Bacterial Research:Basic computing elements created in bacteria ♦ C. difficile needs iron, but not too much: Insights into maintaining it 'just right' ♦ Using bacterial 'fight clubs' to find new drugs

Using bacterial 'fight clubs' to find new drugs Chemists have demonstrated that creating bacterial 'fight clubs' is an effective way to discover natural molecules with the potential to become new drugs. The "fight club" approach applies analytical tools to analyze what happens when microbes compete.

C. difficile needs iron, but not too much: Insights into maintaining it 'just right' Those bacteria that require iron walk a tightrope. Iron is essential for their growth, but too much iron can damage DNA and enzymes through oxidation. Therefore, bacteria have machinery to maintain their intracellular iron within a range that is healthy for them.

Basic computing elements created in bacteria Researchers unveil a series of sensors, memory switches, and circuits that can be encoded in the common human gut bacterium. These basic computing elements will allow the bacteria to sense, memorize, and respond to signals in the gut, with future applications that might include the early detection and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease or colon cancer,

Drug-resistant bacteria possess natural ability to become vulnerable to antibiotics Infections with one of the most troublesome and least understood antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” are increasing. But now scientists have shown the bacteria, A. baumannii, can naturally relinquish its defenses against antibiotics.

Multiple, co-existing groups of gut bacteria keep Clostridium difficile infections at bay Multiple species of bacteria working together in healthy guts are responsible for keeping out nasty bacterial invader, Clostridium difficile, a hospital-acquired culprit responsible for 15,000 deaths each year. The study could lead to tests to predict which hospital patients are at highest risk of infection and better management of infections.

Children's Health: Acid-reducing medications sharply raise risk of C. difficile bacteria infection ♦ Genetic mutation associated with Aicardi syndrome ♦ Early life stress affects cognitive functioning

Acid-reducing medications sharply raise risk of C. difficile bacteria infection in kids Infants and children who are given prescription acid-reducing medications face a substantially higher risk of developing Clostridium difficile infection, a potentially severe colonic disorder.

Stronger working memory, reduced sexual risk-taking in adolescents A study of adolescents has found that individual differences in working memory, a function of the brain that helps us make decisions, can predict early sexual risk-taking. The findings suggest potential preventive intervention strategies for parents of teens at risk for engaging in these behaviors.

Early life stress affects cognitive functioning in low-income children A new study has identified how specific patterns of cortisol activity may relate to the cognitive abilities of children in poverty. The study looked at low-income children in the United States and how greater instability in family environments may predict early life stress and cognitive functioning

Study identifies first genetic mutation associated with Aicardi syndrome A genetic mutation responsible for a debilitating childhood neurological condition known as Aicardi syndrome has been identified by researchers. They identified mutations to a gene known as TEAD1, which not only affects formation of the brain but also the retina,

Child fitness falls further than feared: Not obesity-related Child fitness levels are falling at an even faster rate than first feared - and this time there is evidence it has nothing to do with obesity.

Antibiotic Resistance Research:Redirects human antibodies to fight pathogenic bacteria ♦ Treatment reduces risk of recurrence of C. difficile ♦ Reverse bacterial resistance to antibiotics in lab

Molecular homing beacon redirects human antibodies to fight pathogenic bacteria With the threat of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens growing, new ideas to treat infections are sorely needed. Researchers report preliminary success testing an entirely novel approach -- tagging bacteria with a molecular "homing beacon" that attracts pre-existing antibodies to attack the pathogens

Researchers reverse bacterial resistance to antibiotics in lab The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a growing problem in the United States and the world. New findings by researchers in evolutionary biology and mathematics could help doctors better address the problem in a clinical setting.

Treatment reduces risk of recurrence of C. difficile infection Among patients with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) who recovered following standard treatment with the antibiotics metronidazole or vancomycin, oral administration of spores of a strain of C. difficile that does not produce toxins colonized the gastrointestinal tract and significantly reduced CDI recurrence, according to a new study.

Fecal microbiota transplant cures C. diff, blocks multidrug resistant pathogens, A fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) not only cured a case of Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection in a 66 year old man; it eliminated populations of multidrug resistant organisms both in the patient's gastrointestinal tract, and several other body sites, researchers report.

Bacteria research opens way for new antibiotics A target for the development of completely new antibiotics against disease-causing bacteria has been discovered by scientists. The discovery will also be useful in the biotechnology field for the development of a variety of marketable products and processes which rely on coupling biological molecules to cell surfaces.

Health Research: Protein capable of regulating DNA repair ♦ Understanding the body's response to worms and allergies ♦ Are hospitals doing all they can to prevent C. difficile infections?

Beyond genes: Are centrioles carriers of biological information? Scientists have discovered that certain cell structures, the centrioles, could act as information carriers throughout cell generations. The discovery raises the possibility that transmission of biological information could involve more than just genes. Centrioles may actually be carriers of information, which holds profound implications for biology and disease treatment.

Discovery of a protein capable of regulating DNA repair during sperm formation Researchers have discovered that the signalling route - a cascade activation of several molecules - triggered by the ATM protein regulates DNA repair during the production of spermatocytes by meiosis, the cell division process which yields spermatozoa.

Understanding the body's response to worms and allergies Scientists are a step closer to developing new therapies for controlling the body's response to allergies and parasitic worm infections.

Are hospitals doing all they can to prevent C. difficile infections? Not yet, new study suggests Nearly half of American hospitals aren’t taking key steps to prevent C. difficile, a kind of gut infection that kills nearly 30,000 people annually and sickens hundreds of thousands more – despite strong evidence that such steps work

Heavy drinking and binge drinking rise sharply in US counties Today, Americans are more likely to be heavy drinkers and binge drinkers than in recent years due in large part to rising rates of drinking among women, according to a new analysis of county-level drinking patterns in the United States. By contrast, the percentage of people who drink any alcohol has remained relatively unchanged over time

Health Research: College athletes may have low vitamin D levels ♦ C. difficile doubles hospital readmission rates♦ Mutation explain why flu can kill + more

More than one-third of Division I college athletes may have low vitamin D levels A new study found that more than one-third of elite, Division I college athletes may have low levels of vitamin D, which is critical in helping the body to absorb calcium needed to maintain bone mass, and to minimize injury risk.

C. difficile doubles hospital readmission rates, Patients with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) are twice as likely to be readmitted to the hospital as patients without the deadly diarrheal infection, according to a new study.

Fracture liaison services prevent fractures and save lives Using a simulation model, researchers have shown that the implementation of Fracture Liaison Services could considerably reduce the human associated with osteoporotic fractures.

What to do with kidneys from older deceased donors? For older patients in need of a kidney transplant, rapid transplantation from an older deceased donor is superior to delayed transplantation from a younger donor. Kidneys from older donors do not have sufficient longevity to provide younger patients with a lifetime of kidney function, but they do have sufficient longevity to provide older patients

Genetic mutation helps explain why, in rare cases, flu can kill A small number of children who catch the influenza virus fall so ill they end up in the hospital even while their family and friends recover easily. New research helps explain why: a rare genetic mutation that prevents the production of a critical protein, interferon, that is needed to fight off the virus.