Explore the vast range of titles available.

Three experimental treatments for Ebola are being fast-tracked into human trials in west Africa with recruitment due to start next month.

Good coli, bad coli Experiments done in human intestinal organoids—models for human intestinal tissue derived from stem cells—suggest that a commensal strain of Escherichia coli called Nissle could give probiotic protection against potentially deadly, enterohaemorrhagic strains of the bacteria. Epidemiology down the drain A study that assessed samples from two sewer systems in eastern USA has detected the presence of antibiotic resistance genes in bacterial biofilms. For more on compounds against SARS-CoV-2 see Cell Research 2020; published online June 15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-020-0356-z For more on neutralizing antibodies for SARS-CoV-2V see Cell 2020; published online July 13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.06.044 For more on air filter to kill coronaviruses see Material Today Physics 2020; published online July 7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtphys.2020.100249 For more on E coli Nissle see mBio 2020; published online July 7. https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01470-20 For more on bacteria in sewer pipes see Environ Sci: Water Res Technol 2020; published online June 24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D0EW00265H For more on Salmonella enterica and reactive arthritis see PLOS Pathogens 2020; published online July 9. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1008591 For more on drug for making bacteria glow see Lab on a Chip 2020; published online June 16. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0LC00242A

All in this together Findings from a genetic study of SARS-CoV-2-like viruses in bats and pangolins show near-identical genetic sequences around the viral receptor binding motifs (RBMs), a similarity that might have led to species spillover and the evolution of the virus that causes disease in people. The analysis of 43 complete genome sequences from three strains of coronavirus suggest that similar constraints within animal hosts led to strong purifying selection, and the researchers suggested that close contact with wild animals in wet markets increased the risk of spillover and genetic reshuffling. The team was unable to detect resistance in either Gram-negative or Gram-positive bacteria, including totally drug resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae, so established the mechanisms of resistance using quantitative imaging, proteomic, genetic, metabolomic, and cell-based assays.

Bat cells seem able to upregulate type I interferon, which suppresses viral replication to avoids the cell death seen in infected human cells. The immunochromatographic test detects the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein, and because it is cheaper and less technically demanding than RT-PCR, researchers believe it could help limit the spread of the virus by quickly identifying suspected cases for quarantine, especially in resource-poor areas. Modellers: it is good to talk A team of researchers from Australia, China, the UK, and the USA, has proposed a process for harnessing multiple disease models to help give clearer recommendations to policy makers.

The researchers then showed that APN01 could inhibit viral replication in human blood vessel and kidney organoids (three-dimensional cell cultures derived from stem cells). An electron microscopy study in brain tissue samples from people who had been infected showed that the chronic infection causes a loss of inhibitory synapses and an unsheathing of other neurons by microglia, with similar histological patterns seen in other psychiatric disorders. Sickle cell and HIV Findings from a new study have added weight to previous suggestions that people with sickle-cell anaemia have a lower risk of HIV infection than otherwise healthy people—but it was unable to pin down the mechanistic explanation as to why.

The researchers suggest that the dialled-down interferon response seen in obese animals allows minor variants of the virus to emerge and propagate faster, resulting in greater virulence in obese mice compared with strains that circulated in only lean mice. The study screened human blood samples to profile the types of glycan receptors present, and, through genetic modification of mouse models, showed that the toxin subunit preferentially attaches to the modified type present only in human beings. In mouse models the cells proved readily mobilised and effective at clearing Staphylococcus aureus infection, suggesting them to be a potential target for immunisation against the infection.

A study assessed CD4 T cell activity against vaccinia virus, a component of the smallpox vaccination, in blood samples from 50 HIV-positive and 50 HIV-negative women, all previously vaccinated against smallpox. Lack of immune response was observed in skin infections and was associated with a loss of dendritic cells in the skin, attributable to the expression of the bacterial alpha-toxin. The science of ART resistance Mutations in the Plasmodium falciparum gene Pfkelch13 have been shown to confer resistance to artemisinin (ART)-based antimalarials, but until now the mechanism of such resistance was unknown.

The simple design dangles a sheet of insecticide-treated netting vertically, like a tennis net, above the existing bednet. Because it's out of reach of people, the top netting can be treated with stronger insecticides than the rest of the bednet. Coaxing antibodies An effective HIV vaccine should stimulate the production of broadly neutralising antibodies to protect against many strains of the virus, but these antibodies are often difficult to produce in the body because the immune system recognises them as dangerous and stops their production. [...]their production requires a rare genetic configuration during B-cell diversification. In the first 6 months, seven people in the TCV group and 38 in the control group had blood-culture-confirmed infection with Salmonella Typhi (vaccine efficacy 81·6%; 95% confidence interval 58·8–91·8; p<0·001).

Using in vitro human microvascular endothelial cells, investigators showed that tryptase breaks down endothelial cell tight junctions. The vaccine targets the two most virulent strains, K1 and K2, and contains surface proteins and sugars biologically manufactured within a bioengineered, harmless strain of Escherichia coli. The kinase is central to the parasites' RNA splicing mechanism and its inhibition, the study's findings showed, leading to the downregulation of more than 400 essential parasite genes, thus stunting the parasite at its asexual stage and blocking later transmission to mosquito vectors as gametocytes.

Using crystallography structural analysis and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, UK scientists elucidated the mechanism by which the potent bacterial enzyme lysostaphin kills meticillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). HPV for victory Findings from a study in mice and human tissue samples suggest that, rather than being oncogenic, low-risk commensal human papillomavirus (HPV) on human skin might instead induce immune responses that protect from skin cancers such as squamous cell carcinoma. To substantiate these findings, they exposed immunocompromised mice to skin cancer-causing chemicals or ultraviolet light and showed that the animals were protected by transferal of T cells against papillomavirus type-1 (MmuPV1) from immunocompetent mice or by direct MmuPV1 vaccination.