Life Sciences and Chemistry

Tiny types of soil bugs already make many of the products we use in washing detergents, foods, and waste treatment, but scientists now hope that similar bacteria will also make the vaccines and drugs of the future, according to new research presented today (Tuesday, 07 September 2004) at the Society for General Microbiology’s 155th Meeting at Trinity College Dublin.

Researchers from the Institute of Cell and Molecular Studies at Newcastle University have successfully produced small q

Researchers from Rockefeller University, New York, have developed a new way of killing dangerous bacteria like the ones which cause anthrax and pneumonia, using products from a virus, according to new research presented today (Tuesday, 07 September 2004) at the Society for General Microbiology’s 155th Meeting at Trinity College Dublin.

The new bug-smashing technique uses the bacteria’s own natural enemies, tiny viruses called bacteriophages (or phages), which can infect bacterial c

The slippery mucus on the skin of rainbow trout is being studied by scientists as a possible source of new medicines to fight infectious diseases, according to research presented Monday, 06 September 2004 at the Society for General Microbiology’s 155th Meeting at Trinity College Dublin.

“Anglers, cooks and anyone cleaning up mess in their kitchen know how difficult it is to hold onto fresh slippery fish like rainbow trout,” says Dr Vyv Salisbury from the University of the West of En

Bee stings may provide a solution to overcome the growing problem of antibiotic resistance in bacteria according to new research presented Monday, 06 September 2004 by Belfast scientists at the Society for General Microbiology’s 155th Meeting at Trinity College Dublin.

A small protein found in bee venom called melittin can break open the protective skin which surrounds all cells, including cells in our own bodies, and the membranes which enclose bacteria.

“This new approach

Stopping bacteria from talking to each other could help prevent serious infections say scientists from Aberdeen, in new research presented Monday, 06 September 2004 at the Society for General Microbiology’s 155th Meeting at Trinity College Dublin.

“It is war out there. Bacteria need to wait until there are enough of them to attack us, otherwise they just get beaten off by our skin, the antibodies which patrol our blood, and our other defences,” says Professor Andrew Porter from Aberde

About half of today’s children have tooth decay, so a new solution that blocks the action of bacteria which attack teeth could bring significant benefits, say scientists speaking Monday, 06 September 2004 at the Society for General Microbiology’s 155th Meeting at Trinity College Dublin.

Researchers from the Department of Oral Immunology at King’s College London have discovered how the bacteria which attack teeth, Streptococcus mutans, attach themselves to the enamel surface. O