A US vaccine company has modified a bacterium as a potential treatment for cancer. Listeria monocytogenes was modified to ensure it will not cause illness and was then used to infect people as a way of triggering the immune system. The Listeria cells were chosen as they have an innate ability to infect antigen-presenting cells (APCs), cells which prime the immune cells to attack. The Listeria cells were also modified so that once inside the APCs, they would secrete a molecule which is found on the surface of cervical cancer cells – HPV-E7. This would then be presented to other immune cells and prime them to attack the cancer.
Preliminary studies of this treatment involved 13 women with advanced cervical cancer, of which four responded to the treatment. A larger trial is planned by US vaccine company Advaxis.
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A young child has contracted Salmonella from her pet snake. Three year old Gabriella Vry was ill for four days before her condition was diagnosed and the family believe she contracted the potentially fatal disease from the pet Colombian Rainbow Boa, Reg.
Amanda Vry, Gabriella’s mother thinks that her son may have passed on the bug by touching Reg and then playing with his sister. She said that the family would have had second thoughts about getting a pet snake had they known the potential risk of contracting Salmonella. Hygiene is all important, especially when handling pets.
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The 600 microbes that live in the human mouth have been revealed in a new database. This database should help researchers to investigate links between certain mouth bacteria and heart disease, stroke and premature birth. The Human Oral Microbiome Database has been developed by scientists at the Forsyth Institute in Boston, US, and King's College, London and provides descriptions of the microbes, their metabolism, and their ability to cause disease (pathogenicity). This information will be linked to details of each microbes’ DNA and proteins, as well as relevant papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
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A bacterium commonly found in the intestines of most adults reduces the risk of developing kidney stones. Most kidney stones are formed from calcium oxalate and Oxalobacter formigenes aids digestion of oxalate from spinach, beets and nuts in the diet. Researchers from Boston University tested patients with recurrent kidney stones and compared their gut flora with that of matched healthy people. The research showed that over twice as many of the people without kidney stones had O. formigenes living in their intestines. Other researchers are working on using this bacterium as an ingredient for a probiotic that could be given to people without O. formigenes naturally in their gut.
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English Breakfast tea has the potential to inhibit the activity of anthrax, as long as the tea doesn’t contain milk, according to an article published in the March 2008 issue of Microbiologist magazine. Drinking tea has long been known to have a wide range of beneficial effects: antioxidant activity, lowering of plasma cholesterol, protection from the harmful effects of radiation, inhibition of the growth of cancerous cells and boosting the bodies immune responses. So it may come as no surprise that a new effect of tea has been found.
Preliminary results in a joint study by scientists from the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, USA and the Welsh School of Pharmacy, Cardiff, UK, has shown that the humble cuppa can have a protective effect against the lethal toxin of Bacillus Anthracis, or anthrax as it’s more commonly known. What’s more, English Breakfast tea was shown to be more protective than American medium roast coffee. The concentration of the tea should be exactly the same as that of a typical cup of English Breakfast tea for the protection to be at it’s most effective.
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Scientists are one step closer to defeating antibiotic resistant superbugs after researchers at the University of Warwick discovered how Streptococcus pneumoniae became resistant to penicillin. The antibiotic works by breaking down peptidoglycan, which forms a strengthening mesh around the bacterial cell. Strains of S. pneumoniae that are resistant to penicillin produce a protein called MurM, which builds links between strands of peptidoglycan. This makes the bacterium resistant to penicillin and is also the secret weapon of MRSA. The researchers hope their findings will lead to new drugs that target MurM.
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Researchers from Murdoch University in Australia have developed a cheap, effective blood test for African sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis), detailed in a research paper in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. To make a tiny number of trypanosomes, the protozoan parasites that cause the disease, stand out in a sample, the protozoan DNA must be multiplied. Instead of using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the researchers used a technique called loop-mediated isothermal amplification, which “requires little more than a warm water bath and a few chemicals.” After half an hour, a green dye is added to highlight any trypanosome DNA. Compared to standard diagnostic methods, the new technique proved “superior” and would be suitable for use in developing countries.
