that develop biofilms on their hulls.
       Clustering also allows bacteria to perform a coordinated activity called quorum sensing in which they turn on certain genes only when they sense that they are part of a dense population. Some disease-causing bacteria are believed to rely on quorum sensing in mounting a successful infection. The V. harveyi in the experiment glowed as a result of quorum sensing after they gathered into a dense population.
       "Our paper points out that you don't necessarily need growth to achieve quorum sensing," said Peter Wolanin, a postdoctoral researcher in Stock's lab. "The bacteria can actively seek each other out to engage in collective social behavior."
       The behavior observed in the experiment also may have been a survival mechanism, said Sungsu Park, a postdoctoral researcher in Austin's lab and first author of the paper. The research was conducted with the bacteria in a nutrient-depleted environment that resembles the natural conditions for bacteria much of the time. "The bacteria are chasing amino acids released from their own cell bodies during starvation conditions," said Park. "So by getting close to each other they have a better chance of getting nutrients." 
       The researchers also have developed a mathematical model that simulates the bacterial congregation, said Park. They plan further research to investigate the relation between bacterial behavior and the size and geometry of their physical environment. 

###

Additional work on the study was done by Pascal Silberzan, a former member of the Princeton physics department and now a researcher at the Curie Institute in Paris.

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Public Release Date: 28 July 2003
Contact:  Steven Schultz
sschultz@princeton.edu
609-258-5729
Princeton University

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       Cue the ''Psycho'' music. There's a stranger in your shower, though it's not a knife-wielding murderer. It's a mysterious consortium of bacteria embedded in shower curtain slime. They also hover in the mist above hot tubs and swim with you in pools. Before you ease onto those pulsating jets of water to soothe your aches and pains, consider that the bacteria in indoor hot tubs, pools, and even decorative fountains and waterfalls may pose a health risk.
       The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has tracked respiratory infections associated with hot tubs and pool use for some time. Recent reports from the Mayo Clinic and the National Jewish Medical and Research Center describe how formerly healthy patients who used indoor hot tubs had developed a productive cough, fever and fatigue, and eventually needed lung biopsies, respirators, intravenous antibiotics and steroids in an attempt to treat their illness. If patients continued using their hot tubs, their conditions worsened. Baffled doctors consulted the research centers, which recommended removing the hot tubs. After the hot tubs were removed, the patients recovered from what the researchers termed ''hot tub lung.''
       Technically, hot tub lung covers several conditions, including pneumonia and a hypersensitivity reaction that is not actually an infection. Researchers attribute hot tub lung to bacteria that thrive in the slime on pipes and other wet surfaces. This slime forms as bacteria settle on a surface and begin to secrete a gluey, adhesive substance. That bacteria-laden slime, which is known as a biofilm, forms in the pipes and filters of hot tubs. The tub's powerful jets force some of the biofilm free, and tiny biofilm flakes bubble to the surface and aerosolize into the mist, which people soaking in the tub inhale.
       Some of the bacteria that thrive in biofilms belong to the mycobacteria family, which are common in soil and water. Most mycobacteria are harmless, but some cause tuberculosis and leprosy. Others are ''MACs,'' or mycobacterium avium complex, which cause a pulmonary infection that looks like tuberculosis, but is not as dangerous and is not contagious. According to microbiologist Norman Pace of the University of Colorado, MAC infections commonly appear in elderly women who like to garden: ''I suspect they stir up the soil mycobacterium that usually don't harm us, but because their immune systems are weaker with age, they are getting sick.''
       Another bacterium that can grow in biofilms is Legionella, the culprit behind the outbreak of Legionnaires' disease during a Philadelphia hotel convention some years ago. Legionella normally inhabit the algae film on ponds, but they also occupy the biofilms in air conditioning condensers and hot-water systems. Bill Costerton, a biofilm researcher at Montana State University at Bozeman, said he believes such outbreaks are just the tip of the iceberg; untold millions have inhaled similar biofilm flakes over the years. While those biofilms set up long-term lodging in our lungs, a healthy immune system can keep the bacteria in check. But if we become stressed, ill or old, we may succumb to some hard-to-diagnose respiratory infection that will never be traced to an air-conditioned room or a hot tub we visited in our youth.
       Researchers stress the need for more studies to determine the nature of these bacterial biofilms and their risks to both immune-compromised and healthy people. Studies on hot tubs in hospitals and other therapeutic facilities will be controversial, according to Pace, because they may show that people are getting sick from facilities they are visiting for their health. And yet, Pace said, there is not much more those facilities can do currently to protect their visitors. Most already follow rigorous hygiene standards, but their best efforts still may not be sufficient. Biofilms can persist through disinfection because their slime protects the bacteria from chemicals. Likewise, many bacteria actually thrive in hot water, while the heat reduces the effectiveness of disinfectants. Scientists are developing ways to prevent biofilms from accumulating, but so far, slime has the upper hand.
       Several years ago, researchers also isolated tiny amounts of MAC bacteria from the scum on shower curtains. While shower-curtain MACs pose little risk to us because they rarely aerosolize, some researchers hypothesize that they may be the source of pneumonias that late-stage AIDS patients often contract.
       After reading about MACs in shower curtain scum, Pace became curious about what else was in there. He found that about 45 percent of the bacteria belong to the sphingomonas species, which are well-known slime producers. He was surprised to find that another 45 percent are methanobacteria, which eat methane and break down components in plastic and other materials. These methane lovers are probably not dangerous, but they may nurture both slime-producing bacteria and disease-causing stowaways. Pace surmised that the slime producers somehow depend on the methane lovers. In turn, the slime provides a safe haven for a few MACs and other potentially harmful bacteria.
       Ultimately, finding ways to prevent slime could be hot tub lung's last gasp. Meanwhile, we need to drain our hot tubs, dry out the biofilms, disinfect the pipes and filters, and scrub, scrub, scrub. If you should come down with an unexplained respiratory infection, researchers recommend discussing your use of indoor hot tubs and pools with your doctor.
       There's still a lot to learn about everyday hygiene and the microbes we want to subdue. ''This research illustrates,'' Pace said, ''that the unknown character of the microbial world is not only all around us, but we are literally immersed in it.'' 

