A study published July 11th in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens suggests that herpesviruses use multiple strategies to manipulate important components of the host cell nuclear environment during infection.

Described in the July 10, 2008 issue of the journal Nature, the research reveals the shape of the Ebola virus spike protein, which is necessary for viral entry into human cells, bound to an immune system antibody acting to neutralize the virus.

Recent scientific findings explain why patients with a rare immunodeficiency disorder are unusually susceptible to certain common infections. By revealing the exact molecular mechanisms involved, they also give us clues as to why some 'healthy' people are more prone to these infections than others, and suggest potential treatments.

An analysis published June 25th in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases highlights that diseases very similar to those plaguing Africa, Asia, and Latin America are also occurring frequently among the poorest people in the United States, especially women and children.

A large 3D model of the Blue Tongue virus has been created by WMG engineering researchers at the University of Warwick that will help biologists devise new ways to combat the virus and protect millions of livestock from infection.

Infections during the first year of life are a marker of increased risk of developing specific types of arthritis later in life, according to new research from Sweden presented today at EULAR 2008, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Paris, France.

A new national study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health Project on the Public and Biological Security finds that, in spite of a number of food safety incidents in recent years, most Americans remain confident that the food produced in the United States is safe. However, many have concerns about the safety of imported food produced in some other countries.

Understanding the way bacterial cells “talk” to each other could lead to more effective methods for fighting the often persistent and serious infections caused by the biofilms they form, says a Texas A&M University professor of chemical engineering who not only has deciphered their language but also discovered how to quell their conversation.

Researchers from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, have shown the efficacy of an alternative drug against Leishmania amazonensis, one of the species that causes cutaneous leishmaniasis in South America.

Nearly 9 percent of patients who recently underwent liver transplantation suffered a subsequent surgical site infection (SSI). Risk factors included having had biliary-enteric anastomosis (choledocho-jejunal or hepatic-jejunal reconstruction), previous liver or kidney transplant, and more than four red blood cell units transfused.

The risk of contracting a Clostridium difficile infection following operations for which a "prophylactic" antibiotic is given to prevent infection is 21 times greater now than it was just a decade ago, according to researchers from the University of Sherbrooke in Canada. They report their findings in the June 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, currently available online.

A new study has found that swimming pools in remote Aboriginal communities can dramatically reduce rates of skin, ear and chest infections.