PhysOrg

January 26, 2012

http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-01-viruses-con-bacteria.html

Researchers have discovered that certain photosynthetic ocean bacteria should beware of viruses bearing gifts: These viruses are carrying genetic material taken from their previous bacterial hosts that tricks the new host into using its own machinery to activate the genes, a process never before documented in any virus-bacteria relationship.

Infection Control Today

January 3, 2012

http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/news/2012/01/h5n1-virus-targets-pulmonary-endothelial-cells.aspx

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the University of South Alabama show that the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus, but not seasonal influenza viruses, can target the cells of human lung tissue, where they replicate fast and efficiently, and induce inflammation, which correlates with H5N1-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome that is observed in humans.

San Francisco Gate

January 22, 2012

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/01/22/state/n031511S20.DTL

A University of Nevada, Las Vegas microbiologist says he and his team members have identified and cultivated a type of magnetic bacteria in Death Valley that could one day contribute to the biotech industry.

PhysOrg

January 18, 2012

http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-01-ulcer-causing-bacteria-baffled-mucus-viscoelasticity.html

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered how certain polymers -- like those found in human mucus and saliva -- make it significantly more difficult for ulcer-causing bacteria to coordinate.

Food Safety News

January 19, 2012

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/01/salmonella-linked-to-laboratories-infected-109-over-11-months/

Between August 2010 and June 2011, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) counted 109 people in 38 states infected with a commercial strain of Salmonella Typhimurium most commonly found in microbiology laboratories.

NJ.com

January 22, 2012

http://www.nj.com/camden/index.ssf/2012/01/computer_simulation_of_tubercu.html

A Rutgers–Camden professor is using his expertise in computer science to aid in the development of new methods to fight tuberculosis.

New York Times

January 23, 2012

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/unlocking-seaweeds-next-gen-crude-sugar/

Seaweed often brings to mind thoughts of surf and sushi, not fuel. But that could change if a biotechnology start-up called Bio Architecture Lab succeeds in building a new kind of energy company from designer bacteria and a low-cost process for harvesting seaweed.

Basque Research

January 18, 2012

http://www.basqueresearch.com/berria_irakurri.asp?Berri_Kod=3710&hizk=I

A team of researchers from the departments of Microbiology and Pharmaceutical Technology of the Universidad of Navarra worked on the development of a new oral vaccine in order to treat bacterial dysentery, or  shigellosis.

MedicalNewsToday

January 25, 2012

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240682.php

New research at Harvard explains how bacterial biofilms expand to form slimy mats on teeth, pipes, surgical instruments, and crops. 

ScienceNews

January 20, 2012

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/337775/title/Mineral_quashes_deadly_bacterial_poisons

A simple mineral supplement — manganese — holds promise as the first successful treatment for hemorrhage-inducing infections caused by some food- and waterborne germs.

MedicalXPress

January 24, 2012

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-entry-hepatitis-infection.html

A molecule embedded in the membrane of human liver cells that aids in cholesterol absorption also allows the entry of hepatitis C virus, the first step in hepatitis C infection.