Donald Trump has said he wouldn’t be a dictator — “except for Day 1.” According to his own statements, he’s got a lot to do on that first day in the White House.

People don't realise just how bad our antibiotic resistance problem is, says Jeanne Marrazzo, the top infectious disease specialist in the US

Antibiotics can reduce diversity in the gut microbiome, raising the risk of infections that cause diarrhoea - and the effects may last years

Title: C-Section Antibiotics Show No Link to Asthma in Childhood
Category: Health News
Created: 5/20/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/20/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Amniotic Fungi May Up Preterm Births
Category: Health News
Created: 8/26/2008 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/26/2008 12:00:00 AM

Title: Antibiotics Now Recommended Before C-Sections
Category: Health News
Created: 8/25/2010 10:10:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/25/2010 12:00:00 AM

Title: Antibiotic Overuse May Be Bad for Body's Good Bacteria
Category: Health News
Created: 8/25/2011 11:01:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/25/2011 12:00:00 AM

Title: Some Antibiotics Linked to Serious Nerve Damage
Category: Health News
Created: 8/28/2013 11:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/28/2013 12:00:00 AM

Title: Antibiotics Linked to Type 2 Diabetes Risk
Category: Health News
Created: 8/27/2015 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/28/2015 12:00:00 AM

Title: Mouse Study Suggests Antibiotics in Kids Might Help Spur Type 1 Diabetes
Category: Health News
Created: 8/22/2016 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/23/2016 12:00:00 AM

Title: Antibiotic Vabomere Approved
Category: Health News
Created: 8/30/2017 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/31/2017 12:00:00 AM

Title: Alarming Rise in Antibiotic-Resistant UTIs in U.S.: Study
Category: Health News
Created: 8/28/2018 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/29/2018 12:00:00 AM

Title: Here's Why Men Should Take Probiotics
Category: Health and Living
Created: 7/27/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 7/27/2022 12:00:00 AM

Understanding the evolution of chromatin conformation among species is fundamental to elucidate the architecture and plasticity of genomes. Nonrandom interactions of linearly distant loci regulate gene function in species-specific patterns, affecting genome function, evolution, and, ultimately, speciation. Yet, data from nonmodel organisms are scarce. To capture the macroevolutionary diversity of vertebrate chromatin conformation, here we generate de novo genome assemblies for two cryptodiran (hidden-neck) turtles via Illumina sequencing, chromosome conformation capture, and RNA-seq: Apalone spinifera (ZZ/ZW, 2n = 66) and Staurotypus triporcatus (XX/XY, 2n = 54). We detected differences in the three-dimensional (3D) chromatin structure in turtles compared to other amniotes beyond the fusion/fission events detected in the linear genomes. Namely, whole-genome comparisons revealed distinct trends of chromosome rearrangements in turtles: (1) a low rate of genome reshuffling in Apalone (Trionychidae) whose karyotype is highly conserved when compared to chicken (likely ancestral for turtles), and (2) a moderate rate of fusions/fissions in Staurotypus (Kinosternidae) and Trachemys scripta (Emydidae). Furthermore, we identified a chromosome folding pattern that enables "centromere–telomere interactions" previously undetected in turtles. The combined turtle pattern of "centromere–telomere interactions" (discovered here) plus "centromere clustering" (previously reported in sauropsids) is novel for amniotes and it counters previous hypotheses about amniote 3D chromatin structure. We hypothesize that the divergent pattern found in turtles originated from an amniote ancestral state defined by a nuclear configuration with extensive associations among microchromosomes that were preserved upon the reshuffling of the linear genome.

