bacteria – News Stories About bacteria - Page 7

Rare Bug Kills
SF Disease
Researcher, 25

May 4, 2012 2:46 AM CDT

Rare Bug Kills SF Disease Researcher, 25

CDC probing Richard Din's death

(Newser) - A young researcher at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center has been killed by the rare strain of bacteria that he was researching. Richard Din, 25, died in the hospital where he worked just 17 hours after coming down with a bloodstream infection caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis,...

New Acne
Fighter:
Thyme

study says

Mar 29, 2012 1:34 PM CDT

New Acne Fighter: Thyme

Agent in plant kills bacteria better than leading treatment

(Newser) - The latest weapon against acne may be on your spice shelf. Scientists have found that thyme extract may fight the skin ailment more effectively than a commonly-prescribed treatment, Scientific American reports. Researchers used the plant's active compound against the chief cause of acne, the bacteria Propionibacterium acnes. Turns out...

This Might Be a Bad Summer for Lyme Disease

Mar 14, 2012 4:04 PM CDT

This Might Be a Bad Summer for Lyme Disease

Big crop of acorns, mice signal potential trouble

(Newser) - A surge in cases of Lyme disease could be hiding in the forest. Scientists say the northeastern US might be staring at "the worst year yet" for the bacterial illness, reports Wired . The reason starts with acorns: In 2010, there was a huge crop of them, which led to...

Pet Owners Get Infections
After Too-Close Contact

Pet Owners Get Infections After Too-Close Contact

They were comforting the dying animals

(Newser) - Pet owners should be careful of becoming too physically close with their furry friends: Three people contracted serious infections after cuddling and caring for their dying pets, a new study shows. One woman who ate honey from the dropper she used to feed her dog was hospitalized with a respiratory...

Scientists Make
LED Screens—
Using Bacteria

Jan 5, 2012 5:30 PM CST

Scientists Make LED Screens— Using Bacteria

Paper-clip size screen features blinking organisms

(Newser) - Scientists at UC San Diego have developed a new kind of LED, and it requires no electricity—instead, it runs on living organisms. A few years back, the researchers were able to engineer one fluorescent bacterium to glow according to a biological clock; in 2010, they got a whole colony...

Mega-Organism Filled World's Oceans, Spawned Life on Earth

Worldwide
Mega-Organism
Spawned All Life

Nov 26, 2011 1:18 PM CST

Worldwide Mega-Organism Spawned All Life

Ocean-wide network of cells survived by sharing proteins

(Newser) - Here's a subject for a monster movie—only there would be no victims, because it happened about 3 billion years ago. According to a new theory, the first life form on Earth was a mega-organism that once filled the world's oceans, then split up into parts that later...

You Don't Want to Know What's on Your Cellphone

There's a good chance it's fecal matter: study

(Newser) - If you’re reading this on your smartphone, you might want to go wash your hands now: A new study out of London finds that one out of six cellphones has fecal matter on it. UK researchers swabbed 390 mobile phones and the British hands that used them, and found...

FDA Finds
Soiled Equipment
at Cantaloupe Farm

Oct 19, 2011 5:32 PM CDT

FDA Finds Soiled Equipment at Cantaloupe Farm

It could explain how listeria outbreak started at Colorado facility

(Newser) - Federal health inspectors discovered listeria inside the packing facility of the Colorado farm that shipped out lethal cantaloupes , killing 25 people so far, reports USA Today . FDA officials also found several sanitation problems, including dirty and contaminated equipment that could explain how listeria spread to the fruit.

Listeria Death Toll Hits 18

Oct 5, 2011 5:00 AM CDT

Listeria Death Toll Hits 18

More cases still expected, says FDA official

(Newser) - The death toll from the listeriosis outbreak linked to cantaloupes rose to 18 as government officials confirmed three more deaths yesterday. The total number of illnesses is now 100, according to the CDC. An FDA official says more victims are expected, since listeria symptoms can take up to two months...

Warming Oceans
Could Spread
Bacteria

report warns

Sep 14, 2011 2:15 PM CDT

Warming Oceans Could Spread Bacteria

And that could cost millions in health care spending

(Newser) - Global warming could make you sick—literally. As the oceans get warmer, they're also proving a more hospitable home for Vibrio bacteria, helping to spread it around the world, according to a paper presented yesterday in Brussels. Scientists warned that, left unchecked, the phenomenon could lead to millions of...

