“Microbiology” on The Daily Caller

Spanish researchers have discovered a key component of infectious bacteria’s battle plan, identifying a protein that tells bacteria in a colony to halt their forward march when antibiotics are present, waiting until the coast is clear before resuming the infection. The finding shows how bacteria outmaneuver antibiotics in the body to continue infecting an organ even after treatment, but it also pinpoints a vulnerability that researchers may be able to exploit to make antibiotics more effective. (more)

Imagine being gang-raped. Imagine the pain it causes, the shame it inflicts and the endless trauma it bears. Now, imagine being told just months later that you’ve contracted HIV as a result. This is the story of Elizabeth Shepherd. (more)

As the scientist who helped eradicate smallpox he certainly know a thing or two about extinction. (more)

Tori Spelling is the latest celebrity to adamantly deny that she has an eating disorder. The reality TV star says swine flue coupled with stomach pains, rather, have caused her to lose a significant amount of weight.  USA Today reports: (more)

The agency in charge of protecting the nation’s blood supply has been following a double standard since 1985. (more)

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — AIDS awareness groups said Saturday they are protesting a ban by the world soccer body FIFA on distributing health related information and condoms at World Cup stadiums and fan events in South Africa. (more)

The discovery of anti-infective agents such as antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, and antibacterials in the 1930s and 1940s represents a transformative moment in human history. They have made an invaluable contribution to the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. Since their introduction, anti-infectives have revolutionized healthcare and saved millions of lives. Unfortunately, over time, bacterium inevitably develops resistance to existing drugs, making infections difficult if not impossible to treat. (more)

Maricopa County health officials have confirmed that a relatively new, extremely toxic strain of bacteria has been found in hospitals and other health-care facilities in the Valley. (more)

The researchers constructed a bacterium’s “genetic software” and transplanted it into a host cell. (more)

The human body has a natural block to keep out bacteria that would cause infections: skin. But when the skin gets burned, it’s not only painful, it’s bad for the body. Burned skin cannot keep the bacteria out, so infections are common. That’s why doctors who treat burn victims have to look out for the slightest sign of dangerous infection. (more)

Scientists from the Carol Yu Centre for Infection at the University of Hong Kong examined Escherichia coli bacteria responsible for causing human urinary tract infections (UTIs) and bacteria in faecal samples from humans and food-producing animals. They found an identical gene for antibiotic resistance was present in all the samples in similar proportions and locations, suggesting that the gene is likely to be transferred between bacteria residing in different hosts. (more)

Imagine knowing you’ll be too sick to go to work, before the faintest hint of a runny nose or a sore throat. Now imagine that preemptive diagnosis being transmitted to a national, web-based influenza map — simply by picking up the phone. (more)

Listed by the World Health Organization as one of the three greatest threats to human health, antibiotic resistance has become a growing concern to infectious disease experts who fear that we are no more than two generations away from being nearly defenseless against various bacterial infections. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal investigators are looking at a farm in Yuma, Ariz., as a possible source of a widespread E. coli outbreak in romaine lettuce, according to the distributor. (more)

People waited in line for hours last fall for the H1N1 vaccine as officials warned about the spreading pandemic. But, due to less demand than expected and production delays, local health departments now are getting rid of thousands of surplus doses that have become so much medical waste. (more)

RNAi, also known as “gene silencing,” is a cellular mechanism that blocks the production of proteins, and has tantalized doctors as a potential medicine for a number of years now. However, by placing payloads of RNA in a polymer nanobot, scientists have finally shown that this technique can work against tumors in human patients. (more)

The cats over at CSI might just have another forensic tool to supplement their super-sleek glass and steel science lab: the bacteria on our hands. A group of researchers at University of Colorado Boulder have conducted a proof-of-concept study in which they were able to accurately identify people using samples of bacteria collected from their computer keyboards and mouses. (more)

We’re facing extraordinarily challenging fiscal times. So as the president’s budget makes its way through the halls of the Capitol, lawmakers will carefully scrutinize every account, every program, and every initiative—as they should. (more)

A just-released Polish study has dealt another blow to the idea that childhood immunizations are linked to autism. This new study, which found no evidence that children who received measles vaccinations are more likely to contract autism, comes on the heels of the recent revelation that the British health paper, The Lancet, has officially retracted a 1998 article it had published that purported to link autism to childhood vaccines. While hundreds of articles have now reported on The Lancet’s retraction and the anti-vaccine movement’s dangerous impact on childhood diseases, there has been precious little discussion of the threat that anti-vaccine fears pose to our ability to fight bioterrorism. In fact, the dangers in this area may be even greater, and our responsiveness to potential acts of bioterror will depend in part on the ability of homeland security officials to address the challenges posed by the vaccine-autism link. (more)

This week the prestigious British journal of medicine, The Lancet, “full retracted from the public record” a flawed and now completely debunked study published in 1998 that claimed a link between childhood vaccines and autism. (more)