Old drug, new tricks: Prospects for slashing the impact of malaria
A dramatic reduction in the impact of malaria is in prospect with a clinical drug trial to begin in Papua New Guinea early next year. Success in the trial would open the way to relief in the 10% of humanity infected with this debilitating and often fatal disease - over 500,000,000 people. The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research is collaborating with the Papua New Guinea In...Dangerous tricksters: Some bacterie use immune cells to reproduce
Macrophages are effective weapons used by our immune system to absorb and digest pathogenic intruders. Some bacteria, however, can subvert this defence mechanism and even multiply within the macrophages. Cell biologists at the University of Bonn have revealed such a strategy in a recently publication in the journal 'Traffic' (Vol. 6, No. 8, August 2005, pp.635-653). Their findings reveal that the...New finding points way to foiling anthrax's tricks
University of California, Berkeley, chemists have discovered a trick that anthrax bacteria use to make an end run around the body's defenses, but which may turn out to be their Achilles' heel. The UC Berkeley scientists, working with colleagues at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, uncovered the trick while stu...A wolf in sheep's clothing: Plague bacteria reveal one of their virulence tricks
The bacterium that causes the plague belongs to a virulent family of bacteria called Yersinia, a group that also includes a pathogen responsible for food poisoning. These bacteria insert into their host cells proteins and other virulence factors, which kill by -- among other things -- disrupting the cells' normal structure. One of these proteins, called YpkA, attacks a cell's internal skeleton. N...An AIDS-related virus tricks cells to become tumors, new Penn study finds
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered how the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) subverts a normal cell process in order to promote tumor growth. The finding, published in the most recent issue of PLoS Pathogens, offers new potential strategies for treating Kaposi's sarcoma and other cancers associated with viruses. KSHV is an opportun...Illegal business tricks: Can my company do that?
Because I used to be a corporate HR person, people ask me HR questions all the time. One of the most popular forms of question that I get asked is: Can my company actually do that? The answer often is: Well, not legally, but it appears they did anyway. Im not a lawyer. I dont send people off to sue their current or past employer (or at least I havent so far). Life is long. So ma...Indian Scientist who Enthralls Public With Magic Tricks
Whether he is enthralling people with his magic tricks or debating on the latest advances in microbiology, Professor Gursharan Singh Chhatwal does both with ease //. Chhatwal is considered a brilliant cook and a gifted magician. But the scientist from India has also gained renown for his work against the killer streptococci bacteria. 'It is no problem for me to cook even f...Review Opens Bag of Tricks for Reducing Pain from Children’s Shot
Every kid knows getting a shot can be painful, but there are many effective methods to help them cope. With a variety of tricks and techniques available //— from blowing soap bubbles to teaching self-hypnosis — it doesn’t matter what health professionals do so much as that they do something, suggests a new review. The goal of the review was to identify the best psychological interventi...