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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: antibiotics

antibiotics stories: 23 news summaries

1 - 20 of 23 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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Map of Cell's Machinery Wins Chemistry Nobel

Trio of laureates includes first woman
to win prize in 45 years

Oct 7, 09 5:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded today to three scientists who mapped the structure of the ribosome, the part of the cell that reads DNA and uses its information to  create proteins. All three chemists constructed three-dimensional models of the ribosome, using X-ray crystallography to chart hundreds of thousands... More »

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DNA • bacteria • antibiotics • cell • Nobel Prize • chemistry

Flu Shots Decrease Use
of Antibiotics

Doctors prescribe
them less when the shots are available

Sep 9, 09 1:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - Providing flu shots to the public decreases the prescription of antibiotics, say Canadian researchers. The results of a 10-year study in Ontario will be good news to public health officials who worry that over-prescription of antibiotics is creating more resistant bacteria, reports Miller-McCune. Researchers found that doctors prescribed 64% fewer... More »

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Canada • bacteria • antibiotics • immunization • flu shot • flu • drug-resistant bacteria • flu season

 Super-Acne Resists Drugs 

Resistant bacteria strain increasingly defies antibiotics

Apr 14, 09 2:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - As if regular old zits weren't bad enough, awkward teens now have a new worst nightmare: antibiotic-resistant super-acne. Dermatologists say the bacteria that causes pimples is increasingly immune to common treatments, reports MSNBC. And while acne may not be a life-threatening condition, the frequent prescription of antibiotics to treat it... More »

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staph infections • antibiotics • dermatology • acne

INVESTIGATION

 Honey Packers Fail to 
 Report Tainted Imports 

Companies often simply send honey back to importer

Jan 29, 09 2:25 PM CST
(Newser) - US honey packers often don’t tell authorities about imports contaminated with banned antibiotics or other chemicals, and instead simply send the products back, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports after a lengthy investigation. Importers can then get the tainted honey into the American market through another packer, as two Chicago businessmen... More »

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food contamination • antibiotics • food safety • honey • imported food • Food and Drug Administration • Chinese exports

 New Superbug Stalks Hospitals 

Thousands killed by drug-resistant pathogen

Nov 18, 08 7:53 AM CST
(Newser) - A deadly new superbug is stalking the world's hospitals, health experts warned today. The pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii is a burgeoning threat and proving extremely difficult to control, with a third of outbreaks resistant to front-line antibiotics, according to a study in the Lancet. Of 24,000 US cases in a... More »

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health • hospitals • patients • superbug • antibiotics • infectious diseases • Acinetobacter

 Half of US Docs 
 Prescribe Placebos 

Many physicians believe in psychological impact of prescriptions

Oct 24, 08 5:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - Half of US doctors admit prescribing drugs to patients just for the placebo effect—to make them think they are taking something beneficial, reports the Chicago Tribune. As many as 56% prescribed antibiotics, painkillers, vitamins, and sedatives in cases where they didn't expect them to have any benefit physically, but... More »

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medicine • antibiotics • American Medical Association • bioethics • placebos • National Institutes of Health • British Medical Journal • sedatives • Journal of General Internal Medicine • B12

Superbugs May Push Us Into World Without Antibiotics

Return to 'preantibiotic era' may be inevitable

Aug 7, 08 1:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - Antibiotic-resistant microbes don’t just open us up to dangerous illnesses—they also cost the American economy well over $5 billion annually, the New Yorker reports. And one expert says around 70% of the antibiotics produced in the US wind up in agriculture: "We've created a petri dish in... More »

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New Yorker magazine • antibiotics • drug-resistant bacteria

 Olympians Fearful of
 Chinese Food Chemicals 

Athletes worried about mystery additives plan to pack their own food

Jul 22, 08 4:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - In addition to concerns about air quality in Beijing this August, many Olympic athletes are worried about contaminants and chemicals in the food, ABC News reports. With many of China's agricultural products boosted by growth stimulants, or steroids, or amped by antibiotics, athletes are particularly concerned that they might unwittingly... More »

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China • steroids • growth hormones • 2008 Beijing Olympics • athlete • antibiotics • Chinese food

FDA Orders Urgent Warning About Cipro

'Black box' caution on tendon rupture includes similar antibiotics

Jul 8, 08 3:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - The FDA today mandated urgent “black box” warning labels on Cipro and other antibiotics of the powerful flouroquinolone family of drugs. The antibiotics carry a risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture, which could leave patients severely disabled, the AP reports. Particularly vulnerable are those over 60 and patients who... More »

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FDA • drug companies • antibiotics • Cipro • tendinitis

New Superbug Highlights Poor Hospital Hygiene

Deadly C. diff., aided by over-prescription of antibiotics, is on the rise

May 2, 08 5:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - A deadly new superbug—beefed up by the over-prescription of antibiotics and spread by dirty hospitals and nursing homes—is raising concern in the medical community, MSNBC reports. The so-called C. diff is a mutated form of a benign bug typically transmitted in unsanitary medical facilities, especially bathrooms. Cases are... More »

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hospitals • hygiene • staph infections • superbug • antibiotics • infection • drug resistant • Clostridium difficile

