Bacteria Research: Superbug colony behaviors revealed in time lapse video ♦ Researchers identify areas of plague risk in western United States ♦ Lifestyle switching: Bacillus cereus is able to resist certain antibiotic therapies

Superbug colony behaviors revealed in time lapse video A well-known 'superbug' which was thought to have been a static or non-motile organism has been observed showing signs of active motility.

Old drugs, new tricks: Medications approved for other uses also have antibiotic action A number of drugs already approved to treat parasitic infections, cancers, infertility and other conditions also show promise as antibiotic agents against staph and tuberculosis infections, according to a new study. Because these agents act against multiple targets within the bacteria, it may be harder for bacteria to develop resistance.

Researchers identify areas of plague risk in western United States Researchers have identified and mapped areas of high probability of plague bacteria in the western United States. This investigation predicted animal plague occurrence across western states based on reported occurrences of plague in sylvan (wild) and domestic animal hosts. Plague is a disease caused by Yersinia pestis, a bacterium found in rodents and their fleas in many areas around the world.

Lifestyle switching: Bacillus cereus is able to resist certain antibiotic therapies The pathogenic bacterium Bacillus cereus causes vomiting and diarrhea as well as systemic and local infections.Researchers have reported that B. cereus, following contact with certain antibiotics, can switch into a special slowed-down mode. The bacteria then form small colony variants that are difficult to diagnose and almost impossible to treat with certain antibiotics. This discovered mechanism may provide an alternative explanation for antibiotic resistance.

Health News:Check the stop foodborne illness holliday tip lis ♦ PTSD resources lacking for non veterans ♦ Insensitive irritable bowel syndrome studied

PTSD resources lacking for non veterans Researchers report that information and resources regarding effective therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder are not easily available for non veterans, who can be affected by the condition after crimes, disasters, and accidents. They offer recommendations for improvement.

Check the stop foodborne illness holliday tip list STOP Foodborne Illness is offering simple food safety tips to help prevent food poisoning throughout the holiday season. “Many people think foodborne illness won’t happen to them, but each year 48 million Americans get sick from foodborne pathogens,” said Darin Detwiler, senior policy coordinator for STOP Foodborne Illness. “STOP’s primary concern is keeping pathogens from.

Inflammation can fan the flames of depression Chronic inflammation in the bloodstream can 'fan the flames' of depression, much like throwing gasoline on a fire.

Antibiotic-infused implants designed to help faces heal Researchers describe their test of antibiotic-infused block copolymers in their plastic spacers to protect craniofacial tissue from infection while healing

Insensitive irritable bowel syndrome studied Biopsies of patients with irritable bowel syndrome have shown that the nerves in their gut wall respond poorly to a cocktail of inflammatory substances. This refutes the previous theory that patients with irritable bowel syndrome have an overly sensitive gut.

Health News:Which turkey producers allow routine antibiotic use ♦ Costco chicken salad linked to E. coli outbreak ♦ Smoking hits all-time low, but not for these three groups

Which turkey producers allow routine antibiotic use Humane farming advocates Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) have released an overview of the antibiotics and other drugs used in turkey production. The organization is part of the Keep Antibiotics Working coalition, which recommends that food animal producers limit the use of medically important antibiotics to disease treatment in order to prevent overuse and subsequent

Costco chicken salad linked to E. coli outbreak in CO,UT,MT,and WA. In a statement posted Monday, Nov. 23, 2015, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment  announced that it is working with other western states and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate illnesses due to E. coli O157:H7 from chicken salad purchased at Colorado Costco stores in late October.  

