In pursuit of pathogens
In a time when most people are avoiding diseases like the plague, one WVU biology student is pursuing them instead.
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Pathogens
Microwaves Used to Deactivate Coronavirus, Flu, Other Aerosolized Viruses
As the pandemic continues, scientists are increasingly focused on developing methods to assist in decontaminating surfaces and spaces. In Review of Scientific Instruments, researchers report on experimental tools capable of presenting electromagnetic waves to an aerosol mixture with the capability to vary power, energy, and frequency of the electromagnetic exposure. The researchers seek to better characterize the threshold levels of microwave energy needed to inactivate aerosolized viral particles and reduce their ability to spread infection.
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What’s That Growing on Your Face Mask?
Many people reuse masks and other face coverings many times without sanitizing them. That is likely because current sanitization methods can be cumbersome. A new device using a hanging rack and UV-C light can sterilize up to six masks and other items simultaneously and quickly, killing bacteria, yeasts, mold spores, and viruses. This device has shown its efficacy against pathogens including the highly-contagious E-coli, which was eradicated in about one minute.
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Story Tips: Ice breaker data, bacterial breakdown, catching heat and finding order
ORNL story tips: Ice breaker data, bacterial breakdown, catching heat and finding order
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Optimizing Plant Defense against Pathogens
Plants have sophisticated defense mechanisms that activate specific genes in response to specific pathogens. Scientists investigated the tradeoffs in plant defenses against two pathogens. They identified a protein in Arabidopsis plants that regulates genes involved in pathogen response to target defenses.
Read moreResearchers awarded over $11 million to study multi-drug resistant infection factors
A study aimed at better understanding why some critically ill patients develop multidrug-resistant infections is underway by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The multi-institution study will enroll patients at Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
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Bat Tick Found for the First Time in New Jersey
A tick species associated with bats has been reported for the first time in New Jersey and could pose health risks to people, pets and livestock, according to a Rutgers-led study in the Journal of Medical Entomology. This species (Carios kelleyi) is a “soft” tick. Deer ticks, which carry Lyme disease, are an example of “hard” ticks.
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Newly discovered pathogen in NY apples causes bitter rot disease
In a study of New York state apple orchards, Cornell University plant pathologists have identified a new fungal pathogen that causes bitter rot disease in apples.
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Harmful Microbes Found on Sewer Pipe Walls
Can antibiotic-resistant bacteria escape from sewers into waterways and cause a disease outbreak? A new Rutgers study, published in the journal Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, examined the microbe-laden “biofilms” that cling to sewer walls, and even built a simulated sewer to study the germs that survive within.
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Dangerous Tick-Borne Bacterium Extremely Rare in New Jersey
There’s some good news in New Jersey about a potentially deadly tick-borne bacterium. Rutgers researchers examined more than 3,000 ticks in the Garden State and found only one carrying Rickettsia rickettsii, the bacterium that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever. But cases of tick-borne spotted fevers have increased east of the Mississippi River, and more research is needed to understand why, according to a study in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
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Viruses Can Steal Our Genetic Code to Create New Human-Virus Genes
Like a scene out of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” a virus infects a host and converts it into a factory for making more copies of itself.
Read moreResearchers Identify Seasonal Peaks for Foodborne Infections
Using a newly developed approach, researchers have identified seasonal peaks for foodborne infections that could be used to optimize the timing and location of food inspections.
Read moreRutgers Expert Available to Discuss Risks of Ocean Activities During COVID-19 Pandemic
New Brunswick, N.J. (May 21, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Kay Bidle is available for interviews on the possible risks from
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Cornell research traces how farmlands affect bee disease spread
A new Cornell University study on bees, plants and landscapes in upstate New York sheds light on how bee pathogens spread, offering possible clues for what farmers could do to improve bee health.
NAU launches COVID-19 Testing Service Center to evaluate new drugs to fight deadly virus
The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute (PMI) at Northern Arizona University (NAU) today announced that it is launching the COVID-19 Testing Service Center (CTSC) to grow the SARS-CoV-2 virus and test new drugs against it. By repurposing its existing biodefense research infrastructure for the new testing facility—labs rated at Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3), one of the highest levels of biocontainment—PMI is dedicating much of its significant research capacity to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
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COVID-19: Social distancing works — just ask these animals
As social distancing is now being practiced at all levels of human society in order to mitigate a pandemic’s spread,
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Researchers discover how Zika virus remodels its host cell to boost viral production
Researchers in China have discovered how a Zika virus protein reshapes its host cell to aid viral replication. The study, which will be published December 23 in the Journal of Cell Biology, reveals that the viral protein NS1 converts an interior cellular compartment called the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) into a protective region where the virus can survive and replicate. Blocking this process could be a novel therapeutic strategy to treat patients infected with Zika or similar viral pathogens, such as the yellow fever and dengue viruses.
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