Infections

The US has recorded its first death due to avian influenza. The man had been infected by a H5N1 variant with a genetic mutation, helping it target upper respiratory tract receptors – one also seen in the Canadian teen who fell critically ill last year.

If you were given a choice of vaccine delivery method, would you rather a needle or a skin cream? Thought so. Well, the latter might be a viable option soon, as Stanford scientists have used a topical cream to strongly vaccinate mice against tetanus.

Surgical stitches are good for helping wounds heal, but they can pop open with too much movement. Scientists have now turned that weakness into a strength, developing stitches that generate an electric charge when stretched and heal wounds faster.

Treating life-threatening bloodstream infections in combat situations is challenging, especially when the pathogen responsible is unknown. So, DARPA has called on Harvard’s Wyss Institute to use its groundbreaking biotech to fight this deadly threat.

A group of volunteers in the UK let scientists put the SARS-CoV-2 virus up their noses for research investigating why some of us naturally avoid getting COVID-19. This first-of-its-kind study opens the door to better vaccines and treatments.

When it comes to toilet etiquette, do you put the lid down before you flush, or leave it up? A new study has shown just what happens when you leave it up – and the results might have you questioning just what you do behind closed doors.

An oral vaccine that prevents urinary tract infections (UTIs) recurring has shown to provide protection for nearly a decade in a majority of patients, according to a new study. This easy treatment offers a safe, effective method of UTI prevention.

A single-shot vaccine that protects against multiple coronaviruses, including the one that causes COVID-19, has been developed. It erased all viral traces from the lungs of animal subjects, opening a pathway for a similar human vaccine.

Inflammation from a viral infection has traditionally been thought to cause acute myocarditis, which can lead to fatal heart arrhythmias in healthy young adults. Now, it seems it's something else that damages heart cells before inflammation kicks in.

A mussel protein could one day keep infections from occurring at the site of bone implants such as artificial hips. And while the protein does kill the microbes, it should still limit the development of antibiotic-resistant "superbacteria."

Zinc has been found to be important in reducing lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis, whose immune cells' natural bacteria-fighting ability has been reduced by the genetic mutation that causes the disease.

A new technique, which involves melting bacterial DNA found in blood samples, could deliver diagnoses of potentially fatal infections faster than ever before. Results may be obtained in a few hours, instead of days.