Vaccine blocks malaria transmission in lab experiments

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute have for the first time produced a malarial protein (Pfs48/45) in the proper conformation and quantity to generate a significant immune response in mice and non-human primates for use in a potential transmission-blocking vaccine. Antibodi...

Environmental cleaning intervention reduces transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms in ICUs

San Diego, CA (March 20, 2009) A rigorous environmental cleaning intervention can reduce the transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other multidrug-resistant organisms in hospital intensive care units (ICUs), according to a new study released today at the annual m...

Nanotubes could help study retrovirus transmission between human cells

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Recent findings by medical researchers indicate that naturally occurring nanotubes may serve as tunnels that protect retroviruses and bacteria in transit from diseased to healthy cells a fact that may explain why vaccines fare poorly against some invaders. To better study ...

NIH funds development of resistance-breaking insecticides to reduce malaria transmission

Blacksburg, Va. Researchers from Virginia Tech and Molsoft LLC have received a five-year, $3.557 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to continue their promising work on a new class of resistance-breaking insecticides to reduce malaria transmission....

Risk of HIV transmission highest early in infection

New evidence suggests that the risk of HIV transmission may be highest in the early stages of infection. According to a study published in the April 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online, early infection accounted for nearly half of all transmission occurrences in an ...

Opening windows may be the best way of preventing transmission of airborne infection

A study of eight hospitals in Peru has shown that opening windows and doors provided ventilation more than double that of mechanically ventilated negative-pressure rooms and 18 times that of rooms with windows and doors closed. The researchers, led by Rod Escombe from Imperial College London, co...

Household transmission of SARS: Lessons learned

In the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Toronto, Ontario, about 20% of cases resulted from household transmission (spread of the infection within a household). Wilson-Clark and colleagues studied the characteristics of these household transmissions and report on risk ...

Cultural transmission in bats: When listening for dinner, bats learn from their neighbors

In an exciting study that provides new understanding of how animals learn--and learn from each other--researchers have demonstrated that bats that use frog acoustic cues to find quality prey can rapidly learn these cues by observing other bats. While numerous examples are known of instances where p...

Avian flu transmission to humans may be higher than thought

A new study suggests that there is an association between direct contact with dead or sick poultry and flu-like illness in humans and that the transmission is probably more common than expected, according to a new study in the January 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archiv...

Anti-HIV drug has potential to prevent transmission in women

A new study from infectious disease researchers at The Miriam Hospital and Brown Medical School finds that a drug already given orally to treat HIV is also safe when applied as a vaginal microbicide gel. Microbicides are designed to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV and other sexually transmit...

Study uncovers placental microtransfusions lead to transmission of AIDS virus during childbirth

Transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, from pregnant women to their infants sometime during childbirth is a huge international problem, studies have shown. Between 25 percent and 35 percent of babies born to untreated HIV-infected mothers become infected themselves. That's a half millio...

Studies clarify risk factors for mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis C virus

Breastfeeding does not raise the risk of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV), according to two new studies published in the December 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online. One study found that infant girls are twice as likely to be infected as in...

Antiretroviral Therapy May Prevent HIV Transmission From Breastfeeding Mothers To Infants

Two new studies support the hypothesis that combination antiretroviral drug therapy may reduce the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission through breastfeeding, findings that could have significant implications in the developing world. Researchers in the first study found mothers pass antiretro...

Aircraft Cabin Ventilation Influences The Transmission Of Diseases In-flight

Increasing ventilation within aircraft cabins can reduce the spread of infectious diseases in-flight, suggests a review published in this week's issue of THE LANCET. Mark Gendreau (Lahey Clinic Medical Centre, MA, USA) and colleagues reviewed data from studies looking at the transmission of disea...

HIV-1 spread through six transmission lines in the UK

Contrary to the prevailing belief that the HIV epidemic in the UK can be traced back to one source, a new study suggests that HIV spread via at least six independent virus introductions and subsequent transmission chains. The findings, published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the Nationa...

Reducing malarial transmission in Africa

There are 300 million cases of malaria each year worldwide, causing one million deaths. Around 90% of these deaths occur in Africa, mostly in young children. One of the greatest challenges facing Africa in the fight against malaria is drug resistance; resistance to chloroquine (CQ), the cheapest an...

New studies suggest airborne SARS transmission is possible

Two new studies present evidence that the virus causing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) may spread through the air, not just through direct contact with contaminated water droplets as previous research had shown. SARS coronavirus was detected in the air in a patient's room during the 200...

Male circumcision reduces risk of HIV transmission from women to men

The first study to examine the probability of HIV infection per act of heterosexual sex among a population with multiple sexual partners has found that uncircumcised men have more than twice the risk of acquiring HIV than do circumcised men. In the study, published in the Feb. 15 issue of The Journ...

DOE-funded research projects win 46 R&D 100 Awards for 2009

...racterization capabilities by combining full field transmission imaging with scanning probe capabilities. This tec...ductor lines are literally the weak links in power transmission systems. With this new method of investigating per...eat loss and eliminates energy loss, making longer transmission lengths possible. Superconducting wires can carry ...

Short stressful events may improve working memory

...and emotion. Specifically, they demonstrated that acute stress increases transmission of the neurotransmitter glutamate and improves working memory. "Stress ...ddition," noted Yan, "we have discovered that chronic stress suppresses the transmission of glutamate in the prefrontal cortex of male rodents, which is opposite to...

International research team seeks to unravel flatworm regeneration

... function in a similar way as in mammals. Because stem cells are potentially immortal, they need to strictly control their genome integrity during transmission to future generations, and particulary to protect it against the uncontrolled propagation of mobile genetic elements, transposons. PiRNAs have been sh...

