News tagged with pathogens
Engineered stem cells seek out, kill HIV in living organisms
(Medical Xpress) -- Expanding on previous research providing proof-of-principal that human stem cells can be genetically engineered into HIV-fighting cells, a team of UCLA researchers have now demonstrated ...
HIV & AIDS
Apr 12, 2012 |
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Blocking key protein could halt age-related decline in immune system
The older we get, the weaker our immune systems tend to become, leaving us vulnerable to infectious diseases and cancer and eroding our ability to benefit from vaccination. Now Stanford University School of Medicine scientists ...
Medical research
Sep 30, 2012 |
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Immune systems of healthy adults 'remember' germs to which they've never been exposed
It's established dogma that the immune system develops a "memory" of a microbial pathogen, with a correspondingly enhanced readiness to combat that microbe, only upon exposure to it—or to its components though a vaccine. ...
Immunology
Feb 07, 2013 |
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New mouthwash may render cavities a thing of the past
(Medical Xpress) -- A new mouthwash developed by a microbiologist at the UCLA School of Dentistry is highly successful in targeting the harmful Streptococcus mutans bacteria that is the principal cause tooth decay and cavities.
Health
Nov 16, 2011 |
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New study shows gut bacteria could cause type 2 diabetes
Studying gut bacteria can reveal a range of human illness. Now, new research shows that the composition of a person's intestinal bacteria could play an important role in the development of type 2 diabetes. These results, ...
Diabetes
Sep 26, 2012 |
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Researcher contends multiple sclerosis is not a disease of the immune system
An article to be published Friday (Dec. 23) in the December 2011 issue of The Quarterly Review of Biology argues that multiple sclerosis, long viewed as primarily an autoimmune disease, is not actually a disease of the im ...
Immunology
Dec 22, 2011 |
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Researchers discover key to immune cell's 'internal guidance' system
University of British Columbia researchers have discovered the molecular pathway that enables receptors inside immune cells to find, and flag, fragments of pathogens trying to invade a host.
Immunology
Feb 05, 2012 |
5 / 5 (6) |
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'Defective' virus surprisingly plays major role in spread of disease
(Medical Xpress)—Defective viruses, thought for decades to be essentially garbage unrelated to the transmission of normal viruses, now appear able to play an important role in the spread of disease, new ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
Feb 28, 2013 |
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Hepatitis C treatment's side effects can now be studied in the lab
(Medical Xpress)—The adverse side effects of certain hepatitis C medications can now be replicated and observed in Petri dishes and test tubes, thanks to a research team led by Craig Cameron, the Paul Berg ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
Nov 16, 2012 |
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Scientists explain how they created bird flu that spreads easily among mammals
Scientists have created versions of the H5N1 bird flu that spread easily among mammals through droplets in sneezes and have concluded that the deadly virus could trigger a global pandemic in humans.
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
Jun 22, 2012 |
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Antibodies reverse type 1 diabetes in new immunotherapy study
Scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have used injections of antibodies to rapidly reverse the onset of Type I diabetes in mice genetically bred to develop the disease. Moreover, ...
Diabetes
Jul 05, 2012 |
4.2 / 5 (6) |
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Obesity makes fat cells act like they're infected
(Medical Xpress)—The inflammation of fat tissue is part of a spiraling series of events that leads to the development of type 2 diabetes in some obese people. But researchers have not understood what triggers ...
Medical research
Mar 05, 2013 |
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Skin, soft tissue infections succumb to blue light
Blue light can selectively eradicate Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections of the skin and soft tissues, while preserving the outermost layer of skin, according to a proof-of-principle study led by Michael R. Hamblin of the Ma ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
Jan 28, 2013 |
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Stem-cell-based strategy boosts immune system in mice
Raising hopes for cell-based therapies, UC San Francisco researchers have created the first functioning human thymus tissue from embryonic stem cells in the laboratory. The researchers showed that, in mice, ...
Immunology
May 16, 2013 |
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The existence of neutrophils in the spleen discovered
For the first time, it has been discovered that neutrophils exist in the spleen without there being an infection. This important finding made by the research group on the Biology of B Cells of IMIM (Hospital ...
Medical research
Dec 25, 2011 |
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Pathogen
A pathogen (from Greek πάθος path "suffering, passion", and γἰγνομαι (γεν-) gignomai (gen-) "I give birth to"), infectious agent, or (more commonly) germ, is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its host. There are several substrates and pathways whereby pathogens can invade a host; the principal pathways have different episodic time frames, but soil contamination has the longest or most persistent potential for harboring a pathogen.
The body contains many natural defenses against some of the common pathogens (such as Pneumocystis) in the form of the human immune system and by some "helpful" bacteria present in the human body's normal flora. However, if the immune system or "good" bacteria is damaged in any way (such as by chemotherapy, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or antibiotics being taken to kill other pathogens), pathogenic bacteria that were being held at bay can proliferate and cause harm to the host. Such cases are called opportunistic infection.
Some pathogens (such as the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which may have caused the Black Plague, the Variola virus, and the Maleria protozoa) have been responsible for massive numbers of casualties and have had numerous effects on afflicted groups. Of particular note in modern times is HIV, which is known to have infected several million humans globally, along with the Influenza virus. Today, while many medical advances have been made to safeguard against infection by pathogens, through the use of vaccination, antibiotics, and fungicide, pathogens continue to threaten human life. Social advances such as food safety, hygiene, and water treatment have reduced the threat from some pathogens.
Not all pathogens are negative. In entomology, pathogens are one of the "Three P's" (predators, pathogens, and parasitoids) that serve as natural or introduced biological controls to suppress arthropod pest populations.
For more information about Pathogen, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