Continuum theory of sexual orientation disputed by researchers Researchers have established a categorical distinction between people who are heterosexual and those who are not. The findings are a clear departure from the homosexual-heterosexual continuum used to describe sexual orientation since it was hypothesized by sexologist Alfred Kinsey in 1948. However, the findings do support more recent biological hypotheses of sexual orientation

Smoking hits all-time low, but not for these three groups A first-of-its-kind program targets groups with highest tobacco rates and matches smokers with counselors in their demographic to help them quit, say experts from one of America's largest nonprofit quitline

Health Research: Public health leaders urge far-reaching reforms to curb prescription opioid epidemic ♦ New guideline for treating acne in children and adults

New guideline for treating acne in children and adults A new guideline aims to help Canadian physicians, nurses and pharmacists treat children and adults with acne, a disease that can severely affect quality of life. The guideline updates the previous guidance published 15 years ago.

Antibiotic prescriptions increased in study to promote better prescribing for UTIs An initiative to improve prescribing of antibiotics for urinary tract infections (UTIs) resulted in better-quality prescribing of first-line antibiotics, although the number of prescriptions also increased, according to new research

Public health leaders urge far-reaching reforms to curb prescription opioid epidemic A group of experts has issued recommendations aimed at stemming the prescription opioid epidemic, a crisis that kills an average of 44 people a day in the U.S.

Former smokers who quit within the past year are four times more likely to be daily users of e-cigarettes Analysis of a national survey of adult tobacco use points to use of e-cigarettes as a quitting aid. The researchers also found that while any e-cigarette use was higher among young adults, daily e-cigarette use was more common among adults over age 25 than among young adults aged 18-24.

Bacteria Research: A new way to fight against antibiotic resistance ♦ New protein cleanup factors found to control bacterial growth ♦ Novel theoretical approach to reduce antibiotic resistance

A new way to fight against antibiotic resistance The aim of Uppsala Health Summit, this summer’s international summit about antibiotic resistance, was to make real progress in combatting this threat to public health. The conclusions have now been presented in a report which provides policy makers and medical professionals with a number of concrete recommendations.

Novel theoretical approach to reduce antibiotic resistance Researchers have developed a novel mathematical method inspired by Darwinian evolution to use current antibiotics to eliminate or reduce the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

New protein cleanup factors found to control bacterial growth Biochemists have long known that crucial cell processes depend on a highly regulated cleanup system known as proteolysis, where specialized proteins called proteases degrade damaged or no-longer-needed proteins. They must destroy specific targets without damaging other proteins, but how this orderly destruction works is unknown in many cases. Now researchers report finding how an essential bacterial protease controls cell growth and division.

Drug-resistant E. coli continues to climb in community health settings Drug-resistant E. coli infections are on the rise in community hospitals, where more than half of US patients receive their health care..

Children's Health: Children born in the summer more likely to be healthy adults ♦ First-born in family more likely to be nearsighted ♦ Antibiotic stewardship reduces C. diff in hospitalized children

First-born in family more likely to be nearsighted; priority of education may be factor First-born individuals in a sample of adults in the United Kingdom were more likely to be nearsighted than later-born individuals in a family, and the association was larger before adjusting for educational exposure, suggesting that reduced parental investment in the education of children with later birth orders may be partly responsible.

Antibiotic stewardship reduces C. diff in hospitalized children Hospitalized children were three times less likely to become sick with Clostridium difficile (C. diff), a serious bacterial infection that can occur after prolonged antibiotic use, following implementation of an antibiotic stewardship program, a new study found. These programs reduce the misuse of antibiotics and therefore C. diff, and also result in antibiotic cost savings.

Poor infant sleep may predict problematic toddler behavior A recent study finds a definite link between poor infant sleep and compromised attention and behavior at the toddler stage.

Children born in the summer more likely to be healthy adults Women who were born in the summer are more likely to be healthy adults, suggests new research. The authors of the study, which involved almost half a million people in the UK, say more sunlight -- and therefore higher vitamin D exposure -- in the second trimester of pregnancy could explain the effect, but more research is needed.

Antibiotic Combinations May Combat MRSA Infections

Antibiotic resistance is a major public health problem. Many bacterial infections have become difficult to treat because the microbes responsible have adapted to become resistant to the most effective antibiotics. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, has evolved from a controllable nuisance into a serious public health concern. MRSA is now one of the most common hospital-acquired infections. Recently, new strains have emerged in the community that are capable of causing severe infections in otherwise healthy people.