This story ran on page B13 of the Boston Globe on 5/6/2003.

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Published with permission: 21 July 2003
Contact:  Cathryn M. Delude
Globe Correspondent
The Writing Company
http://www.thewritingco.com
Cathryn@thewritingco.com

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       In the July 15 issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation, Ambrose Cheung and colleagues at Dartmouth School of Medicine in New Hampshire, USA, report that salicylic acid (SAL), the major metabolite of aspirin, downregulates two Staphylococcus aureus genes key to this organism's pathogenesis.
       Over 100 years have passed since S. aureus was first described as the organism responsible for causing sepsis and abscesses. Today it remains a leading cause of serious infections such as endocarditis, pneumonia, and septicemia and requires intensive antibiotic therapy, which is often unsuccessful due to the rise of antibiotic resistant strains.
       Aspirin has previously been shown to reduce the virulence of S. aureus in models of endocarditis. In an earlier study, this same group found that while administration of aspirin or its metabolite, SAL, was capable of reducing the ability of S. aureus to attach to host cells, the effect was significantly enhanced following SAL administration.
       In this issue of the JCI, Cheung and colleagues extend these earlier findings and report that treatment with SAL induced activation of the S. aureus stress response gene sigB, resulting in downregulation of regulons sarA and agr, which control the expression of the genes encoding a-hemolysin and fibronectin. This downregulation resulted in decreased ability of the bacteria to adhere to host cells, and reduced S. aureus toxin-mediated hemolysis and thrombolysis of host cells.
       "The establishing of a straightforward, unequivocal strategy to downregulate staphylococcal virulence using a cheap, simple, relatively non-toxic, resorbable compound such as SAL may be seen as major progress in the development of intervening strategies in addition to antimicrobial drugs" stated Professor Mathias Herrmann, Director of the Department of Bacteriology and Hygiene at the University of Saarland, Germany in his accompanying commentary. The report is the first description of aspirin-mediated genetic effects against S. aureus and represents an exciting new prospect for this widely used and established drug.

