Recent News

By Category: Research

C.D.C. Says Tuberculosis Lab, Shut Amid Exposure Scare, Can Continue Its Work

(New York Times) Operations can resume at a government tuberculosis laboratory in Atlanta that was shut down this month as part of a moratorium on handling dangerous microbes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday. The moratorium, imposed by the agency after two accidents at other laboratories that could have exposed workers to  Read More »

U.S. CDC says to announce safety advisory panel by end of week

(Reuters) The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will announce its safety advisory panel later this week following breaches in its handling of anthrax and a deadly form of bird flu in recent weeks, the director of the agency said on Tuesday. CDC’s Dr Thomas Frieden told reporters the members of the panel will  Read More »

The human parasite Leishmania is a probiotic for the fly that carries it

(AAAS EurekAlert) The Leishmania parasite, which causes the human disease leishmaniasis, acts as a probiotic in the insect that transmits it to humans, protecting them from bacterial disease. Findings published in the open access journal Parasites and Vectors suggest that using bacterial controls to stop the spread of leishmaniasis could sometimes have the opposite effect  Read More »

Experts see flaws in promising dengue fever vaccine candidate

(Deutsche Welle) The most advanced vaccine candidate against dengue fever could prevent many deaths, its developers say. But some experts warn that the substance could even make things worse rather than effectively treat it.

Molecular Computer Detects Ebola and Marburg Viruses

(Scientific American) Early detection is key to slowing outbreaks of Ebola, such as the one currently spreading across west Africa that is estimated to have infected almost 1000 people, according to the latest World Health Organization report. A molecular computer could one day simplify analysis of biomedical assays like those used to diagnose Ebola, researchers  Read More »