Pleiotropy, measured as expression breadth across tissues, is one of the best predictors for protein sequence and expression conservation. In this study, we investigated its effect on the evolution of cis-regulatory elements (CREs). To this end, we carefully reanalyzed the Epigenomics Roadmap data for nine fetal tissues, assigning a measure of pleiotropic degree to nearly half a million CREs. To assess the functional conservation of CREs, we generated ATAC-seq and RNA-seq data from humans and macaques. We found that more pleiotropic CREs exhibit greater conservation in accessibility, and the mRNA expression levels of the associated genes are more conserved. This trend of higher conservation for higher degrees of pleiotropy persists when analyzing the transcription factor binding repertoire. In contrast, simple DNA sequence conservation of orthologous sites between species tends to be even lower for pleiotropic CREs than for species-specific CREs. Combining various lines of evidence, we propose that the lack of sequence conservation in functionally conserved pleiotropic CREs is owing to within-element compensatory evolution. In summary, our findings suggest that pleiotropy is also a good predictor for the functional conservation of CREs, even though this is not reflected in the sequence conservation of pleiotropic CREs.

Compound probiotics have been widely used and commonly coadministered with other drugs for treating various chronic illnesses, yet their effects on drug pharmacokinetics remain underexplored. This study elucidated the impact of VSL#3 on the metabolism of probe drugs for cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450s), specifically omeprazole, tolbutamide, midazolam, metoprolol, phenacetin, and chlorzoxazone. Male Wistar rats were administered drinking water containing VSL#3 or not for 14 days and then intragastrically administered a P450 probe cocktail; this was done to investigate the host P450’s metabolic phenotype. Stool, liver/jejunum, and serum samples were collected for 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing, RNA sequencing, and bile acid profiling. The results indicated significant differences in both α and β diversity of intestinal microbial composition between the probiotic and vehicle groups in rats. In the probiotic group, the bioavailability of omeprazole increased by 269.9%, whereas those of tolbutamide and chlorpropamide decreased by 28.1% and 27.4%, respectively. The liver and jejunum exhibited 1417 and 4004 differentially expressed genes, respectively, between the two groups. In the probiotic group, most of P450 genes were upregulated in the liver but downregulated in the jejunum. The expression of genes encoding metabolic enzymes and drug transporters also changed. The serum-conjugated bile acids in the probiotic group were significantly reduced. Shorter duodenal villi and longer ileal villi were found in the probiotic group. In summary, VSL#3 administration altered the gut microbiota, host drug–processing gene expression, and intestinal structure in rats, which could be reasons for pharmacokinetic changes.

The antitumor effect of cardiotonic steroids (CTS) has stimulated the search for new methods to evaluate both kinetic and thermodynamic aspects of their binding to Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase (IUBMB Enzyme Nomenclature). We propose a real-time assay based on a chromogenic substrate for phosphatase activity (pNPPase activity), using only two concentrations with an inhibitory progression curve, to obtain the association rate (k_on), dissociation rate (k_off), and equilibrium (K_i) constants of CTS for the structure-kinetics relationship in drug screening. We show that changing conditions (from ATPase to pNPPase activity) resulted in an increase of K_i of the cardenolides digitoxigenin, essentially due to a reduction of k_on. In contrast, the K_i of the structurally related bufadienolide bufalin increased much less due to the reduction of its k_off partially compensating the decrease of its k_on. When evaluating the kinetics of 15 natural and semisynthetic CTS, we observed that both k_on and k_off correlated with K_i (Spearman test), suggesting that differences in potency depend on variations of both k_on and k_off. A rhamnose in C3 of the steroidal nucleus enhanced the inhibitory potency by a reduction of k_off rather than an increase of k_on. Raising the temperature did not alter the k_off of digitoxin, generating a H (k_off) of –10.4 ± 4.3 kJ/mol, suggesting a complex dissociation mechanism. Based on a simple and inexpensive methodology, we determined the values of k_on, k_off, and K_i of the CTS and provided original kinetics and thermodynamics differences between CTS that could help the design of new compounds.

Patient expectations of receiving antibiotics for common symptoms can trigger unnecessary use. We conducted a survey (n = 564) between January 2020 to June 2021 in public and private primary care clinics in Texas to study the prevalence and predictors of patients’ antibiotic expectations for common symptoms/illnesses. We surveyed Black patients (33%) and Hispanic/Latine patients (47%), and over 93% expected to receive an antibiotic for at least 1 of the 5 pre-defined symptoms/illnesses. Public clinic patients were nearly twice as likely to expect antibiotics for sore throat, diarrhea, and cold/flu than private clinic patients. Lack of knowledge of potential risks of antibiotic use was associated with increased antibiotic expectations for diarrhea (odds ratio [OR] = 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1-2.4) and cold/flu symptoms (OR = 2.9; 95% CI, 2.0-4.4). Lower education and inadequate health literacy were predictors of antibiotic expectations for diarrhea. Future antibiotic stewardship interventions should tailor patient education materials to include information on antibiotic risks and guidance on appropriate antibiotic indications.