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Some bacteria may use rain to “get home,” according to research carried out at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. Scientists sampled snow soon after it had fallen from 19 places in France, America and Antarctica, and found evidence of bacteria at every location. It is known that bacteria can act as biological ice nuclei, encouraging water to form crystals around the cells. Because of this, bacteria are sometimes used at ski resorts to encourage snow to form at warmer temperatures. This also happens naturally and as the crystals fall they melt and end up as rain. The researchers found that some of the bacteria that exist in clouds as ice nuclei are plant pathogens, so rain could be used as a means of spreading infection; bacteria become aerosolized and facilitate their own precipitation back to the plants.
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Researchers from Biocontrol announced the results of the first fully regulated Phase II clinical trial of bacteriophage therapy at the Bacteriophage 2008 conference on Friday. The test was carried out on 24 patients with chronic Psuedomonas aeruginosa ear infections, who were not responding to antibiotics. There was on average a 50% reduction in symptoms, compared to 20% in a control group who were not treated with bacteriophages. Analysis of samples taken from the patients’ ears 1, 3 and 6 weeks after treatment showed the bacterial count in the test group dropped by 80%, and increased slightly in the control group. The researchers are now looking to start Phase III trials and hope to bring the treatment to the market soon.
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US company Derma Sciences Inc. has started selling honey-based dressings after they were approved for sale in America by the US Food and Drug Administration. Medihoney is made from a seaweed-based material soaked with manuka honey, which experts believe has potent antimicrobial properties. Manuka, or Leptospermum, honey is made by bees using nectar from manuka and jelly bushes in New Zealand and Australia. The dressings are reported to be effective on infected wounds where other treatments have failed, and may even help prevent wounds from being infected with MRSA. However, the honey dressings cannot treat blood infections.
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Council workers in Manchester have been forced to fell around 200 poplar trees after they became infected with ‘scab’ fungus. The trees have been cut down in a bid to prevent the spread of the disease. The council is planning to undertake a “significant re-planting programme” using tulip, hazel, rowan and beech trees.
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It is a well established fact that microbes are found in clouds. But scientists believe that some of them may actually live there. In a paper published in Geophysical Research Letters, researchers suggest that “Cloud water should be considered as a microbial habitat.” Microbes can be picked up by the wind and deposited in clouds – they have been found in the mesosphere, 70km above the surface of the Earth. Clouds appear inhospitable, they are made of super-cooled water, they are subject to high intensity UV rays, they are acidic, often containing poisonous substances and they undergo extreme swings in conditions. But researchers say this does not deter microbes. Samples of clouds from an altitude of over 1,400 metres contained more than 71 different species of bacteria (including some psychrophiles) and several fungi. Despite appearances, clouds can be very nutritious; microbes can feast on organic acids, alcohols, nitrogen and sulphur. The question is: how have these microbes adapted to get to their home in the sky?
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Control measures have been put in place at the Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland after Legionella bacteria were found in the water system. The Health Services Executive says the levels were "not hugely high, but above acceptable levels." Measures in place to reduce the risk of infection include the removal of shower heads. There have been no cases of Legionnaire's Disease at the hospital.
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Researchers at the Molecular Biology Centre for Neurological Diseases at Chulalongkorn University Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, have succeeded in producing an “RNA virus prototype” that prevents the replication of rabies in eukaryotic cells. The team is now working on a model to test on animals. Scientists hope the prototype virus will be used to treat rabies in humans.
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Research carried out at Nofima in Norway could pave the way for a new food preservative, or even medical treatment. Scientists found that 2 bacteria-killing lysozymes in salmon can function at temperatures between 0C and 40C. Furthermore, the enzymes are not denatured by heat and can function normally after being exposed to high temperatures. This means that the lysozymes could be used to kill bacteria on fresh foods in many different settings, including in a refrigerator and outside on a sunny day. Research leader Inge Nilsen said “I can imagine it being sprayed on fresh foods prior to packing.” Nofima is currently trying to commercialise the product.
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Experts will announce the results of research on native Australian mosquitoes at a biosecurity meeting this week, with a warning that Chikungunya virus could spread easily in Australia. According to research carried out by Queensland Health’s Forensic and Scientific Services, some Australian mosquitoes can carry the virus. Chikungunya is common in Asia, Africa and the Pacific and the East African strain has infected over 1.5 million people since 2005. Symptoms include headache, fever, vomiting and fatigue.
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A protection zone has been set up around a farm in Watford after Defra confirmed that a cow was infected with bluetongue virus. The 20km zone covers parts of north and west London, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. Two additional cases were confirmed within an existing zone covering areas in East Anglia and Kent, which has since been extended into Surrey and Cambridgeshire. All three cases were discovered during routine testing.