Digitally colorized scanning electron micrograph of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (mustard-colored spheres) and a dead human white blood cell (red). Image credit: NIAID.

In the 1940s, S. aureus infections were treated with compounds called β-lactams (penicillins). These drugs interfere with the synthesis of cell walls to prevent bacteria from growing and reproducing. Bacteria capable of making enzymes that break down β-lactams soon emerged. Second-generation penicillins, such as methicillin, were resistant to those enzymes. However, methicillin-resistant strains were reported soon after the drug’s introduction. These strains had acquired genes from other bacteria that enabled them to produce cell walls even in the presence of β-lactams. Researchers have continued to develop new types of antibiotics to combat MRSA infections, but resistance to many of these have already been reported.

Combinations of antibiotics have had promising results against some microbes. An NIH-funded team led by Dr. Gautam Dantas at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis tested a multidrug approach against MRSA. The scientists carefully selected clinically approved drugs that work synergistically. They chose from 3 distinct subclasses of β-lactam compounds that target different aspects of the cell wall synthesis machinery in MRSA: meropenem, piperacillin, and tazobactam (ME/PI/TZ). Results of the study appeared online in Nature Chemical Biology on September 14, 2015.

The scientists began with a MRSA strain that is highly resistant to 23 diverse antibiotics. The ME/PI/TZ trio was more effective against the strain than any of the drugs alone or in pairs. The triple combination also proved effective in the lab against a panel of strains taken from 72 other clinical cases of MRSA.

The researchers next tested the ability of the drug trio to suppress the development of resistance in MRSA. After exposing the bacteria to low doses of the antibiotics for 11 days, they observed no evolution of resistance to ME/PI/TZ. In contrast, the bacteria developed resistance to all the drugs used alone or in pairs within 1–8 days.

Finally, the team tested the drugs in mice infected with MRSA. All mice treated with ME/PI/TZ survived for 6 days after infection, which was comparable to those treated with linezolid, a more expensive drug currently used to treat resistant infections. Blood taken from the mice confirmed that the infection had been eliminated.

“This three-drug combination appears to prevent MRSA from becoming resistant to it,” Dantas says. “We know all bacteria eventually develop resistance to antibiotics, but this trio buys us some time, potentially a significant amount of time.”

More testing will need to be done to assess whether β-lactams can once again prove effective in the clinic against MRSA. Other antibiotics might also be repurposed in similarly designed synergistic combinations.

—by Harrison Wein, Ph.D.

Bacterial research: New method to treat antibiotic resistant MRSA: Bacteriophages ♦ Combo of three antibiotics can kill deadly staph infections ♦ Strategies to decrease bacterial colonization

Genome mining effort discovers 19 new natural products in four years It took a small group of researchers only four years -- a blink of an eye in pharmaceutical terms -- to scour a collection of 10,000 bacterial strains and isolate the genes responsible for making 19 unique, previously unknown phosphonate natural products, researchers report. Each of these products is a potential new drug. One of them has already been identified as an antibiotic

New method to treat antibiotic resistant MRSA: Bacteriophages A senior molecular biology major knows MRSA as the infection that took his dad's leg. Now he is exacting revenge on the bacteria by unlocking the power of a new MRSA-killer: bacteriophage.

Combo of three antibiotics can kill deadly staph infections Three antibiotics that, individually, are not effective against a drug-resistant staph infection can kill the deadly pathogen when combined as a trio, according to researchers. They have killed the bug -- methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -- in test tubes and laboratory mice, and believe the same strategy may work in people.

Strategies to decrease bacterial colonization Among the bacterial infections that are most difficult to treat, chronic infections associated with bacterial biofilms are one of the most hazardous. Bacterial biofilms are densely packed communities of microbial cells surrounded with secreted polymers. A chemist's new doctoral thesis has studied ways to decrease the bacterial colonization.

