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A new piece in the puzzle of how herpesviruses outwit the immune system
During his or her lifetime, every human being is infected with at least one of the nine human herpesviruses. In most cases, the immune system of healthy people keeps the infection under control and severe illness only rarely develops. Herpesviruses have adapted…
New inhibitor for persistent bacterial biofilms
The Pseudomonas aeruginosa pathogen is a serious hazard, especially for hospital patients with a compromised immune system. Bacteria of this species can infect all organs of the body and thereby cause recurrent pneumonia, sepsis and chronic wound infections. Due to…
First line of defence against influenza further decoded
Influenza challenges our immune system time and again: Once it learns to recognise and eliminate a current influenza virus, the next wave of infections features yet another unknown viral strain, as the influenza pathogen modifies itself permanently. The immune system is…
New treatment approach for hepatitis E infections in pregnant women
The genotype 3 hepatitis E virus in our region is mainly transmitted by undercooked pork, while the genotype 1, which is widespread in Asia and Africa, is mainly transmitted by feces. This is a major problem, especially in crisis areas: after the earthquake in Nepal in…
Bacteria persist as stowaways
The most widely known Yersinia germ is Yersinia pestis, the cause of the plague that can be transmitted by fleabites. Other species, such as Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, usually enter the human body via contaminated foods, for example raw…
Diversity of "good" intestinal bacteria keeps us healthy
Dietary fibres from our food are decomposed by the local bacterial community in the large intestine to produce short-chain fatty acids, as well as other substances. This provides an energy source to the human body that it would not be able to utilise with just its own…
Petra Dersch admitted to European Academy of Microbiology
"For me, being admitted to the academy is a great honor," says Petra Dersch. "The academy gives me the opportunity to improve my networking with leading microbiologists in Europe, to initiate new common ways to elucidate complex microbiological and infection-biological…
Predicting slippery spots for the ribosome
PRF causes the ribosome to "slip" during translation and change the reading frame to produce a different protein. PRF is used, for example, by viruses that have to produce different proteins with a very limited number of mRNAs in order to multiply. “PRF is not a random…
Large repertoire of new gene editors
Based on the involved proteins, bacterial CRISPR-Cas systems can be divided into two classes. Class II CRISPR systems require only a single protein for targeted DNA editing. In class I, on the other hand, several proteins must interact in a complex called Cascade. Due…
From cancer medication to antibiotic
Antibiotic resistance occurs naturally in bacteria as a mechanism to defend themselves and survive in the course of evolution. However, due to the large-scale and often erroneous use of antibiotic drugs, antibiotic resistant pathogens are becoming more widespread.…
