http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- Most people need about two days to recover from being sickened by foods contaminated with what's known as staphylococcal enterotoxin A, or "SEA." Produced by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, this toxin is a leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States and worldwide, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) research chemist Reuven Rasooly. http://www.physorg.com/news180108224.html Biology Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:20:07 EST news180108224 Patients who experience dermatologic toxic effects from epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors (EGFRIs) have a high prevalence of skin and nail infections, according to a new study published online December 9 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. http://www.physorg.com/news179598817.html Medicine & Health Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:50:03 EST news179598817 (PhysOrg.com) -- A single bacterium can act alone, performing the same kinds of actions that a group normally does. The behavior of that bacterium can be manipulated at the cellular level. That`s the intriguing finding by a group of researchers from UNM, the Dartmouth Medical School, the New Mexico Veterans Health Care System, and Sandia National Laboratories. The results are reported in the Nov. 22 issue of Nature Chemical Biology. A possible application is halting drug resistant bacteria found in hospital settings. http://www.physorg.com/news179520110.html Chemistry Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:42:40 EST news179520110 (PhysOrg.com) -- Ten years ago, Chicago hospitals were at ground zero when the deadly MRSA bacterium, till then confined to hospitals, learned some new tricks and spilled out into the community. This year, researchers from Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago are teaming up to develop a unique new computer model to understand how the bacteria spread across Chicago -- and how it might be prevented from spreading further. http://www.physorg.com/news179427007.html Medicine & Health Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:00:02 EST news179427007 Most scientists believe that staph infections are caused by many bacterial cells that signal each other to emit toxins. The signaling process is called quorum sensing because many bacteria must be present to start the process. http://www.physorg.com/news179070935.html Chemistry Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:56:14 EST news179070935 MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) and other drug-resistant bacteria could face annihilation as low-temperature plasma prototype devices have been developed to offer safe, quick, easy and unfailing bactericidal cocktails. http://www.physorg.com/news178438994.html Physics Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:24:08 EST news178438994 A strain of MRSA that causes bloodstream infections is five times more lethal than other strains and has shown to have some resistance to the potent antibiotic drug vancomycin used to treat MRSA, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study. http://www.physorg.com/news176266021.html Medicine & Health Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:00:02 EST news176266021 Globalisation and industrialisation are causing diseases to spread from humans to animals, a study has shown. http://www.physorg.com/news175791661.html Medicine & Health Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:02:14 EST news175791661 (PhysOrg.com) -- Trying to understand the complex workings of a biological cell by teasing out the function of every molecule within it is a daunting task. But by making synthetic cells that include just a few chemical processes, researchers can study cellular machinery one manageable piece at a time. http://www.physorg.com/news175281566.html Chemistry Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:22:07 EST news175281566 Many people who have died from swine flu in the United States were also infected with other bacteria, including one which can cause pneumonia or meningitis, US health officials said Wednesday. http://www.physorg.com/news173560770.html Medicine & Health Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:50:02 EST news173560770 Although hospital computer equipment can act as a reservoir for pathogenic organisms, including MRSA, researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Infectious Diseases found that bacterial contamination rates from computer equipment were low, possibly as the result of good hand hygiene. http://www.physorg.com/news173560681.html Medicine & Health Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:30:02 EST news173560681 Rice University biochemists are developing a system of "evolutionary forecasting" to better understand the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. http://www.physorg.com/news172768709.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:40:07 EST news172768709 At Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, a medical resident and avid bike rider in his late 20s noticed a nasty red swelling in his groin. A day and a half later, it had grown as big as a lime. http://www.physorg.com/news172675740.html Medicine & Health Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:00:01 EST news172675740 (PhysOrg.com) -- As summer winds down and women prepare to trade in their beach ware for fall flair, they should be aware of fashion and beauty trends that may be harmful to their health. http://www.physorg.com/news171896647.html Medicine & Health Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:20:01 EST news171896647 A new study published in the September 11, 2009 issue of Science by researchers at the NYU School of Medicine reveals a conceptually novel mechanism that plays an important role in making human pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus anthracis resistant to numerous antibiotics. http://www.physorg.com/news171811284.html Medicine & Health Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:21:55 EST news171811284 Manuka