Treat yourself to a Becky Lynch book signing, games with the Dropout stars, Kevin Smith’s Dogma, and so much more!

Wastewater is a major reservoir for antibiotic resistance genes, but modified bacteria can chop up this DNA before the dangerous microbes reach people

The number of people worldwide directly killed by antibiotic resistance will rise to 1.9 million a year by 2050, according to the most comprehensive study so far

Antibiotics can reduce diversity in the gut microbiome, raising the risk of infections that cause diarrhoea - and the effects may last years

Actor Elliot Page and musician Rufus Wainwright were among the stars who honoured 2SLGBTQ+ charities at the inaugural PTP Pink Awards in Toronto Thursday, in the shadow of a U.S. election that has many worried about queer and trans rights.

Indian pharma and biotech companies are confident that under the new US President Donald Trump, its strengths in high quality generics manufacture and export will continue to command respect. This view is

Venture creation in biotech is witnessing a sustained contraction. After the pandemic bubble’s over-indulgence, the venture ecosystem appears to have reset its pace of launching new startups. According to the latest Pitchbook data, venture creation in biotech hit its slowest

The post The Biotech Startup Contraction Continues… And That’s A Good Thing appeared first on LifeSciVC.

By Aimee Raleigh, Principal at Atlas Venture, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC From the outside, one might assume all biotech venture capital (VC) firms are more similar than different. However, once you look under the

The post A Primer on Early-Stage Biotech VC appeared first on LifeSciVC.

By Arthur Tzianabos, CEO of Lifordi Immunotherapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC Greetings from Lake Winnipesaukee in NH where I am at this time every year. It’s midsummer and vacation time for me and the

The post A Biotech Midsummer’s Madness appeared first on LifeSciVC.

Today’s market likes products. Platforms aren’t in vogue anymore. Investors, especially in the public markets, only want late stage de-risked assets. Pharma only seems to be buying these kinds of asset. VCs need to focus on clinical stage companies. Or

The post Biotech Risk Cycles: Assets And Platforms appeared first on LifeSciVC.

Dr. Cassandra Quave’s path to her work as a leader in antibiotic drug discovery research initiatives at Emory University in Atlanta started when she was a child and she and her family dealt with her own serious health issues that have had life-long repercussions.

Sales of medically important antibiotics for use in food-producing animals increased 3% in 2019, according to recent data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This is the second year in a row that the quantities of antibiotics sold for animal use have risen, underscoring the need for further FDA action to ensure judicious use of these lifesaving drugs.

The Food and Drug Administration published a concept paper in early January that describes a preliminary proposal for how the agency will ensure that companies developing antibiotics for administration to animals establish defined, evidence-based durations of use for all medically important antibiotics.

We’re seeing an alarming increase in the number of failed biotech companies. While the biotechnology industry holds enormous […]

The Patriot offers modern amenities along with brand-name appliances. For each unit sold, Clayton will donate $100 to Hope for the Warriors�.

Altimetrik defines future of the Enterprise Internet of Things

Elliott Vichinsky, MD, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland

The Amgen Biotech Experience empowers teachers to bring biotechnology into their classrooms to spark students� love of science and features a hands-on curriculum that introduces students to the excitement of scientific discovery.

Read The Only Thing They’ll Be Read Is The Riot Act

Clerk: "Okay, ma'am, do you have the required documents to complete this process?"
Customer: "What?! No one ever told me I needed anything!"

Read The Only Thing They’ll Be Read Is The Riot Act

Antibiotics can reduce diversity in the gut microbiome, raising the risk of infections that cause diarrhoea - and the effects may last years