Studies and Analyses

When a community finds that water it relies on for drinking or recreation contains E. coli (Escherichia coli), a bacterium found in the feces of warm-blooded animals that indicates fecal contamination, residents and officials naturally want to find the cause and fix it — quickly. But several testing methods using E. coli to identify the sources of fecal contamination were less accurate in field application than previously reported, according to a recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report pu

NU biologist isolates gene making infections drug-resistant

Northeastern University today announced that biologist Kim Lewis has discovered the gene that prevents antibiotics from successfully destroying infections within biofilm. For years, scientists have struggled to understand why a certain type of infection – known as biofilms – are often resistant to antibiotics. Biofilms contain cells that are identical to the infecting cells, but are not corrupted and destroyed by anti

An antimicrobial agent found in many shampoos and hand lotions and widely used in industrial settings inhibits the development of particular neuron structures that are essential for transmitting signals between cells, according to a University of Pittsburgh study presented today at Cell Biology 2004, the 44th annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology. The meeting is being held Dec. 4 – 8 at the Washington Convention Center.

Prolonged exposure to low levels of me

U of MN researcher will present findings at the American Society of Hematology Conference

A University of Minnesota Cancer Center study indicates natural killer cells obtained from a family member and artificially stimulated may provide renewed hope for some patients who have advanced acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), a highly fatal cancer of the bone marrow, that has become resistant to standard treatment with chemotherapy. Natural killer cells are part of the body’s immune system

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has stopped early a clinical trial studying whether children with sickle cell anemia at high risk for stroke could at some point after a minimum of 30 months (range 30-91 months) safely stop receiving the periodic blood transfusions that prevent strokes. The study found a return to high risk of stroke in children who stopped receiving the transfusions. The NHLBI is issuing a clinical alert on the st

Responses to imatinib found to be durable at 42 months

CHU in Poitiers, France, today announced results of a study showing that newly diagnosed patients with a certain form of leukemia who are treated early with imatinib are more likely to achieve complete cytogenetic responses (the elimination of leukemic cells, a major goal of therapy) and have improved long-term outcomes.

New data from the largest study of CML patients (1106 patients included) ever conducted Internatio