Drug resistance

Despite decades of research decoding the influenza virus—and great advances in treating and vaccinating against the disease—this infectious pathogen continues both to surprise and confound us

Clumps of proteins twisted into aberrant shapes cause the prion diseases that have perplexed biologists for decades. The surprises just keep coming with a new report that the simple clusters of proteins responsible for Mad Cow and other prions diseases may, without help from DNA or RNA, be capable of changing form to escape the [...]

Microbiologists are trying to work out whether the agricultural use of antibiotics is fueling the human epidemic of drug-resistant bacteria

The pathogens of land animals are spreading to the oceans, threatening otters, seals, whales, coral and other sea creatures

The South Platte River system picks up microbial genes for resistance to sulphonamide and tetracycline antibiotics as its waters flow past human settlements

Control of the disease recently is hindered by strains of TB that can't be treated with second-line antibiotics

Some researchers fear that the combined pill's use in healthy people might have unacceptable side effects and spark the emergence of resistant viruses

The parasite that causes malaria is becoming immune to artemisinin, the most effective drug. Pinpointing the resistance genes could offer a way to beat back the disease

An Indian clinic's claim of totally untreatable TB ignited public fears, but experts say poor disease management is the real threat

Although millions of people flush unused medications down the toilet and discharge them in bodily waste, sewage treatment plants and septic systems are not required to deal with such contaminants

The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences needs to be written into the still-unfinished 2012 federal budget

FDA approval for pharmaceuticals being developed and tested that treat--and prevent--radiation sickness is years away