Allowing sunlight in through windows can kill bacteria that live in dust, according to a study published in the open access journal Microbiome. Researchers at the University of Oregon found that in dark rooms 12% of bacteria on average were alive and able to reproduce (viable). In comparison only 6.8% of bacteria exposed to daylight and 6.1% of bacteria exposed to UV light were viable.
Researchers are testing whether a light-active version of heme, the molecule responsible for transporting oxygen in blood circulation, may help people infected with MRSA. Photodynamic therapy, or PDT, involves a compound known as a photosensitizer, which can be activated by visible light to kill diseased cells or bacteria. PDT is a clinically proven method for fighting cancer but has not yet been developed for treating MRSA infections
Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a growing global health crisis. Now, new research provides crucial details on bacterial defenses and how we could undermine them
In the fight against drug-resistant bacteria, MIT researchers have enlisted the help of beneficial bacterium known as probiotics. In a new study, the researchers showed that by delivering a combination of antibiotic drugs and probiotics, they could eradicate two strains of drug-resistant bacteria that often infect wounds. To achieve this, they encapsulated the probiotic bacterium in a protective shell of alginate, a biocompatible material that prevents the probiotic from being killed by the antibiotic.
Biochemists, microbiologists, drug discovery experts, and infectious disease doctors have teamed up in a new study that shows antibiotics are not always necessary to cure sepsis in mice. Instead of killing causative bacteria with antibiotics, researchers treated infected mice with molecules that block toxin formation in bacteria. Every treated mouse survived. The breakthrough study, published in Scientific Reports, suggests infections in humans might be cured the same way.
A new study from the National Institutes of Health and its partners shows that a "good" bacterium has been found in probiotic digestive supplements to help eliminate Staphylococcus aureus, a type of bacteria that can cause serious antibiotic-resistant infections.
The researchers, led by scientists at NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), unexpectedly found that Bacillus bacteria prevented S. aureus bacteria from growing in the gut and nose of healthy individuals. Then, using a mouse study model, they identified exactly how that happens. Researchers from Mahidol University and Rajamangala University of Technology in Thailand collaborated on the project.
Purdue University researchers are testing whether a light-active version of heme, the molecule responsible for transporting oxygen in blood circulation, may help people infected with MRSA. The research was published in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Infectious Diseases in September.
Stiff microbial films often coat medical devices, household items and infrastructure such as the inside of water supply pipes, and can lead to dangerous infections. Researchers have developed a system that harnesses the power of bubbles to propel tiny particles through the surfaces of these tough films and deliver an antiseptic deathblow to the microbes living inside.
What if the bacteria that live in your gut could monitor your health, report disease, and produce beneficial molecules? Researchers have gotten one step closer to creating such a 'synthetic microbiome' by engineering different species of bacteria so they can talk to each other. Given that there are over 1,000 different strains of intestinal interlopers in the human gut, such coordination is crucial for the development of systems that can sense and improve human digestive health.
Antibiotic resistance is a big global public health problem. Of particular concern are multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, which are among the leading causes of serious, debilitating and life-threatening healthcare-associated infections. There is an urgent need for new therapies to treat or prevent infections caused by these bacteria in hospitalized patients.
In an unexpected research finding infections with the intestinal parasite, Cryptosporidium parvum, worsened in mice that had been given a probiotic. The research was published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
For solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients, Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is associated with increased graft loss, according to a study published in the July issue of the American Journal of Transplantation.