News tagged with pathogens
New compound defeats drug-resistant bacteria
It's no wonder that medicine's effort to combat bacterial infections is often described as an arms race. When new drugs are developed to combat infections, the bacterial target invariably comes up with a deterrent.
Nov 28, 2011 |
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Researchers reconstruct genome of the Black Death
led by researchers at McMaster University and the University of Tubingen in Germany -- has sequenced the entire genome of the Black Death, one of the most devastating epidemics in human history.
Oct 12, 2011 |
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New study shows prions able to jump between species more easily than thought
(PhysOrg.com) -- A group of French researchers has found that prions are more easily able to jump between species than has been previously thought. In their paper published in Science, they show that prions ...
Jan 27, 2012 |
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Ocean acidification linked to larval oyster failure
Researchers at Oregon State University have definitively linked an increase in ocean acidification to the collapse of oyster seed production at a commercial oyster hatchery in Oregon, where larval growth had ...
Apr 11, 2012 |
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New technology uses solar UV to disinfect drinking water
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Purdue University researchers has invented a prototype water-disinfection system that could help the world's 800 million people who lack safe drinking water.
Sep 29, 2011 |
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Tree-killing pathogen traced back to California
Genetic detective work by an international group of researchers may have solved a decades-long mystery of the source of a devastating tree-killing fungus that has hit six of the world's seven continents.
Sep 01, 2011 |
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Powerful fungal infection drug amphotericin kills yeast by simply binding ergosterol
With one simple experiment, University of Illinois chemists have debunked a widely held misconception about an often-prescribed drug.
Jan 16, 2012 |
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Raw sewage: Home to millions of undescribed viruses
Biologists have described only a few thousand different viruses so far, but a new study reveals a vast world of unseen viral diversity that exists right under our noses. A paper to be published Tuesday, October 4 in the online ...
Oct 03, 2011 |
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'Left-handed iron corkscrews' point the way to new weapon in battle against superbugs like MRSA
Scientists at the University of Warwick have taken inspiration from corkscrew structures found in nature to develop a new weapon in the fight against infections like E-coli and MRSA.
Nov 28, 2011 |
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Researchers demonstrate new DNA detection technique
A team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame have demonstrated a novel DNA detection method that could prove suitable for many real-world applications.
Dec 16, 2011 |
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New research illustrates how genome adapts to transposon invasion
Small, mobile sequences of DNA left over from viruses, called transposons or "jumping genes" because of their ability to move around the genome, pose a significant threat to the genetic integrity and stability of an organism. ...
Dec 22, 2011 |
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Bees 'self-medicate' when infected with some pathogens
Research from North Carolina State University shows that honey bees "self-medicate" when their colony is infected with a harmful fungus, bringing in increased amounts of antifungal plant resins to ward off ...
Mar 30, 2012 |
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'Vietnam time bomb' defused: Scientists find key mechanism by which bacterial pathogen causes melioidosis
A key mechanism by which a bacterial pathogen causes the deadly tropical disease melioidosis has been discovered by an international team of scientists.
Nov 10, 2011 |
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Researchers discover a compound that controls Listeria
In a year when cantaloupe tainted with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes killed 30 people, the discovery of a compound that controls this deadly bacteria -- and possibly others -- is great news.
Jan 04, 2012 |
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Study finds a weak spot on deadly ebolavirus
Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and the US Army's Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases have isolated and analyzed an antibody that neutralizes Sudan virus, a major species of ebolavirus ...
Nov 21, 2011 |
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Pathogen
A pathogen (from Greek πάθος path "suffering, passion", and γἰγνομαι (γεν-) gignomai (gen-) "I give birth to"), infectious agent, or (more commonly) germ, is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its host. There are several substrates and pathways whereby pathogens can invade a host; the principal pathways have different episodic time frames, but soil contamination has the longest or most persistent potential for harboring a pathogen.
The body contains many natural defenses against some of the common pathogens (such as Pneumocystis) in the form of the human immune system and by some "helpful" bacteria present in the human body's normal flora. However, if the immune system or "good" bacteria is damaged in any way (such as by chemotherapy, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or antibiotics being taken to kill other pathogens), pathogenic bacteria that were being held at bay can proliferate and cause harm to the host. Such cases are called opportunistic infection.
Some pathogens (such as the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which may have caused the Black Plague, the Variola virus, and the Maleria protozoa) have been responsible for massive numbers of casualties and have had numerous effects on afflicted groups. Of particular note in modern times is HIV, which is known to have infected several million humans globally, along with the Influenza virus. Today, while many medical advances have been made to safeguard against infection by pathogens, through the use of vaccination, antibiotics, and fungicide, pathogens continue to threaten human life. Social advances such as food safety, hygiene, and water treatment have reduced the threat from some pathogens.
Not all pathogens are negative. In entomology, pathogens are one of the "Three P's" (predators, pathogens, and parasitoids) that serve as natural or introduced biological controls to suppress arthropod pest populations.
For more information about Pathogen, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