Researchers work to improve antibiotic effectiveness A new group of antibiotics has been discovered that may provide relief to some of the more than two million people in the United States affected by antibiotic resistance.

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Health Research: How language shapes our ability to process information ♦ Advance toward more effective, long-lasting flu vaccine ♦ Antibiotic use linked to type 2 diabetes diagnosis

Bilingualism and the brain: How language shapes our ability to process information In an increasingly globalised world, there are many practical benefits to speaking two languages rather than one. Even in the US, which is largely monolingual, more than 20 percent of the population is now thought to speak a second language

Major advance toward more effective, long-lasting flu vaccine Medical researchers have found a way to induce antibodies to fight a wide range of influenza subtypes -- work that could one day eliminate the need for repeated seasonal flu shots.

Flu vaccinations make sense for elderly, study suggests Amid debate about whether flu vaccination really helps the elderly, a new study provides fresh evidence that it does. Researchers found vaccines well matched to the year's flu strain significantly reduce deaths and hospitalizations compared to when the match is poor, suggesting that vaccination indeed makes a difference. They project that well-matched vaccines saves thousands of lives every flu season.

Blood vessel cells help tumors evade the immune system A new study is the first to suggest that cells in the tumor blood vessels contribute to a local environment that protects the cancer cells from tumor-killing immune cells. The results can contribute to the development of better immune-based cancer therapies.

Antibiotic use linked to type 2 diabetes diagnosis People who developed type 2 diabetes tended to take more antibiotics in the years leading up to the diagnosis than people who did not have the condition.

How Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria Spreads between Health Facilities

Video How Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria Spreads between Health Facilities  

Today, a growing number of infections are caused by antibiotic-resistant germs. In fact, these resistant germs cause more than 2 million illnesses and at least 23,000 deaths each year in the United States. In a new video titled, “CDC Vital Signs—Making Health Care Safer: Stop the Spread of Antibiotic Resistance,” CDC spotlights how antibiotic-resistant germs are spreading between healthcare facilities, even those that are practicing infection control and antibiotic stewardship. By adopting a coordinated approach, stewardship activities, and share information, we can reduce the spread of where multiple facilities in an area work together to improve infection control, enhance antibiotic-resistant germs and protect patients from infections that are difficult—or even impossible—to treat with antibiotics.

CDC’s August 2015 Vital Signs report shows that by working together in a coordinated effort health care facilities and health departments in a targeted area could prevent up to 70 percent of life-threatening carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infections over five years.

In a recent American Hospital Association (AHA) blog titled “Breaking the Chains of Infections,” Dr. John R. Combes says, “America’s hospitals stand ready to work with the community and other caregivers to prevent the spread of infection.”

To view the complete CDC report, visit www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns.

Health Research: Fluorescent material reveals how cells grow ♦ Healthcare providers a major contributor to problem of antibiotic overuse ♦ Using low-dose irradiation, researchers can now edit human genes

One night of sleep loss can alter clock genes in your tissues Genes that control the biological clocks in cells throughout the body are altered after losing a single night of sleep, researchers report. For the study the researchers studied 15 healthy normal-weight men who on two separate occasions came to the lab for almost 2-night long stays. During the second night the participants slept as usual (over 8 hours) in one of the two sessions, while they were kept awake in the other of these sessions, but in random order.

Fluorescent material reveals how cells grow Fiber from a semiconducting polymer, developed for solar cells, is an excellent support material for the growth of new human tissue. Researchers have shown that the fiber glows, which makes it possible to follow the growth of the cells inside living tissue.

Healthcare providers a major contributor to problem of antibiotic overuse Differences in the routines of individual providers drives variation in antibiotic prescribing, more than differences in patient characteristics, standards of practice at different hospitals, or clinical settings (emergency department, primary care, urgent care). The report is an important step toward understanding the problem of antibiotic overuse, a major public health concern given the rise in antibiotic-resistant 'superbugs.'