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TITLE: Salicylic acid attenuates virulence in endovascular infections by targeting global regulatory pathways in Staphylococcus aureus

AUTHOR CONTACT:
Ambrose L. Cheung
Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.
Phone: 603-650-1310
Fax: 603-650-1362
Email: ambrose.cheung@dartmouth.edu

View the PDF of this article at:
https://www.the-jci.org/press/16876.pdf

ACCOMPANYING COMMENTARY:
Salicylic acid: an old dog, new tricks, and staphylococcal
disease

AUTHOR CONTACT:
Mathias Herrmann
University of Saarland Hospital, Homburg/Saar, Germany.
Phone: 49-6841-162-3900
Fax: 49-6841-162-3985
Email: mathias.herrmann@uniklinik-saarland.de

View the PDF of this commentary at:
https://www.the-jci.org/press/19143.pdf

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       Imagine a replacement hip or knee that was intelligent enough to recognize if it was infected, diagnose and treat the infection and report back to the doctor what it had done. Well it may not be a reality yet, but researchers today announced the development of an interdisciplinary group of scientists that hopes to design and build such a device.
       "Two to three percent of total joint replacements fail due to chronic
bacterial biofilm infections. The only recourse for such patients is the traumatic removal of the implant which results in additional bone loss, extensive soft tissue destruction, months of forced bed rest with intravenous antibiotics and significant loss of quality of life due to complete loss of mobility, " says Garth Ehrlich of the Center for Genomic Sciences at the Allegheny Singer Research Institute in Pittsburgh, one of the organizers of the working group. Ehrlich presented the group's vision at the American Society for Microbiology's Conference on Bio- Micro- and Nanosystems.
       Ehrlich and his colleagues envision an intelligent implant covered in microelectronic mechanical systems (MEMs)-based biosensors that could detect these debilitating infections early and identify the bacteria responsible. The implant would then provide therapy by dispensing the appropriate antibacterial compound from an internal reservoir and monitor the effectiveness of the treatment. In addition, the implant would be able to communicate what it had done back to a physician using wireless technology. 
       The group, which met for the first time in April, includes a variety of
specialities that do not normally work together including clinicians,
microbiologists, electrical engineers, biofilms experts and MEMs
technologists. Because of the diverse backgrounds, they spent much of meeting giving lectures about their respective fields. "Everyone was trying to educate everyone else," says Ehrlich. Ehrlich cautions that this is a long-term project and there are no guarantees. He estimates a minimum of seven years before they even have a prototype.
       "There are technical hurdles that still need to be overcome but I'm
fairly confident that technology is evolving rapidly enough that we will be able to do this," says Ehrlich. "The ever increasing number of total joint replacements being performed on an aging U.S. population mark this disease a high priority for the development of new interventional strategies." 

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The ASM Conference on Bio-, Micro-, Nanosystems, held in collaboration with the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society on July 7-10, 2003 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, is intended to provide an interdisciplinary forum for microbiologists and engineers to explore ways in which microbiology can contribute to the growing field of nanotechnology. For further information on the meeting contact Jim Sliwa, ASM Office of Communications.

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Public Release Date: 8 July 2003
Contact:  Jim Sliwa
jsliwa@asmusa.org
202-942-9297
American Society for Microbiology

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Bacteria that invade bladder cells and grow into structured colonies known as biofilms may be responsible for many recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Read More...

Analysis of Pseudomonas extracellular matrix sheds light on chronic lung infections
by Andrea Rinaldi

The Scientist 10 Jun 2003
Linked 06/10/03

Free registration required

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A microbiological survey of households finds little significant difference in levels of bacteria or antibiotic resistance between those that use antibacterial cleaning products and those who do not. Researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine report their findings today at the 103rd General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. Read More...

Like weeds in a lawn, pathogenic fungi and yeasts (single-celled fungi) can invade and overtake our bodies. In people with healthy immune systems, cells called macrophages and neutrophils engulf these pathogens, nipping them in the bud. But when the immune system is weakened by disease or drugs, fungi – much like weeds in your garden – can grow unchecked. Read More...

Antimicrobial powder coating for hospitals, homes uses silver -- Germ fighter pioneered by Egyptians, Phoenicians Read More...

Scientists at Cardiff University, UK, have made a breakthrough in a 30-year battle to solve a medical problem, which causes pain and misery for millions of people around the world, and costs health services many millions of dollars. Read More...

In studies that could be vital to an expanding field of industrial biotechnology, scientists at the Center for Biosystems Research are learning to censor what E. coli bacteria are 'talking' about. Read More...