 For Infections, Try Gator-cillin 

Scientists probe reptile's impressive immune system

Apr 7, 08 3:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists are trying to harness the power of alligator blood to fight disease, bacterial infections, and even HIV, Cox News reports. Proteins in the reptiles' blood have antibiotic properties thanks to the animals' long evolution and frequent exposure to bacteria; their exceptionally effective immune systems can fight off invaders without... More »

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HIV • antibiotics • medical research • immune system • alligator • pharmaceutical • MRSA • yeast infection • reptiles

Screening
Isn't Slowing Staph: Study

Researchers back more cost-effective, targeted testing to catch superbug

Mar 12, 08 11:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - Widespread screening of hospital patients for the drug-resistant staph bacteria MRSA doesn’t appear to reduce the number of infections, a new study finds. Swiss researchers screened more than 10,000 patients for the superbug when they were admitted to the University of Geneva Hospitals. Another 10,000 weren’t... More »

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JAMA • staph infections • superbug • epidemic • antibiotics • infection • epidemiology • MRSA • drug-resistant bacteria • University of Geneva Hospitals

Gecko Toes Inspire New Surgical Tape

MIT team duplicates nano-scale ridges on lizards' sticky feet

Feb 19, 08 9:20 AM CST
(Newser) - Inspired by geckos' sticky feet, MIT scientists have developed a bandage that could soon be used in place of stitches or staples during surgery. The waterproof material, coated with a sugar-based adhesive that has the nano-scale hills and valleys found on lizard feet, is flexible enough to be used on... More »

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medical breakthrough • surgery • MIT • antibiotics • adhesive • gecko • sutures • stitches

Superbug Strikes Gay Men

Resistant new strain of MRSA spreading fast

Jan 15, 08 7:54 AM CST
(Newser) - A new strain of the "flesh-eating" bacteria MRSA is spreading rapidly among gay men in Boston and San Francisco and there are warnings it could extend to a larger population, the New York Times reports. The drug-resistant strain seems to be spreading largely by sexual contact, but it can... More »

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San Francisco • Boston • staph infections • superbug • antibiotics • MRSA

 Antibiotics Don't Help Suffering Sinuses

Drugs make almost no difference, and could hurt: study

Dec 5, 07 8:46 AM CST
(Newser) - Antibiotics don't cure sinus infections and may actually do more harm than good, researchers have found, the Los Angeles Times reports. While more than 80% of US doctors prescribe antibiotics for sinus infections, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found the difference in recovery times... More »

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health • antibiotics • medical research • cold medicine • doctor • American Medical Association • sinus infections

USDA Yanks Tyson's Coveted ‘No Antibiotics' Tag

USDA reverses on consumer-friendly label, hurting poultry producer

Nov 20, 07 6:34 PM CST
(Newser) - The USDA has revoked permission for Tyson to label its chicken “raised without antibiotics,” a major blow to a company that has spent tens of millions trumpeting the tag it won in May. The government says it erred in granting the label, because Tyson’s poultry feed contains... More »

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Tyson Foods • antibiotics • USDA • label • poultry • ionophores

Staph Strain Explodes Immune Cells

Part of puzzle
explains infection's
deadly punch

Nov 12, 07 4:30 AM CST
(Newser) - A key reason why a powerful strain of drug-resistant staph infections known as MRSA has proven so deadly is because it produces a compound that causes immune cells to explode, a new study in Nature concludes. The finding helps explain why MRSA, usually found in hospitals in patients with weakened... More »

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hospitals • staph infections • antibiotics • vaccine • immune system • drug resistant • MRSA

Drug-Proof Superbug
Turns Deadly

Antibiotic-resistant staph kills more Americans than AIDS

Oct 16, 07 11:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - An antibiotic-resistant strain of staph kills more Americans each year than HIV, accounting for almost 19,000 deaths annually, the first national stats on the superbug reveal. The super-staph is treatable but can quickly lead to dangerous "flesh-eating" infections. "We really need to be on guard against these... More »

MORE ABOUT:
medicine • bacteria • staph infections • superbug • antibiotics • infection • epidemiology • drug resistant • MRSA

Antibiotic May Buy Time for Treating Stroke Victims

Patients who receive acne drug in first 23 hours show 'dramatic' improvement

Oct 2, 07 9:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - An antibiotic commonly used to treat acne has shown promise in helping stroke victims recover. Patients who got minocycline within a day of their stroke fared markedly better than those who did not, a discovery that could open the critical window for treating stroke victims from just 3 hours to... More »

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medicine • Parkinson's disease • antibiotics • Lou Gehrig's disease • stroke • minocycline • amyotrophic lateral sclerosis • ALS

Hardy Bacteria Plagues Military Hospitals

Scientists track highly drug-resistant infection that preys on wounded

Sep 30, 07 3:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - It runs rampant in military hospitals, not virulent enough to infect the healthy, but highly resistant to many antibiotics and capable of lying dormant for years. Dozens infected by it have died, but it may not be the actual killer. The strange bacterium Acinetobacter has scientists scratching their heads, the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • antibiotics • Acinetobacter • military hospitals

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