honey may kill bacteria by destroying key bacterial proteins. Dr Rowena Jenkins and colleagues from the University of Wales Institute - Cardiff investigated the mechanisms of manuka honey action and found that its anti-bacterial properties were not due solely to the sugars present in the honey. The work was presented this week (7-10 September), at the Society for General Microbiology's meeting at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. http://www.physorg.com/news171523022.html Biology Mon, 07 Sep 2009 09:10:59 EST news171523022 Giving critically ill hospital patients a daily bath with a mild, soapy solution of the same antibacterial agent used by surgeons to "scrub in" before an operation can dramatically cut down, by as much as 73 percent, the number of patients who develop potentially deadly bloodstream infections, according to a new study by patient safety experts at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and five other institutions. http://www.physorg.com/news171275732.html Medicine & Health Fri, 04 Sep 2009 09:40:01 EST news171275732 (PhysOrg.com) -- Could viruses be good for you? Scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have shown that enzymes from bacteria-infecting viruses known as phages could have beneficial applications for human and animal health. http://www.physorg.com/news170924697.html Biology Mon, 31 Aug 2009 08:05:24 EST news170924697 (PhysOrg.com) -- With the "last resort" antibiotic Vancomycin now plagued by the first signs of bacterial resistance, a scientific collaboration centered at Duke University has identified how a candidate successor antibiotic known as Ramoplanin A2 can kill pathogenic bacteria by interrupting how they form their cell membranes. http://www.physorg.com/news168538972.html Chemistry Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:23:20 EST news168538972 Regular handwashing by hospital staff and visitors did more to prevent the spread of the MRSA superbug than isolating infected patients. http://www.physorg.com/news157733778.html Medicine & Health Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:56:47 EST news157733778 Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have identified the genetic machinery responsible for synthesizing thiostrepton, a powerful antibiotic produced by certain bacteria. Though effective against the dangerous MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci, thiostrepton currently has only limited applications in humans because it is not water soluble. http://www.physorg.com/news157045489.html Chemistry Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:45:22 EST news157045489 USA300--the major epidemic strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causing severe infections in the United States during the past decade--inherits its destructiveness directly from a forefather strain of the bacterium called USA500 rather than randomly acquiring harmful genes from other MRSA strains. This finding comes from a new study led by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. http://www.physorg.com/news156512182.html Medicine & Health Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:39:13 EST news156512182 A new approach to fighting bacterial infections, developed at MIT and Boston University, could help prevent bacteria from developing antibiotic resistance and help kill those that have already become resistant. http://www.physorg.com/news155239566.html Biology Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:06:40 EST news155239566 As influenza season shifts into high gear, with 24 states now reporting widespread activity, the nation's infectious diseases experts are urging supermarket pharmacies with free-antibiotics promotions to educate their customers on when antibiotics are the right prescription -and when they can do more harm than good. http://www.physorg.com/news154789898.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:16:03 EST news154789898 In contrast to the perception that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections associated with use of a catheter is an increasing problem in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, the incidence of this type of infection decreased by nearly 50 percent from 1997 - 2007, according to a study in the February 18 issue of JAMA. http://www.physorg.com/news154119754.html Medicine & Health Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:03:05 EST news154119754 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. The article will appear in the April 2009 issue (Volume 27, Number 2) of the peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. http://www.physorg.com/news152469812.html Medicine & Health Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:44:01 EST news152469812 Old technologies, bone cement and a well known antibiotic, may effectively fight an emerging infection in soldiers with compound bone fractures, according to a study published online today in the Journal of Orthopedic Research. An urgent search for solutions is underway as 20,000 additional American soldiers head for Afghanistan, and as evidence emerges that the infection studied may set the stage for more dangerous infections that can lead to amputation. http://www.physorg.com/news152279815.html Medicine & Health Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:57:40 EST news152279815 Scientists have discovered a new way for bacteria to transfer toxic genes to unrelated bacterial species, a finding that raises the unsettling possibility that bacterial swapping of toxins and other disease-aiding factors may be more common than previously imagined. http://www.physorg.com/news150481769.html Medicine & Health Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:29:29 EST news150481769 Pre-operative screening of patients for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) may be an effective way to reduce infection rates following otolaryngic surgeries, according to new research published in the January 2009 issue of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.physorg.com/news150024266.html Medicine & Health Thu, 01 Jan 2009 09:24:26 EST news150024266