Attacking MRSA with metals from antibacterial clays

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In the race to protect society from infectious microbes, the bugs are outrunning us. The need for new therapeutic agents is acute, given the emergence of novel pathogens as well as old foes bearing heightened antibiotic resistance.

Shelley Haydel, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute has a new approach to developing effective, topical antibacterial agents — one that draws on a naturally occurring substance recognized since antiquity for its medicinal properties: clay.

Women's reproductive ability may be related to immune system status

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CHAMPAIGN, lll. — New research indicates that women's reproductive function may be tied to their immune status. Previous studies have found this association in human males, but not females.

The study appears in the American Journal of Human Biology.

Why does old schizophrenia medicine work on antibiotics-resistant bacteria?

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In 2008, researchers from the University of Southern Denmark showed that the drug thioridazine, which has previously been used to treat schizophrenia, is also a powerful weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus).

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a huge problem all over the world: For example, 25 - 50 per cent of the inhabitants in southern Europe are resistant to staphylococci. In the Scandinavian countries it is less than 5 per cent, but also here the risk of resistance is on the rise.

More than one-third of Texas women still receive unnecessary breast biopsy surgery

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Many women in Texas who are found to have an abnormality on routine mammogram or discover a lump in one of their breasts end up having an old-fashioned surgical biopsy to find out whether the breast abnormality is malignant. Since 2001, national expert panels have recommended that the first course of action for women with breast lumps or masses should be minimally invasive biopsy.

New formula invented for microscope viewing, substitutes for federally controlled drug

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Researchers at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and City University of New York have invented a proprietary new formulation called Visikol^TM that effectively clears organisms to be viewed under microscopes. Visikol can be used in place of chloral hydrate, which is one of the few high-quality clearing solutions currently available but which is tightly regulated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) due to its use as a narcotic.

New study pinpoints biochemical mechanism underlying fibrosis following glaucoma surgery

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Promising doped zirconia

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SUMO wrestling cells reveal new protective mechanism target for stroke

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Scientists investigating the interaction of a group of proteins in the brain responsible for protecting nerve cells from damage have identified a new target that could increase cell survival.

The discovery, made by researchers from the University's School of Biochemistry and published in the EMBO journal with additional comment in Nature Reviews, could eventually lead to new therapies for stroke and other brain diseases.

Corruption influences migration of skilled workers

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HEIDELBERG, 17 May 2013 – Countries that have higher levels of corruption struggle to attract and retain skilled workers report the authors of a new study published in EMBO reports.

Qualified workers are in demand in many countries around the world. They are internationally mobile and have the flexibility to take on new challenges. However, if the exodus of skilled workers exceeds the immigration rate of highly qualified individuals it may have a negative impact on the economic performance of a country.

Physical & emotional impairments common, often untreated in people with cancer

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ATLANTA – May 17, 2013– A new review finds cancer survivors suffer a diverse and complex set of impairments, affecting virtually every organ system. Writing in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, Julie Silver, M.D., associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and colleagues say a majority of cancer survivors will have significant physical and psychological impairments as a result of treatments, and that these often go undetected and/or untreated, resulting in disability.