Viruses In Mucus Protect From Infection
ananyo writes "Researchers have discovered that animal mucus — ' whether from humans, fish or corals' — is loaded with bacteria-killing viruses called phages. These protect their hosts from infection by destroying incoming bacteria. In return, the phages are exposed to a steady torrent of microbes in which to reproduce. Mucus mainly consists of huge molecular complexes called mucins, which are made up of thousands of glycan sugars attached to a central protein backbone. The team showed that phages stick to these sugars, reducing the number of bacteria that can attach to mucus by more than 10,000 times."
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As Hepatitis C Spreads, Scotland Steps In
Scotland is making a push to control the deadly hepatitis C virus, which kills about 350,000 people a year globally, among one of the groups most vulnerable to the infection: drug users.
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Portable device for detecting TB
A medical device developed to diagnose cancer has been adapted to rapidly diagnose the bacterial infection tuberculosis (TB).
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China reports four more bird flu deaths, toll rises to 31
BEIJING - Four more people in China have died from a new strain of bird flu, bringing to 31 the number of deaths from the mysterious H7N9 virus, with the number of infections rising by two to 129, according to Chinese health authorities.
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Found 2 weeks ago on channel
Reuters
Does breast milk hold the clue for fighting superbugs?
Some scientists have argued that a protein complex found in human breast milk can help challenge the antibiotic resistance of several bacterial species, including those known to cause hospital related infections.
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