The discovery of a new mechanism of resistance to common antibiotics could pave the way for improved treatments for harmful bacterial infections, a study suggests.

A new study offers an innovative way to track the spread of leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease affecting both animals and humans. Using high-resolution melting (HRM) PCR, researchers developed a fast, reliable method to identify sand fly species, detect Leishmania parasites, and determine the source of their blood meals from a single sample. The study mapped twelve sand fly species, four Leishmania species, and twenty-five host animals across Israel, revealing complex patterns of transmission. This approach provides a powerful new tool for veterinarians and public health authorities to monitor and control zoonotic diseases more effectively.

Tuberculosis is one of the world's leading infectious diseases. Infection with the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis primarily affects the lungs, but in up to 25 percent of all infected individuals, it also affects other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes, bones, or brain. In a study published today in the renowned journal Nature Communications, researchers from the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), the University Hospital Cologne, and the LIMES Institute at the University of Bonn have deciphered the immunological properties of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) in the blood of affected patients. The results may help to develop new targeted treatments and tests for this important disease.

Despite effective HIV medication, the immune system of people with HIV remains disrupted in the long term. Researchers at Amsterdam UMC investigated whether this dysregulation can be prevented by starting HIV medication immediately after infection – i.e. within a few days. They saw that six months after this early treatment, the immune system did indeed work as in people without HIV. But in the longer term, the immune system was disrupted again. This is shown by research by Amsterdam UMC, published in the journal EBioMedicine.

A new lipid nanoparticle could make mRNA vaccines more effective and potentially lower the cost per dose. New research suggests an mRNA influenza vaccine delivered with the new particle could generate the same immune response as mRNA delivered by standard nanoparticles, but at around 1/100 the dose.