Using low-dose irradiation, researchers can now edit human genes For the first time, researchers have employed a gene-editing technique involving low-dose irradiation to repair patient cells. This method is 10 times more effective than techniques currently in use.

Coping by avoidance in making decisions for relatives in ICU may lead to PTSD Family members who make major medical decisions for relatives in an intensive care unit may suffer posttraumatic stress disorder if they cope by avoiding the situation..

Children's Health: Music training alters the teenage brain ♦ For kids with injured ankles, less treatment may be more ♦ Antibiotic exposure could increase the risk of juvenile arthritis

How music training alters the teenage brain Music training, begun as late as high school, may help improve the teenage brain's responses to sound and sharpen hearing and language skills, suggests a new study. The authors say that these results highlight music's place in the high school curriculum.

Teens' overall substance use declining, but marijuana use rising Marijuana use in teenagers is on the rise, while cigarette and alcohol use are stable or declining, according to health statistics researchers. In particular, black teens are using more marijuana than in recent decades.

For kids with injured ankles, less treatment may be more Emergency physicians can safely reduce X-rays in children with hurt ankles by as much as 23 percent and save emergency patients both money and time.

Antibiotic exposure could increase the risk of juvenile arthritis Taking antibiotics may increase the risk that a child will develop juvenile arthritis, according to a study. Researchers found that children who were prescribed antibiotics had twice the risk of developing juvenile arthritis compared to children the same age who were not prescribed antibiotics. The more courses of antibiotics prescribed, the higher the associated risk.

Health Research: High-fat diet may alleviate mitochondrial disease ♦ Eye color may be linked to alcohol dependence ♦ July 4: Short-term spike in particulate matter in US

High-fat diet may alleviate mitochondrial disease Mice that have a genetic version of mitochondrial disease can easily be mistaken for much older animals by the time they are nine months old: they have thinning grey hair, osteoporosis, poor hearing, infertility, heart problems and have lost weight. Dietary fat, coupled with a natural hormone, can relieve symptoms in these mice.

Eye color may be linked to alcohol dependence People with blue eyes might have a greater chance of becoming alcoholics, according to a unique new study

For women with bipolar disorder, sleep quality affects mood Poor sleep is associated with negative mood in women with bipolar disorder, according to researchers. Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. The condition is marked by extreme mood episodes characterized as manic (highs), depressive (lows) or mixed

Research reveals new insights into a key antibiotic target in the fight against TB A key process in the bacterium that causes tuberculosis has been unraveled by researchers, potentially paving the way for new antibiotics to fight the disease. TB is one of the world's top infectious killers, causing 1.5 million deaths every year. The TB bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is estimated to be present in up to a third of the world's population, although active TB only develops in around one in 10 cases.

July 4: Short-term spike in particulate matter in US From the founding of America, the Fourth of July has been synonymous with fireworks. A new study quantifies the surge in fine particulate matter -- particles that are two and one half microns in diameter (PM2.5) -- on July 4, using observations from the 315 US air quality monitoring sites that operated from 1999 to 2013. While scientists have known that fireworks displays produce a surge in fine particulates, the new study is the first nationwide quantitative analysis of the effects.

Drug Resistance Research: Antibiotic may be the answer to many multidrug-resistant ♦ Infectious bacterium's natural defenses ♦ Revisiting the restriction of antibiotics

Common antibiotic may be the answer to many multidrug-resistant bacterial infections The common antibiotic azithromycin kills many multidrug-resistant bacteria very effectively — when tested under conditions that closely resemble the human body and its natural antimicrobial factors.

Researchers examine infectious bacterium's natural defenses Antibiotics fight bacteria by targeting enzymes essential to the bacterium's survival, like those involved in rebuilding the bacterium's cellular wall. With many deadly bacteria able to resist antibiotics, scientists must work to design new compounds that target important functions in the bacteria to stop them from multiplying. As a spinoff from their research aimed at fighting a specific parasite, researchers may have found a way around an infectious bacterium’s natural defenses.