Pediatric researchers at Women and Children's Hospital here have shown that the incidence of disease-producing microorganisms in the lungs of its infants on life support can be reduced markedly by installing an ultraviolet germicidal irradiation device in the ventilation system of its neonatal intensive care unit. Read More...

A problem with current efforts in developing a cystic fibrosis gene therapy is that delivering genes into airway cells is inefficient and requires disrupting the integrity of the cell layer. However, a finding by University of Iowa researchers and colleagues may help solve the problem by using a surprising tool -- a modified piece of the Ebola virus. Read More...

Scientists and physicians in Cleveland have announced encouraging results from the first-of-its-kind gene therapy trial involving cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and a new compacted DNA technology. Read More...

ONR-Sponsored Bonnie Bassler Looks at Bacterial Communication Read More...

Medical implants may soon get better at preventing life-threatening clogs and bacterial infections thanks to an unusual coating that is being developed from mussels, according to researchers at Northwestern University. Read More...

Hospital-acquired infections, or "nosocomial" infections in medical jargon, are a continual worry for specialists. They are becoming more and more common, and represent an ever-increasing economic burden, costing the UK alone over a billion pounds sterling every year. Read More...

A research group at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., led by Christopher Ober, has developed two types of non-toxic paint, one hydrophilic and one hydrophobic, that effectively prevent fouling, whether by bacteria or barnacles. Read More...

Research utilized quantitative proteomic analysis using mass spectrometry Read More...

A bacterium's ability to change its hairstyle may help in the effort to clean contaminated groundwater for drinking, according to Penn State researchers. Read More...

The German Professor Peter A. Wilderer, who has promoted and developed holistic, interdisciplinary research for more than 30 years in the pursuit of sustainable water use and sanitation, was announced today as the 2003 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate. Read More...

Cambridge University Press are delighted to announce the launch of Biofilms. Scheduled for first publication early in 2004, this new interdisciplinary journal is being launched in response to the need to provide a forum exclusively devoted to research involving biofilms. Read More...

Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have developed a better-performing, less costly method of disinfecting water used in food processing. Read More...

The Scientist 10 Feb 2003
Linked with permission, 02/17/03

Free registration required

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The 2003 Kappa Delta Sorority and Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) research awards were presented today during the Opening Ceremonies of the 70th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in New Orleans. Read More...

Compound could lead to a new generation of antibiotics that battle resistance Read More...

A naturally occurring organism that protects sugarbeets from disease and a manual for studying clumps of bacteria called biofilms are two new technologies developed at Montana State University-Bozeman. Read More...

A new product called acidified calcium sulfate is showing promise as a way to kill Listeria monocytogenes and keep lunch meats and frankfurters safer for consumers. Read More...

Scientists open door to possible new treatments for urinary tract infections Read More...

Mayo Clinic researchers in the November issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings present two cases and offer their conclusions as to the cause of the patients' lung inflammation. Read More...

Continuing its commitment to bringing the latest scientific news to the dental professional community and their patients, the Oral Healthcare division of Philips Electronics has partnered with Scientific American, the nation's premier science and technology magazine, to produce the magazine's first-ever special issue devoted to oral health. Read More...

James Nataro and colleagues of the University of Maryland School of Medicine were searching for proteins that contribute to EAEC's success as a human pathogen as well as those that provoke a robust immune response and might serve as vaccines. Read More...

A new study heightens concerns that Cipro and related broad-spectrum antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones are being over-prescribed, accelerating bacterial resistance to the drugs and reducing their ability to treat infections. Read More...

Egg Yolk a Possible Alternative to Antibiotic Treatment of Ulcers, Bacteria Work with Diet in Heart Disease, Chewing Tobacco Contaminated with Bacteria Read More...

The hassle of removing and cleaning your contacts every night, or even every month, could become a thing of the past, based on a study involving a new contact lens coating that kills bacteria. Read More...

The bacterium that causes stomach inflammation (gastritis), peptic ulcers and gastric cancer thrives in the human stomach by triggering changes in stomach cells and using those changes to its own advantage, say researchers in Sweden and at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Read More...

