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Conceptional image of two pills covered with a circuit-board pattern.
Harnessing the Power of AI to Design Novel Antibiotics
Generative artificial intelligence allowed researchers to design new, synthesizable antibiotics against a dangerous and often drug-resistant human pathogen.
Harnessing the Power of AI to Design Novel Antibiotics
Harnessing the Power of AI to Design Novel Antibiotics

Generative artificial intelligence allowed researchers to design new, synthesizable antibiotics against a dangerous and often drug-resistant human pathogen.

Generative artificial intelligence allowed researchers to design new, synthesizable antibiotics against a dangerous and often drug-resistant human pathogen.

bacterial infection

Green bacteria on a blue background.
Mutations Wire Salmonella to Last
Mariella Bodemeier Loayza Careaga, PhD | May 28, 2024 | 4 min read
Genetic changes attenuated Salmonella’s virulence, potentially enabling the bacteria to cause chronic infections in humans.
New Strategies in the Battle Against Infectious Diseases
New Strategies in the Battle Against Infectious Diseases
The Scientist Staff | Jan 8, 2024 | 2 min read
Learn how the latest research into viral and bacterial pathogens advances the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. 
A triangular sign affixed to a tree displaying the silhouette of a tick.
Newly Developed mRNA Vaccine Protects Against Lyme Disease
Charlene Lancaster, PhD | Nov 13, 2023 | 5 min read
Leveraging the same mRNA platform used for COVID-19 vaccines, researchers generated a vaccine that prevents mice from acquiring Lyme disease.
<em>The Scientist</em> poster&nbsp;
New Strategies for Repurposing Existing Therapies 
The Scientist | Aug 10, 2023 | 1 min read
Drug repurposing uses existing drugs beyond the scope in which they were originally approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
neuron surrounded by immune cells
Meningitis Bacteria Trigger Headaches, Then Sneak Into the Brain
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Mar 6, 2023 | 3 min read
Researchers find that bacteria stimulate a headache-causing pain pathway to suppress the immune system and infect the brain. 
A cluster of spiral-shaped Treponema pallidum bacteria, the causative agent of syphilis.
Science Falls Behind as Syphilis Stages Another Comeback
Bhargavi Duvvuri, Undark | Feb 21, 2023 | 6 min read
Syphilis is among the oldest known sexually-transmitted infections. Scientists still struggle to detect and treat it.
Artist&rsquo;s rendering of various orange and pink colored bacteria
Q&A: What if Immune Cells Don’t Actually Detect Viruses and Bacteria?
Dan Robitzski | Feb 3, 2023 | 10+ min read
The Scientist spoke with Jonathan Kagan about his idea that immune cells respond to “errors” made by unsuccessful pathogens, not the pathogens themselves.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm
Double Agents: Engineered Bacteria Tackle Pathogenic Biofilms in Mice
Katherine Irving | Jan 26, 2023 | 3 min read
Mycoplasma pneumoniae with pathogenic genes replaced by biofilm-degrading ones enhance survival in a mouse model of ventilator-associated pneumonia.
a person in a black shirt crouches on a dirt bank and cups water drawn from a river.
Cholera Outbreak Strikes 29 Countries, Highlights Vaccine Shortage
Katherine Irving | Oct 31, 2022 | 3 min read
The international group coordinating emergency vaccines recommends administering one dose instead of two to combat the “dire shortage” of cholera vaccines worldwide.
illustration of inside of gut with floating bacteria
Finding Could Pave the Way to New, Targeted Antibody Treatments
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Jul 8, 2022 | 3 min read
IgA antibodies appear to bind to specific species of commensal gut bacteria in mice, according to a study.
Black and white photo of excavation<br><br>
Black Death Likely Originated in Central Asia
Andy Carstens | Jun 15, 2022 | 5 min read
Genetic testing of people who died in Kyrgyzstan eight years before plague reached Europe reveals an ancient strain of the bacterium Yersinia pestis.
a vial of cobra venom and a bacteri-covered agar plate
Study Questions Sterility of Snake and Spider Venoms
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Jan 31, 2022 | 8 min read
In work that has not yet been peer-reviewed, researchers present evidence that microbes can and do live inside the venom glands of several dangerous species. It remains unclear whether they’re to blame for infections linked to bites.
illustration of colorful microbes inside a person's stomach and intestines
How Commensal Gut Bacteria Keep Pathogens in Check
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Oct 14, 2021 | 7 min read
Recent studies describe how resident microbiota appear to outcompete unwelcome visitors, either with superior weaponry or by guzzling up local resources.  
Colonies of Burkholderia pseudomallei growing on a chocolate agar plate
Q&A: What You Need to Know About Melioidosis
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Aug 16, 2021 | 6 min read
CDC investigators continue to search for the source of the bacteria that caused four infections—two of them lethal—in four different states. The Scientist spoke with melioidosis expert Bart Currie about the disease.
A close-up of a fruit fly head with antenna clearly visible in front of its red eyes
Bacterial Infections Disrupt Flies’ Sense of Smell
Abby Olena, PhD | Jul 21, 2021 | 4 min read
The temporary loss of olfaction stops the flies from eating any more of whatever it is that made them sick.
Genetically Modified Viral Cocktail Treats Deadly Bacteria in Teen
Ashley Yeager | May 8, 2019 | 2 min read
Tweaking the genomes of two phages and combining them with a third phage helped to clear a persistent Mycobacterium infection in the patient.
DNA-Delivered Antibodies Fight Off Lethal Bacterial Infection
Catherine Offord | Oct 3, 2017 | 4 min read
Mice receiving the treatment produced their own monoclonal antibodies and survived infection with the life-threatening pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Vibrio Infections On the Rise
Alison F. Takemura | Aug 9, 2016 | 1 min read
Increases in oceanic populations of these bacteria—both pathogenic and not—is an effect of climate change, scientists show.
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