Infectious Diseases – News and Features

Scientists have developed a modified version of penicillin that is only activated upon exposure to green light. This modification could offer a more efficient and targeted approach to treating bacterial infections.

Sea cucumbers are the ocean's janitors, cleaning the seabed and recycling nutrients back into the water. But this humble marine invertebrate could also hold the key to stopping the spread of cancer.

Scientists have discovered a surprising new role for a commonly used antibiotic that could open the door to a new family of improved therapies for high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

The discovery that the FDA-approved drug fendiline can selectively kill drug-resistant bacteria suggests a fast-track potential for treating infections that are currently difficult or impossible to manage with existing antibiotics.

A stem cell platform aims to recreate the brain's immune system using lab-grown human microglia cells, to understand how it functions – and fails – in neurodegenerative disease.

A University of Rochester research team found that four common species of bats possess superpowers, allowing them to live up to 35 years – equivalent to approximately 180 human years – without developing cancer.

Researchers have made a major advance in our understanding of human metabolism by describing hundreds of new N-acyl lipids, a type of molecule involved in immune and stress responses.

Antibiotics throw bacteria into an energy crisis that alters their metabolism and speeds up the evolution of antibiotic resistance.

A gut-derived compound called propionate may slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease by reducing inflammation and plaque build-up in the brain, new research in mice suggests.

New research from the University of Chicago cautions against the widespread use of fecal microbiota transplants due to the long-lasting, unintended health consequences for recipients.