Bester News

A new report suggests that the number of cases of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis in the U.S. has declined in the past fifteen years, but new cases continue to be reported. Researchers note the decrease in the number of XDR-TB cases coincides with improved TB and HIV/AIDS control.

Raw milk is illegal in many countries as it can be contaminated with potentially harmful microbes. Contamination can also spoil the milk, making it taste bitter and turn thick and sticky. Now scientists have discovered new species of bacteria that can grow at low temperatures, spoiling raw milk even when it is refrigerated. It seems the microbial population of raw milk is much more complex than previously thought.

Scientists report the discovery of a new species of Ebola virus, provisionally named Bundibugyo ebolavirus. The virus, which was responsible for a hemorrhagic fever outbreak in western Uganda in 2007, has been characterized by a team of researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Ga., the Uganda Virus Research Institute, the Uganda Ministry of Health and Columbia University.

The Forum for Collaborative HIV Research convened a national summit on Nov. 19-21, at which some 300 leading HIV researchers, health care providers, and policymakers shared new data on the advances and barriers to early, routine HIV testing, considered a key to slowing the US epidemic which now encompasses more than 1.1 million Americans living with HIV.

A virus that causes cold-like symptoms in humans originated in birds and may have crossed the species barrier around 200 years ago, according to an article in the Journal of General Virology. Scientists hope their findings will help us understand how potentially deadly viruses emerge in humans.

Evolutionary theory points to a new approach to combat drug resistance in disease-causing organisms and in cancer, according to new research. Keeping germs from cooperating can delay the evolution of drug resistance more effectively than killing germs one by one with traditional drugs such as antibiotics.

Mention the phrase "diverse ecosystem," and it conjures images of tropical rainforests and endangered coral reefs. It also describes the human colon. A new study reveals in greater detail than ever before the full extent of the bacterial community inhabiting the human bowel -- 10 times more diverse than previous research had suggested.

"Foamy" macrophage formation may be the key to persistence of infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis, explains a new study in PLoS Pathogens. These immunity-related cells are shown to be a safety reservoir where the bacterium can hide for years in infected individuals, before inducing an active disease.

Immune cells lose the ability to divide as they age because a part of their chromosomes known as a telomere becomes progressively shorter with cell division. As a result, its disease fighting ability is compromised. A new study finds that a chemical from the Astragalus root, frequently used used in Chinese herbal therapy, can prevent or slow this progressive telomere shortening, which could make it a key weapon in the fight against HIV.

A previously unknown regulatory step during human immunodeficiency replication provides a potentially valuable new target for HIV/AIDS therapy, according to researchers.