A form of antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus bacteria has been found on five beaches in Washington state. Worse, scientists believe the state is not the only one with this problem.

Infectious disease specialists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have mapped the gene profiles of children with severe Staph Infections, providing crucial insight into how the human immune system is programmed to respond to this pathogen and opening new doors for improved therapeutic interventions.

Two common strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as MRSA, were virtually eradicated in the laboratory by exposing them to a wavelength of blue light, in a process called photo-irradiation that is described in a paper published online ahead of print in Photomedicine and Laser Surgery.

Researchers led by Dr. Pyong Woo Park at Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School found that Staphlococcus aureus & beta toxin causes lung injury in pneumonia. They report their findings in the February 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.