Dec 19
Gird your immune system because what you’re about to read will make you sick. No, seriously, it’s dangerous. Like Contagion-level dangerous
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Oct 09
As we continue fighting the most dastardly pathogens with new and improved antibiotics, the list of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains only grows longer—leaving us somewhat helpless against the threat of superbugs.
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May 08
Viruses usually have to be rendered inert to work in humanity’s favor, as anyone who has received a flu shot can attest. Auburn University has bucked that trend by discovering a way to put active viruses to work in not only diagnosing sickness, but in preventing it in the first place. It’s using bacteria-hating (and thankfully harmless) viruses as biosensors to quickly identify superbugs, or antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can sometimes prove fatal. As the viruses change color once they’ve reached impervious bacterial strains, in this case variants on Staphylococcus, they can reveal superbugs within 10 to 12 minutes — a potentially lifesaving interval when current purification-driven methods can take hours. Auburn would like to eventually use what it has learned to develop more effective antibacterial glass and similar surfaces. If successfully put into practice, either breakthrough could mitigate what’s already a major medical crisis.
[Image credit: Bob Blaylock, Wikipedia]
Via: The Verge
Source: JoVE
Aug 23
A drug-resistant superbug could be catastrophic for our species, but how are we supposed to stop an incurable illness? By stunting it before it takes hold. Scientists have discovered a molecule that some virulent bacteria need in order to latch onto a host. They think they might be able to create a treatment that would render the molecule useless. Can we finally cross one doomsday scenario off our list of fears? More »
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