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Scientists at the University of Bonn in Germany have used microbes to figure out how dinosaurs were able to grow so big on a seemingly poor diet. Apatosaurus (formerly known as Brontosaurus) reached up to 130 feet in length and 110 tonnes in weight, but the plants available to these herbivores (like conifers, ferns and gingkoes) are generally seen as being poor in nutritional value. Scientists used an artificial dinosaur gut made up of a series of glass tubes to investigate this. Microbes found in sheep guts were added to the dino gut to simulate its natural microbial flora. The study showed, surprisingly, that the diet of the dinosaurs would have produced reasonable amounts of energy, comparable to grasses and temperate foliage.
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The Asian harlequin ladybird has taken over South East England and has become our second biggest garden pest. The UK Harlequin Ladybird Survey, carried out by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology at Cambridge University and Anglia Ruskin University has revealed the scale of the problem. The ladybirds are originally from Japan and were introduced to Europe as a form of biological pest control. There were a handful of sightings in 2004 but the ladybirds now virtually cover the South East and are found in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The harlequin ladybird is threatening the UK’s 46 native species as it is resistant to a deadly fungus that kills ladybirds. According to experts, they cannot be eradicated.
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Thousands of bats in New York and Vermont have died during hibernation. Among those affected are the Eastern pipistrelle, the Northern long-eared, little brown bats and endangered Indiana bats. A common visible symptom present in most of the dead bats is a white fungus encircling their noses, referred to as “white nose syndrome,” which is believed to be associated with the deaths. The state Department of Environmental Conservation is urging people to stay away from five hibernation areas to prevent the spread of the disease. Biologists are looking for ways to monitor the fungus and collect specimens for analysis.
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Researchers have warned fans of American Football to watch what they eat on Super Bowl Sunday (3rd February) after discovering that a surprising number of bacteria are transferred between people by “double-dipping” crisps (or chips). The team from Clemson University found that people who dip, take a bite and dip again transfer on average 10,000 aerobic bacteria from their mouths to the dip. “Sporadic double-dipping” would transfer at least 50-100 bacteria from one mouth to another with every bite. This is unlikely to be a major public health threat, but it might make double-dippers think twice. The research was inspired by an episode of Seinfeld and will appear in the Journal of Food Safety later this year.
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Dr Larry Brilliant, Executive Director of Google.org, has described the internet as a “sentinel” that can warn the world of the next pandemic. Google.org is the philanthropic arm of Google. The parent company donates 1% of its equity and 1% of its annual profits to fund projects to “make Google an institution that makes the world a better place.” £2.5 million has been used to set up InSTEDD (Innovative Support to Emergencies, Diseases and Disasters), which is working to track potential pandemics in South East Asia. By using “software agents” like crawlers, unofficial information on symptoms of disease can be collated. When combined with genetic information of viruses, climate and geographical data, this could be used to “head off” a pandemic. According to Dr Brilliant, “it’s going to be a new area of science.”
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A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) shows that knocking out a gene of the ebola virus may make it safe enough to be handled without the requirement for category 4 containment. Removal of the VP30 gene stops the virus from replicating in cells. However, in order to study ebola, scientists need the virus to replicate, so monkey kidney cells that contain the necessary protein have been developed. The cells provide the protein necessary for replication, rather than this being provided by the virus, so to survive the virus can only replicate within the host cell. Some experts belive this may not make the virus completely safe to handle.
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165,000 birds have been culled in West Bengal after 10,000 poultry birds were found dead from avian influenza. 6 of the 19 districts have been infected and the virus has also spread to a district in eastern India. Villagers cooked and ate the dead birds before being informed about the threat of bird flu. The official culling target is 700,000 birds within a 5km radius of the outbreak. No human cases of H5N1 avian influenza have been reported in India but the outbreak claimed one life after a 28 year old chicken seller committed suicide.
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Leslie Ash, an actress who has been unable to work since being infected with methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) in 2004, has received a record amount of compensation from Chelsea & Westminster NHS Trust. At £5 million, the payout is said to be high due to her loss of earnings in the few years since being infected. Leslie Ash was admitted to hospital following an accident in which she sustained 2 broken ribs and a punctured lung. The infection occurred after her lung was drained. A spokesperson has apologised on behalf of the Trust.