C. difficile spores spread superbug

...c treatment could be asymptomatically inducing the transmission of the healthcare-acquired infection, C. difficil...athogen spreads, investigating the entire cycle of transmission is absolutely vital. We looked at mice carrying C...at we have described as a 'supershedder state' and transmission of C. difficile among mice. Importantly,...

New lab test offers better prediction of HIV microbicide safety

...line version of the Journal of Infectious Disease . For years, scientists have been trying to develop a topical vaginal microbicide for preventing transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. A safe and effective microbicide would help protect women in settings where male condoms are not used a common si...

Tips from the journals of the American Society for Microbiology

...he Journal of Virology . Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 viruses increasingly pose a serious public health risk as cases of interspecies transmission from birds to humans continue to rise. Over 400 laboratory-confirmed human cases and 250 deaths from H5N1 virus infection have been reported since 20...

Targeting children effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine and could help control flu spread

...household transmissions. In the event of a disease outbreak, other modes of transmission are also likely, such as at work or on public transport. However, data for ...ouse. "In every city studied, households are seen to play a key role in the transmission of close-contact diseases like influenza." ...

Shape matters in the case of cobalt nanoparticles

...cubes can be altered merely by observing with one of nanotechnologys microscopes of choice. After a few minutes exposure to the illuminating beam of a transmission electron microscope, the nanocubes melt together, forming nanowires that are no longer separable as individual nanoparticles. The effect, not observed...

Protein regulates movement of mitochondria in brain cells

...ly line includes mitochondria which the cell must also push down the axons and dendrites to provide these parts of the cell with energy, help with the transmission of signals, and generally maintain cellular health. Mitochondria are constantly cycling throughout the neuron. Some are stationary while others are ...

Huntington's disease deciphered

...id Brady. Loss of delivery of materials to the terminals results in loss of transmission of signals from the neuron. Loss of signal transmission causes the neurons to begin to die back, leading to reduced transmissions, ...

Enigmatic sea urchin structure catalogued

... the axial complex of specimens from almost all sea urchin orders. These data were extended with invasive techniques such as dissection, histology and transmission electron microscopy. Based on the available data, a re-evaluation of published studies spanning almost two centuries became possible. In their combine...

Government of Canada announces funding for research on the H1N1 flu virus

... Columbia and his team will work with the Canadian Consortium for Pandemic Preparedness Modelling to create mathematical models to rapidly analyze the transmission and spread of the influenza virus and evaluate the effectiveness of various public health intervention strategies. The work of these teams will help...

Swine flu experts gather at New York Academy of Sciences May 28

... Two microbiologists/immunologists from New York Medical College are leading the symposium, which will focus on understanding the pathogenicity and transmission of the viruses to develop improved methods of prevention and control. Keynote speaker Edwin D. Kilbourne, M.D., emeritus professor, developed the firs...

Jeepers creepers: Climate change threatens endangered honeycreepers

...anent housekeeping, setting the stage for epidemic transmission of avian malaria and pox. Honeycreepers just like...nd only 3 are in decent shape. Pox and malaria transmission in Hawaii depends on climatic conditions, especial...eptible birds each fall." Although most disease transmission now occurs in these mid-elevation forests, this wi...

The challenges of avian influenza virus: Mechanism, epidemiology and control

...ctims or carriers of H5N1, the expansion of the host range and interspecies transmission of H5N1 virus is worrisome. The mechanism underlying this change is elusive...icrobiology and Immunology review our current knowledge of the interspecies transmission and host factors involved: from virus receptor usage to host proteins inter...

Old stain in a new combination

... body and reduce the number of gametocytes in blood by half. This makes the transmission of the parasite to the mosquito more difficult but does not completely prev...ene Institute at the University of Heidelberg. Methylene blue prevents transmission to mosquitoes The appropriate component for such an alternative is a p...

Milestone in live microscopy focus of $2 million NIH grant

...o extend the capabilities of a powerful new imaging tool called the dynamic transmission electron microscope or DTEM. These instruments can snap 10 to 100 images pe...oped a DTEM in use at Lawrence Livermore. DTEMs are advanced versions of transmission electron microscopes (TEMs), which have graced research facilities since th...

Bacteria play role in preventing spread of malaria

...8, 2009, edition of the journal PLoS Pathogens . As part of the malaria transmission cycle, a mosquito acquires the malaria-causing parasite when it feeds on bl... and the mosquito's immune system may have significant implications for the transmission of malaria in the field where mosquitoes may be exposed to different types ...

New insight into Alzheimer's disease pathology

...nd maintenance of dendritic spines the nerve cell's receivers for transmitted signals. These results fit with a growing hypothesis that failing nerve transmission might be an early step in the pathology of Alzheimer's. ...

Songbird study from CSHL, CCNY provides concrete measure of biology's impact on culture

... evolution, neuroethology (biology of song development) and quantitative genetics. "We've provided a starting point to explore the biology of cultural transmission in the laboratory," says Mitra. ...

Mosquito parasite may help fight dengue fever

...tis , shortens the lifespan of host insects and could restrict dengue fever transmission by killing the insects before they can pass the infection on, O'Neill and h...ts that mosquitoes carrying the Wolbachia parasite could successfully limit transmission of the virus. McGraw and O'Neill had to find out how the bacterium affects ...

Avian flu research sheds light on swine flu outbreak

...tations in his lab strain that enabled respiratory transmission between mammals was on the tip of the HA surface p...which combinations of mutations cause this type of transmission before we can design the appropriate vaccines." ...y do studies related to vaccine development, virus transmission between humans and animals, and the pathogenesis o...