Study: Racial tension may stem from fear of exposure to infectious diseases

Social scientists have long worked to understand the roots of racial prejudice in the U.S., and for years, the story went like this: As different groups are exposed to others, their prejudice against those others increases. Brian O’Shea wasn’t buying it. A postdoctoral fellow working in the lab of Matt Nock, the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology, O’Shea is the […]

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Bacteria-mimicking particles may help treat infectious diseases

Unique particles modified to mimic bacteria may provide a better means of treating infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis. Assistant Professor Joshua Reineke of the South Dakota State University Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and his team modified microparticles, known as metal organic frameworks (MOFs), developed by a research group in France. Other researchers have explored MOFs as a drug-delivery system to […]

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Many Americans say infectious and emerging diseases in other countries will threaten the US

An overwhelming majority of Americans (95%) think infectious and emerging diseases facing other countries will pose a ‘major’ or ‘minor’ threat to the U.S. in the next few years, but more than half (61%) say they are confident the federal government can prevent a major infectious disease outbreak in the U.S., according to a new national public opinion survey commissioned […]

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Treating infectious disease with the help of antimicrobial peptides

Against the backdrop of increasing antibiotic resistance, the FORMAMP project has trialled nanotechnology-based delivery systems and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), to deliver new tools in the fight against infectious diseases. It has been calculated that increased microbial resistance is responsible for an estimated 25 000 deaths per year, costing EUR 1.5 billion, across the EU. In the quest for new therapies […]

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