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By Category: Research

Researchers uncover how poxviruses such as smallpox evolve rapidly — despite low mutation rates

(EurekAlert) Poxviruses, a group of DNA-containing viruses that includes smallpox, are responsible for a wide range of diseases in humans and animals. They are highly virulent and able to cross species barriers, yet how they do so has been largely a mystery because of their low mutation rates. While smallpox was considered officially eradicated by Read More »

August 16, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Public Health, and Research
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Ebola Vaccine Might Never Reach Market, Scientists Say

(Global Security Newswire) Ebola specialists are doubtful that a vaccine to protect people against the virus will ever be available on the market, the BBC reported on Wednesday. The virus that causes the hemorrhagic fever is considered a potential bioterror agent. Ebola is lethal in as many as 90 percent of cases, according to the Read More »

August 16, 2012
| Filed under North America, Countermeasures, Public Health, and Research
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Army Plans Addition to Biodefense Lab

(Global Security Newswire) The U.S. Army is planning to more than double the size of a biodefense facility at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, the Tooele Transcript Bulletin reported on Monday. The $22.6 million project — awarded last week to Big-D Construction of Salt Lake City — would expand the Lothar Salomon Life Sciences Read More »

August 16, 2012
| Filed under North America, Biosafety, and Research
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PLoS ONE launches Synthetic Biology Collection – Phys.Org (press release)

PLoS ONE launches Synthetic Biology CollectionPhys.Org (press release)The field of synthetic biology interconnects many engineering and scientific disciplines including biology, chemical engineering, chemistry, electrical engineering, and computer science. PLoS ONE has published more than 50 articles covering all aspects …

August 16, 2012
| Filed under Research
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Danger in the blood: U-M scientists show how antibiotic-resisting bacterial infections may form

(University of Michigan Health System) New research may help explain why hundreds of thousands of Americans a year get sick — and tens of thousands die — after bacteria get into their blood. It also suggests why some of those bloodstream infections resist treatment with even the most powerful antibiotics.