Related topics: bacteria , immune cells , hiv , immune response , immune system
Infection
hideAn infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. In an infection, the infecting organism seeks to utilize the host's resources to multiply, usually at the expense of the host. The infecting organism, or pathogen, interferes with the normal functioning of the host and can lead to chronic wounds, gangrene, loss of an infected limb, and even death. The host's response to infection is inflammation. Colloquially, a pathogen is usually considered a microscopic organism though the definition is broader, including parasites, fungi, viruses, prions, and viroids. A symbiosis between parasite and host, whereby the relationship is beneficial for the former but detrimental to the latter, is characterised as parasitism. The branch of medicine that focuses on infections and pathogens is infectious disease. "When infection attacks the body, anti-infective drugs can help turn the tide of battle. Four types of anti-infective drugs exist: antibacterial, antiviral, antitubercular, and antifungal. A secondary infection is an infection that occurs during or following treatment of another already existing primary infection.
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News tagged with infection
Mechanism discovered by which body's cells encourage tuberculosis infection
Dec 10, 2009 |
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Scientists have discovered a signaling pathway that tuberculosis bacteria use to coerce disease-fighting cells to switch allegiance and work on their behalf. Epithelial cells line the airways and other surfaces ...
Was mighty T.rex 'Sue' felled by a lowly parasite?
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Sep 29, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- When pondering the demise of a famous dinosaur such as 'Sue,' the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex whose fossilized remains are a star attraction of the Field Museum in Chicago, it is hard to avo ...
Researchers discover a new antibacterial lead
Sep 27, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Antibiotic resistance has been a significant problem for hospitals and health-care facilities for more than a decade. But despite the need for new treatment options, there have been only two ...
Daily bathroom showers may deliver face full of pathogens, says study
Sep 14, 2009 |
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While daily bathroom showers provide invigorating relief and a good cleansing for millions of Americans, they also can deliver a face full of potentially pathogenic bacteria, according to a surprising new ...
What killed Mozart? Study suggests strep infection
Aug 19, 2009 |
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(AP) -- For more than two centuries, the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has endured - as has the speculation about what led to his sudden death at age 35 on Dec. 5, 1791.
New Biomarker Predicts Response to Hepatitis C Treatment
Aug 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have identified the first genetic marker that predicts response to hepatitis C treatments, and a single letter of DNA code appears to make a huge difference. Duke University Medical Center scientists ...
Yeast missing sex genes undergo unexpected sexual reproduction
May 24, 2009 |
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An emerging form of the pathogenic yeast Candida is able to complete a full sexual cycle in a test tube, even though it's missing the genes for reproduction. And it may also do so while infecting us, according to Duke Univer ...
Novel nanotechnology heals abscesses caused by resistant staph bacteria
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
23 hours ago |
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Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed a new approach for treating and healing skin abscesses caused by bacteria resistant to most antibiotics. The study ...
New, virulent strain of MRSA poses renewed antibiotic resistance concerns
Dec 22, 2009 |
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The often feared and sometimes deadly infections caused by MRSA - methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - are now moving out of hospitals and emerging as an even more virulent strain in community settings and on ath ...
Naturally occurring lipid blocks RSV infection in lungs
Dec 21, 2009 |
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Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered that a naturally occurring lipid in the lung can prevent RSV infection and inhibit spread of the virus after an infection is established. RSV is the major cause of hospitalization ...
Taming the flu: Researchers create map of interactions between flu virus and its human host
Dec 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- There is no lack of worry this season over the flu, both the seasonal and H1N1 varieties, but there is a critical lack of understanding of the viruses that cause these illnesses. For years, ...
Why Some Monkeys Don't Get AIDS
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Two studies published this month in the Journal of Clinical Investigation provide a significant advance in understanding how some species of monkeys such as sooty mangabeys and African green ...
Blocking biofilms: Alzheimer's research sheds light on potential treatments for urinary tract infections
Nov 25, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Research into Alzheimer's disease seems an unlikely approach to yield a better way to fight urinary tract infections (UTIs), but that's what scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis ...
On the trail of a vaccine for Lyme disease: Researchers target tick saliva
Nov 19, 2009 |
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A protein found in the saliva of ticks helps protect mice from developing Lyme disease, Yale researchers have discovered. The findings, published in the November 19 issue of Cell Host & Microbe, may spur d ...
Cross-country runabouts -- immune cells on the move
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In order to effectively fight pathogens, even at remote areas of the human body, immune cells have to move quickly and in a flexible manner.
