Bacteria

September 30, 2009 -- Many people who have died from 2009 H1N1 influenza in the United States had co-infections with a common bacteria (Streptococcus pneumoniae, or pneumococcus) which likely contributed to their death, according to a report published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention′s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. CDC is reminding people of the importance of being vaccinated against this common bacterium.    » read more »

Washington, DC - 03/17/2009 - Nearly one year after the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production released its landmark recommendations on how America should reform the way food animals are raised, U.S. Representative Louise Slaughter today introduced the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009 (PAMTA). The bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to withdraw the use of seven classes of antibiotics vitally important to human health from use on factory farms unless animals or herds are sick with disease.    » read more »

NIST, Brookhaven Researchers Use Tuberculosis Bacteria to End 25-Year Quest

February 10, 2009 -- GAITHERSBURG, Md.—The bacterium behind one of mankind's deadliest scourges, tuberculosis, is helping researchers at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) move closer to answering the decades-old question of what controls the switching on and off of genes that carry out all of life's functions.    » read more »

Findings have implications for increasing biomass for the production of biofuels

January 26, 2009 -- UPTON, NY — Through work originally designed to remove contaminants from soil, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and their Belgium colleagues at Hasselt University have identified plant-associated microbes that can improve plant growth on marginal land. The findings, published in the February 1, 2009 issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology, may help scientists design strategies for sustainable biofuel production that do not use food crops or agricultural land.    » read more »

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Obesity is more than a cosmetic concern because it increases a person's risk for developing high blood pressure, diabetes and many other serious health problems. It's well understood that consuming more calories than you expend through exercise and daily activities causes weight gain.

Belly of an obese man: Photo by Word Freak (CC)    » read more »

Updated prophylaxis recommendations are issued for physicians

February 8, 2008 -- The Minnesota and North Dakota Departments of Health today notified physicians that there have been three meningococcal cases over the past year (two cases in Minnesota in January 2008 and one case in North Dakota in January 2007), in which the strain was found to be resistant to quinolone antibiotics. These are the first known quinolone-resistant meningococcal cases in the United States.    » read more »