A bacterium found in many dairy products has been altered to fight against dental caries. The July issue of Nature Biotechnology reports a study in which beneficial bacterium Lactobacillus zeae is engineered to produce an antibody on its surface that neutralizes the detrimental streptococcal bacteria that cause tooth decay. Read More...

NYU School of Medicine scientists have discovered a novel role for the toxin that is responsible for toxic shock syndrome, a deadly infection linked to the use of highly absorbent tampons. Read More...

Researchers at the University of Washington have learned that something most people take for granted is not true: that the force of fluids within the human body helps to break the adhesive bonds of invasive bacteria and counterbalance infection. Read More...

A decade after microbiologists began to suspect that many groups of bacteria can communicate -- by releasing and detecting chemical pheromones to gauge their population density -- the molecular structure of a key protein in this interbacterial communication has been solved. Read More...

A Northwestern University environmental engineer has received a U.S. patent for a treatment device that renders perchlorate - a thyroid-damaging ingredient of rocket fuel and a drinking water problem - harmless. The applications extend beyond the safety of drinking water and this one pollutant. Read More...

Parents whose children have recurrent ear infections often feel they spoon gallons of antibiotics into their children, only to hear a troubling diagnosis from the doctor: Yes, the drugs cured the infection, but there's still fluid in the ear. Now, scientists think that remaining fluid might be even more menacing. Read More...

New insights into how aquatic mussels bind tightly to rocks and other surfaces could lead to surgical applications and improved adhesives, it was reported today at the Great Lakes Regional meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. Read More...

Findings from University of Iowa investigators shed light on how the body normally prevents biofilm development. Read More...

Natural antibacterial stops bugs finding strength in numbers

Nature 30 May 2002
Linked with permission, 06/05/02

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Using molecular microbiology techniques, scientists are a significant step closer to understanding and identifying the deadly microbes responsible for the mysterious black band disease that is destroying the world’s coral reef ecosystems. Read More...

Nature 16 May 2002
Linked with permission, 05/21/02 Read More...

This American Society for Investigative Pathology symposium on “hot topics in microbial pathogenesis” provides a look into five cutting edge approaches to how pathogens get into the cell and cause their damage and what science can do about it, identifying better drug targets, even using the microbes themselves as weapons. Read More...

Nature 18 April 2002
Linked with permission, 05/03/02 Read More...

Nature 05 April 2002
Linked with permission, 04/16/02 Read More...

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced today (Tuesday, 3/12) that Purdue University will head a center to develop "advanced life support" technologies for sustaining human colonies on Mars and elsewhere in space. Read More...

A new research study indicates that coffee might help prevent cavities. The finding is reported in the Feb. 27 print issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a peer-reviewed publication of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society. Read More...

by Caroline Seydel
ScienceNOW 21 Feb 2002; 221:2
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Data Reveals Diseased Gums Pump High Levels of Harmful Bacterial Components Into Bloodstream Read More...

by Mary Beckman
ScienceNOW 6 Feb 2002; 206:1
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Nature 06 February 2002
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A discovery by Princeton scientists could lead to new ways to combat biofilms -- tough coatings of bacteria that form on everything from teeth and prosthetic devices to the hulls of ships. Read More...

Nature 11 January 2002
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Scientists have learned that bacteria use an integrated communications system to sense, retrieve and process the chemical signals they depend on to find nutrients or flee from danger. Read More...

Paula Watnick, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine and New England Medical Center, Boston, MA, will receive the ICAAC Young Investigator Award from the American Society for Microbiology. Read More...

World preview of the Global White Paper on bacterial resistance in respiratory tract infections - A call for concerted international action Read More...

Dr. Paul Armistead, manager of ONR’s Polymer Chemistry program is looking for ideas to outwit the offensive critters Read More...

Scientists have turned to nature once again for help in fighting deadly infections. Reporting in the Dec. 7 issue of Science, Rockefeller University researchers show that a natural enzyme derived from tiny viruses that live inside bacteria can successfully target and kill disease bacteria, including those that are resistant to drugs. Read More...

This week, members of the Stanford faculty announced the official opening of the Biofilm Research Center. The new facility includes a $350,000 Zeiss confocal laser-scanning microscope that will allow researchers, on and off campus, to investigate the intricate world of slime. Read More...

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a fatal lung disease caused by an altered gene, but how the gene affects cells is not completely understood. Now, researchers have new evid