bacteria Archives
E. coli uses serine to abide acidity
Mar. 23, 2023—Vanderbilt researchers have discovered another acid resistance mechanism for UTI-causing E. coli, laying the foundation for targeted antibacterial therapies.
Team to study using probiotics to reduce heart disease risk
Feb. 3, 2022—A Vanderbilt research team has received a $7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to understand how alcohol’s effect on the gut microbiome drives heart disease.
Caught in a web: study reveals that immune cells cooperate to trap and kill bacteria
Sep. 10, 2021—Vanderbilt researchers have identified a new antibacterial mechanism that could inspire novel strategies for combating staph and other extracellular bacterial pathogens.
Probing innate immunity
May. 19, 2020—Manuel Ascano team validates an inhibitor of the cGAS-STING signaling pathway, which is important for cellular innate immunity against bacteria, viruses, and our own damaged DNA.
New test assists physicians with quicker treatment decisions for sepsis
Oct. 3, 2019—Rapid blood culture diagnostics for patients with bacterial bloodstream infections delivered final results in 12 hours versus the two to three days required for conventional testing.
A probiotic treatment for obesity?
Aug. 8, 2019—Engineered bacteria that produce beneficial compounds — and that could potentially be administered in foods like yogurt — may be a future treatment for obesity and other chronic diseases.
Mouth microbes and colorectal cancer
Jun. 6, 2019—Microbial species in the mouth could be playing a role in colorectal cancer development, according to new research from epidemiologists at VUMC.
How bugs overcome host defenses
Apr. 11, 2019—Vanderbilt researchers led by Eric Skaar are probing the mechanisms bacteria use when faced with nutrient starvation — a host defense strategy called “nutritional immunity.”
Lighting up iron levels
Jan. 11, 2018—A new probe enables iron imaging in living animals, providing a unique tool for studying iron’s contributions to health and disease.
Predicting the infection response
Apr. 19, 2017—Vanderbilt investigators are probing the response to a bacterial toxin as a clinical assessment of immune function.
Bacterial signaling systems
Feb. 3, 2017—Vanderbilt researchers have identified a unique example of communication between bacterial signaling systems, which may have relevance for antibiotic resistance.
Slight chemical change may improve TB treatments: study
Feb. 11, 2016—One small chemical change to an existing antibacterial drug results in a compound that is more effective against its target enzyme in tuberculosis, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.
