bacteriophages tagged posts

A Type of Virus present in the Gut Microbiota is Associated with Better Cognitive Ability in Humans, Mice and Flies

Study finds a greater presence of these viruses in people who eat dairy products in their regular diet. New research associates the presence of Caudovirales in gut microbiota to an improvement in cognitive functions and memory in humans, mice and flies. The article, published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, was led by Dr. Jordi Mayneris-Perxachs and Dr. José Manuel Fernández-Real, of the Nutrition, Eumetabolism and Health group of the Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBGI) Dr. Josep Trueta and CIBEROBN, and has been carried out in collaboration with the Neuropharmacology research group led by Dr...

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New Sensor could help fight deadly Bacterial infections

Schematic diagram of the sensor structure

Schematic diagram of the sensor structure

The sensor can detect E. coli bacteria in 15-20 minutes, much faster than traditional lab tests, over a wide temperature range . E.coli can be transmitted in contaminated food and water, posing particular risks to children and the elderly. In the late spring of 2011 a serious outbreak of E.coli bacteria sickened thousands of people in Germany and killed more than 50. “Using currently available technologies, which are mostly based on amplification of the sample, it takes several hours to days to detect the presence of bacteria. A fast and accurate detection alternative is, therefore, preferable over the existing technology,” said Saurabh Mani Tripathi, a physicist at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.

The new sensor uses bacteriophages – viru...

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