Re-energizing antibiotics in the war against infections In principle, antibiotics suppress infections either by killing the bacteria, which is called a bactericidal effect or by merely inhibiting their growth, by what is called a bacteriostatic effect. After the treatment has been stopped, growth-inhibited bacteria, however, can re-emerge from their dormancy to start multiplying again with latent infections relapsing back into full-blown attacks.

Revisiting the restriction of antibiotics

Antibiotic resistance, and multidrug resistance, is a major public health threat. A new study finds conditions where restricting certain antibiotics may increase the frequency of multiple drug resistance.

children's Health: Exercising early in life yields rewards in adult years ♦ Emergency visits for childhood food allergy on rise in Illinois ♦ Students' designs give prosthetics a new look

Pilot program in pediatric long-term care facility halves topical antibiotic use A pilot antibiotic stewardship program at a pediatric long-term care facility brought about a 59 percent decrease in use of a topical antibiotic and an 83 percent decrease in orders for antibiotics without proper documentation during a six-month period, according to a new study

Exercising early in life yields rewards in adult years What impact can exercise done early in life have on the propensity for exercising during the adult years? Researchers did experiments on mice in the lab to find out. They found that early-age exercise in mice has positive effects on adult levels of voluntary exercise in addition to reducing body mass

Emergency visits for childhood food allergy on rise in Illinois Emergency room visits and hospitalizations of children with severe, potentially life-threatening food allergy reactions increased nearly 30 percent in Illinois over five years, reports a new study. Hispanic children, who previously had the lowest cases of food allergies, had the biggest increase with a 44 percent rise. This study shows severe food allergies are beginning to impact children of all races and income.

Tests vs. Fests: Students in 'learning celebrations' rather than exams scored higher and enjoyed themselves A sociologist who reshaped "test day" in his class -- transforming it with balloons, streamers, treats and music -- found that students in "learning celebrations" scored higher than students who took standard-style exams in previous semesters.

These 'skins' are in: Students' designs give prosthetics a new look Students have produced "skins" or covers for prosthetic limbs.

Health News: Health-department investigating cyclospora outbreak ♦ How neurons control muscle movement ♦ Whooping cough: New findings on pertussis pathogen

Health-department investigating cyclospora outbreak. The Austin and Travis County Health and Human Services Department announced June 23 that it is investigating a cyclospora outbreak in response to 15 - 7 - confirmed and 11 probable new cases of the intestinal illness.

Parkinson's disease may begin in the gut A major epidemiological registry-based study indicates that Parkinson's disease begins in the gastrointestinal tract. The study is the largest in the field so far.

How neurons control muscle movement How the brain controls movement in people with paralysis, related to their diagnosis of Lou Gehrig's disease, have found that groups of neurons work together, firing in complex rhythms to signal muscles about when and where to move

Whooping cough: New findings on pertussis pathogen The worldwide spreading of the whooping cough, also known as pertussis, has substantially increased since 2010. Researchers have investigated structure and function of an important membrane protein of the bacterium causing pertussis. They discovered that the protein structure differs from a previously postulated model.

New family of bio inspired antibiotic compounds developed The first results of a study of a new antibacterial compound based on natural peptides capable of selectively killing resistant pathogens have been released by scientists. The study has proved that these compounds are highly active against clinically relevant Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. In vitro and in vivo tests have showed compounds’ low toxicity.

Health News: MRSA in pork:♦ Patients give high marks to prepping for surgery online ♦ Patients give high marks to prepping for surgery online

MRSA in pork: farming leaders join calls for clampdown on illegal antibiotic use

Britain’s farming leaders are urging the government to clamp down on the illegal use of powerful antibiotics following a Guardian investigation that found evidence that the superbug MRSA – linked to the overuse of antibiotics in livestock – has entered the UK’s food chain.

