Ants, like humans, deal with disease. To deal with the bacteria that cause some of these diseases, some ants produce their own antibiotics. A new comparative study identified some ant species that make use of powerful antimicrobial agents – but found that 40 percent of ant species tested didn’t appear to produce antibiotics. The study has applications regarding the search for new antibiotics that can be used in humans. (more…)
Findings are a major step toward understanding persistent infections that affect people with cystic fibrosis
Led by scientists at UCLA, an international team of researchers has discovered that bacteria have a “memory” that passes sensory knowledge from one generation of cells to the next, all without a central nervous system or any neurons. (more…)
Ein Konsortium von WissenschaftlerInnen der Universitäten Wien, Basel und Utrecht hat herausgefunden, dass eine in der Traditionellen Chinesischen Medizin häufig verwendete Arzneipflanze – Evodia rutaecarpa – zwei Substanzen enthält, die Herzrhythmusstörungen auslösen können. (more…)
Religious affiliation linked to nearly 4-year longevity boost
A new nationwide study of obituaries has found that people with religious affiliations lived nearly four years longer than those with no ties to religion. (more…)
In the Jan. 5 issue of Science, researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine show that specific strains of commensal bacteria—the swarms of microorganisms naturally dwelling in the intestines—can improve the response rate to immunotherapy for patients being treated for advanced melanoma. (more…)
Ein in Kooperation mit der Universität Wien entwickelter Wirkstoff gegen Krebs zeigte in einer frühen Studie in den USA erste Hinweise für therapeutische Wirksamkeit bei gleichzeitig guter Verträglichkeit. Nun konnte ein Team um Bernhard Keppler von der Fakultät für Chemie zeigen, dass der Wirkstoff bei Krebszellen Symptome des immunogenen Zelltods hervorruft und damit eine zentrale Rolle bei der medikamentösen Krebstherapie einnehmen könnte. (more…)
Drug treatments can save lives, but sometimes they also carry unintended costs. After all, the same therapeutics that target pathogens and tumors can also harm healthy cells. (more…)
An international team of researchers is shining new light on “co-infections,” infectious diseases that attack the body simultaneously. The findings offer insights for treating malaria and worm infections and can help public health officials disentangle how infectious diseases compete in the human body. (more…)