Colo. Cantaloupes
Blamed for 4 Deaths

Sep 14, 2011 1:34 AM CDT

Colo. Cantaloupes Blamed for 4 Deaths

Rocky Ford melons believed to be source of Listeria

(Newser) - Colorado's famous Rocky Ford cantaloupes are being blamed for an outbreak of Listeria that has killed four people and sickened dozens of others in six states. No formal recall has been issued, but health officials are advising people at high risk of contracting the bacterial infection—the elderly, pregnant...

Bizarre Contagion Sign
Made of Bacteria

Sep 9, 2011 4:35 AM CDT

Bizarre Contagion Sign Made of Bacteria

From Petri dish to advertisement

(Newser) - The producers of the sick new thriller Contagion came up with a creepy way to promote their product. Warner Bros. Pictures Canada hired microbiologists to culture bacteria on two signs that grew to spell out the name of the movie in a most disgusting way, reports Adweek . Scientists inoculated two...

Researchers Fight Cancer With Bacteria Found in Soil

Sep 6, 2011 4:36 AM CDT

Researchers Fight Cancer With Bacteria Found in Soil

C. sporogenes can activate drugs in cancer, leave body unharmed

(Newser) - A bacterium found in soil could be a useful tool in fighting many types of cancer, reports the BBC . The Clostridium sporogenes bacterium, a relative to botulism and tetanus, produces spores that only grow when there is no oxygen. The human body is full of oxygen, but solid cancer tumors,...

Bacteria Molecule
Blocks Breast Cancer

Aug 22, 2011 2:20 AM CDT

Bacteria Molecule Blocks Breast Cancer

Breakthrough could lead to powerful new anti-cancer drugs

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered a natural bacteria molecule that could hold the key to fighting breast cancer, reports the Independent . Thiostrepton clamps onto the cancer-causing FOXM1 protein, blocking it and stopping it from spreading at an early stage. "It's fascinating to discover how a simple bacteria could hold the...

Inside Your Belly
Button: A Ton of
Mysterious Bacteria

Inside Your Belly Button: A Ton of Mysterious Bacteria

In 95 samples, 662 new strains found

(Newser) - Breaking science news: Your belly button is kinda gross. A new study, the amusingly named Belly Button Biodiversity project, found more than 1,400 strains of bacteria in 95 navel swab samples, the Washington Post reports. Of those, 662 couldn't be classified to a family—suggesting those microbes are...

Germany on E. Coli Source:
It Was the Bean Sprouts

Jun 10, 2011 6:25 AM CDT

Germany on E. Coli Source: It Was the Bean Sprouts

Other veggies off the hook

(Newser) - On Sunday Germany’s E. coli outbreak—which has now killed 29 people—was blamed on bean sprouts ; on Monday it wasn’t . Now, apparently, the sprouts are once again being fingered as the culprit. “People who ate sprouts were nine times more likely to have bloody diarrhea than...

Now Sprouts Probably
Not to Blame for E. Coli

officials say

Jun 6, 2011 10:40 AM CDT

Now Sprouts Probably Not to Blame for E. Coli

German officials reverse course on outbreak cause

(Newser) - Okay, so maybe it's not the bean sprouts after all. German officials did a 180 today, stating that initial tests showed no evidence that sprouts from an organic farm are actually to blame for the deadly E. coli outbreak. Of 40 samples, 23 have so far tested negative for...

Deadly E. Coli Outbreak
Is New Strain: WHO

Jun 2, 2011 7:17 AM CDT

Deadly E. Coli Outbreak Is New Strain: WHO

Mutant form has never been seen before

(Newser) - The deadly outbreak of E. coli that has killed 18 in Europe so far is a new, never-before-seen strain of the bacteria, the World Health Organization said today. It looks to be a mutant strain formed by two different types of E. coli bacteria, which could be why the outbreak...

Deadly European E. Coli Outbreak Hits Americans

Jun 2, 2011 4:00 AM CDT

Deadly European E. Coli Outbreak Hits Americans

Strain found in 2 who had traveled to Europe

(Newser) - The strain of E. coli that has killed at least 17 people in Europe has been found in two people in the US, both of whom had recently traveled to Germany. Both are expected to survive, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The source of the outbreak—...

Prozac Killing
Great Lakes'
Bacteria

May 26, 2011 3:57 PM CDT

Prozac Killing Great Lakes' Bacteria

Scientists fear for ecosystems

(Newser) - E. coli and other microbes in the Great Lakes are dying off thanks to traces of Prozac in the water, scientists find—and that’s not necessarily good news. “Your immediate thought is, 'Well, that's good, because they're not supposed to be there anyways,” a...