Thick cortex could be key in Down syndrome The thickness of the brain's cerebral cortex could be a key to unlocking answers about intellectual development in youth with Down syndrome. It could also provide new insights to why individuals with this genetic neurodevelopmental disorder are highly susceptible to early onset Alzheimer's disease.

Zebrafish provide a novel model to study short bowel syndrome Investigators are providing new hope for babies with short bowel syndrome (SBS) by developing a novel model of SBS in zebrafish,

'Real world' link between type 2 diabetes, low blood sugar risk Hypoglycaemia is an issue amongst people with type 2 diabetes, particularly for those on insulin, yet is still fairly common for other treatment regimens. Now the hypoglycaemic events in the ‘real world’ type 2 diabetes population have been examined in a first-of-its-kind review. The study highlights the need for patient education to raise awareness of hypoglycaemia and for healthcare professionals to consider a patient’s hypoglycaemia risk when prescribing diabetes treatments.

Patients give high marks to prepping for surgery online First-time surgery can be concerning to any patient. Knee surgery -- even arthroscopic surgery to treat a torn meniscus -- can require significant preparation and rehabilitation. According to a new study, a web-based tutorial can not only increase a patient's understanding of the surgery but also provide a better experience.

Health Research: Antibiotic use can be cut dramatically for abdominal infections ♦ Botulinum toxin as treatment for nerve pain ♦ Teachers' health: Healthy heart, stressed psyche

Teachers' health: Healthy heart, stressed psyche As a result of their work, teachers suffer psychosomatic disorders such as exhaustion, fatigue, and headaches more frequently than other occupational groups, claims a new report

Powerful people are quick to notice injustice when they are victimized, Power is accompanied by a sense of entitlement, which shapes reactions to self-relevant injustices. Researchers have found that the powerless are comparatively less sensitive to unfair treatment, suggesting a process by which hierarchies may be maintained: the powerful retain their social standing by quickly perceiving and responding to self-relevant injustices.

New data on botulinum toxin as treatment for nerve pain Botulinum toxin could offer an effective new treatment for two forms of neuropathy—pain caused by different types of nerve injury.

Boosting gut bacteria defense system may lead to better treatments for bloodstream infections An upset in the body’s natural balance of gut bacteria that may lead to life-threatening bloodstream infections can be reversed by enhancing a specific immune defense response,.

Antibiotic use can be cut dramatically for abdominal infections, major trial shows In a finding important for preventing the development of antibiotic-resistant superbugs, researchers have determined that the duration of antibiotic treatment for complicated abdominal infections can be cut by half and remain equally effective.

Drug Resistance Research: Programming DNA to reverse antibiotic resistance ♦ New target for treating drug-resistant melanoma found ♦ New method may eliminate antibiotic use in livestock ♦

New target for treating drug-resistant melanoma found A new study explains why some melanoma tumors are resistant to BRAF inhibitor treatment. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, killing more than 8,000 people in the U.S. each year. Approximately 50 percent of melanoma tumors are driven by mutations in the BRAF gene, and patients with these tumors are prescribed BRAF inhibitors.

High rates of MRSA transmission found between nursing home residents, health care workers Healthcare workers frequently contaminate their gloves and gowns during everyday care of nursing homes residents with drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA

New method may eliminate antibiotic use in livestock An animal scientist has developed an antibiotic-free method to protect animals raised for food against common infections. The innovation comes as growing public concern about antibiotic resistance has induced McDonald's, Tyson Foods and other industry giants to announce major cuts in antibiotic use in meat production. About 80 percent of antibiotics in the United States are used by farmers, because they both protect against disease and accelerate weight gain in many farm animals.

Programming DNA to reverse antibiotic resistance in bacteria New research introduces a promising new tool to combat the rapid, extensive spread of antibiotic resistance around the world. It nukes antibiotic resistance in selected bacteria, and renders other bacteria more sensitive to antibiotics. The research, if ultimately applied to pathogens on hospital surfaces or medical personnel's hands, could turn the tide on untreatable, often lethal bacterial infections.