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This weekend, the 34th Annual Santa Cruz Fungus Fair is being held at the Louden Nelson Community Center in the US. The event will feature “two days of fantastic fungus fun for the whole family,” including displays, cookery, mushroom tasting and even making tie-dye silk from “natural mushroom colouring”. Tickets can be purchased at the door ($6 adults, $4 concessions, free to under 12s).
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Zachary Adam, an astrobiologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, has come up with a new theory to explain how life appeared on Earth. Although radioactive material might seem an unlikely candidate due to its ability to split molecules, Adam thinks it might have led to the formation of organic molecules that make up living organisms. “Amino acids, sugars and phosphate can all be produced simultaneously in a radioactive beach environment.” He says that, because the moon was closer billions of years ago, the tides would have been stronger, causing radioactive material to be sifted and collected on the beach, eventually providing enough energy for molecules to form.
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Amphibian Ark, a non-profit organisation that rescues and protects endangered amphibians, has dubbed 2008 “year of the frog” as part of an awareness campaign. Experts believe that 1/3 to 1/2 of the world’s 6,000 amphibian species are in danger of extinction, partly due to a deadly fungus. Amphibian chytrid is untreatable in the wild and can kill 80% of an amphibian population within months. According to the World Conservation Union, it is “the worst infectious disease ever recorded among vertebrates.” Amphibians are indicators of environmental health and they eat pest insects, which helps to control diseases like malaria. They also have substances on their skin that protect them from different microbial pathogens; these substances could have applications in the treatment of human diseases.
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According to the Health Protection Agency, the number of reported cases of Norovirus during this peak period is at its highest since 2002. Doctors estimate the virus is infecting more than 100,000 people a week. 56 Hospital wards in the UK have been closed in a bid to prevent the spread of infection. Norovirus causes vomiting and diarrhoea and is therefore a danger to those at risk, the very young and elderly. Workers are being urged to remain at home at least 48 hours after symptoms have ceased.
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Scientists at a Cambridge biotech firm have developed a vaccine against the influenza A virus. Preliminary human trials of the vaccine have shown promising results. The vaccine, produced by Acambis, is longer lasting than the current jab, which must be administered every year. Results show that 9 out of ten people given the vaccine ACAM-FLU-A produced antibodies against influenza. It works by targeting the M2 protein found on the surface of influenza A. This protein does not mutate, cutting out the need to produce a new vaccine with each outbreak. This means the vaccine could be stockpiled for use in the prevention of winter flu outbreaks. Scientists are now working to perfect the formulation for further clinical trials.
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One of Spain's most famous exports is under threat due to the spread of a fungus which affects oak trees. The pigs that produce 'jamon Iberico puro' (pure Iberian ham) normally feed on acorns but the regional oak trees are dying out due to infection with the fungus Phytophthora cinamomi which is killing 10,000 acres of forest annually.
Iberian pigs feed on acorns which provide their body fat with oleic acid, making them healthier and tastier. Once cured, the meat is usually served at prices of up to £80 a pound.
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Bluetongue virus was found in an imported cow at Woodhouse farm, Great Ayton, near Middlesbrough; the cow has been culled. Farmer Stuart Fletcher has been importing cows for a number of years because of fears of TB among his herd.
This is considered an isolated case and no protection zones have been set up by Defra.
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The Hutchinson Leader (Minnesota, US) is suggesting giving your loved ones 'food safety tools' for Christmas to protect them from bacterial food poisoning. 'Consider putting several tools together for one present, or use them as stocking-fillers.' On this year's wish list are gifts like food thermometers (several types), appliance thermometers, colour-coded cutting boards and kitchen timers. Also recommended is 'an extra colander or two' as it 'may save time and help prevent cross-contamination."
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Researchers at the University at Buffalo, US have found that the production of shiga toxin, which can cause fatal food poisoning in humans, could be linked to bacterial survival. "A longstanding hypothesis of this field is that toxins may have evolved to do something else besides kill mammals. Our work is the best evidence yet that that's true." The research suggests that the toxin comes from bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria. The toxin wards off eukaryotic predators of bacteria like protozoa, including Tetrahymena. The researchers noticed that E. coli cells that were infected with bacteriophages managed to evade Tetrahymena but uninfected cells were eaten. The results of this study may lead to the development of more effective treatments for food poisoning.
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