Abstract Cordycepin is an efficient component of Cordyceps spp, a traditional Chinese medicine widely used for healthcare in China, and has been recently acted as a strong anticancer agent for clinic. However, whether and how it may play a role in combating tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, remains unknown. Here we report that cordycepin can kill Mycobacterium by [...]
Abstract Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) treatment in persons at increased risk of disease progression is a key strategy with the strong potential to increase rate of tuberculosis (TB) decline in the United States. However, LTBI treatment in homeless persons, a population at high-risk of active TB disease, is usually associated with poor adherence. We describe [...]
Abstract Understanding the oxidizing environment indoors is important for predicting indoor air quality and its impact on human health. We made continuous time-resolved measurements (30 s) of several oxidants and oxidant precursors (collectively referred to as oxidant*): ozone (O3), nitric oxide (NO), and NO2* – the sum of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitrous acid (HONO). [...]
Professor Dame Sally Davies spoke of a ‘return to the dark ages’ of medicine She said that Britain is sleepwalking into a superbug crisis with no viable drugs Routine operations will become life-threatening without antibiotics, she warned Read more… The post Britain’s new superbug tsar tells of her fear that children will grow up in [...]
Amid two new worrying developments—the spread of Ebola to the provincial capital Goma and the murders of two response workers in Beni—experts and potential donors took part in a high-level meeting in Geneva today to assess current conditions and build more support for the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) outbreak. Based on the spread of [...]
A new study by British researchers suggests standard hospital disinfectants may no longer be enough for preventing the spread of Clostridioides difficile. In an attempt to better understand the ability of C difficile spores to persist in the hospital and spread to patients, a team led by scientists from the University of Plymouth spiked three different hospital surfaces [...]
Abstract Dysregulation of circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) in body fluids has been reported in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Recent studies of various diseases showed that extracellular vesicles (EV) in body fluids can provide different spectra of circulating miRNAs and disease-associated signatures from whole fluid or [...]
The University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute is breeding pigs with a warthog gene to resist African Swine Fever (ASF). The newborn piglets could be among the first commercially viable GM animals to have been created in Britain, reports the Guardian. The piglets are born on an isolated farm outside Edinburgh. Professor Bruce Whitelaw, head of developmental [...]
Abstract Floors are an underappreciated fomite or source of pathogens. These pathogens can transfer to our hands, and from there, further spread to other surfaces including our mucosal surfaces, which can make us sick. Unfortunately, regular cleaning of floors (typically through mopping) is not sufficient, as the number of bacteria, fungi, and viruses can easily [...]
BENI, Congo — The Congolese health ministry confirmed an Ebola case in Goma late Sunday, marking the first time the virus has reached the city of more than 2 million people along the border with Rwanda since the epidemic began nearly a year ago. The health ministry said the man who had arrived earlier Sunday [...]
