Microbiology

New bird flu strain seen adapting to mammals, humans
04/13/2013 - 11:43

A genetic analysis of the avian flu virus responsible for at least nine human deaths in China portrays a virus evolving to adapt to human cells, raising concern about its potential to spark a new global flu pandemic.

 

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Researchers Uncover New Pathways in Bacterial Intercellular Competition
04/08/2013 - 16:48

There's an epic battle taking place that's not on the national radar: intercellular competition. While it's not an Olympic event, new research from UC Santa Barbara demonstrates that this microscopic rivalry can be just as fierce as humans going for the gold.

 

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Bird flu mutation study offers vaccine clue
04/08/2013 - 10:30

Scientists have described small genetic changes that enable the H5N1 bird flu virus to replicate more easily in the noses of mammals. So far there have only been isolated cases of bird flu in humans, and no widespread transmission as the H5N1 virus can’t replicate efficiently in the nose. The new study, using weakened viruses in the lab, supports the conclusions of controversial research published in 2012 which demonstrated that just a few genetic mutations could enable bird flu to spread between ferrets, which are used to model flu infection in humans.

 

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Scissor-like enzyme that trims fatty acids from protein molecules points toward treatment of infectious disease
04/05/2013 - 11:12

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report that a pathogen annually blamed for an estimated 90 million cases of food-borne illness defeats a host’s immune response by using a fat-snipping enzyme to cut off cellular communication.

 

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Hepatitis A virus discovered to cloak itself in membranes hijacked from infected cells
04/04/2013 - 11:08

Viruses have historically been classified into one of two types – those with an outer lipid-containing envelope and those without an envelope. For the first time, researchers at the University of North Carolina have discovered that hepatitis A virus, a common cause of enterically-transmitted hepatitis, takes on characteristics of both virus types depending on whether it is in a host or in the environment.

 

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Microbes use a channel protein as a syringe for toxins
03/20/2013 - 16:53

The bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens is a constant companion of some roundworms. These worms assault insect larvae, thereby infecting them with the bacteria; the pathogens then attack the cells of their victims with a deadly cocktail of various toxins. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund working together with colleagues from Freiburg University and Jacobs University Bremen, have discovered that the bacteria use an important toxin complex like a syringe.

 

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