Rubbing your eyes might feel satisfying but it could introduce pathogens to the body. Here’s a summary of the most common eye infections.
Genetic analysis of the bacteria causing surgical site infections revealed that many were already present on the patient’s skin.
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Most infection prevention guidelines center on the hospital environment rather than the patient. But the source of antibiotic-resistant microbes is often from the patient’s own body.
A 19th-century depiction of a surgeon treating the foot of a male patient.
Historical image collection by Bildagentur-online/Alamy
The JN.1 variant has become dominant in Australia and around the world, causing large waves of infections. Here’s what we know about it so far – and why it’s so important.
Surface proteins on a virus enable it to attach to and get inside a cell to start replicating.
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Viruses can get into cells in several ways. Figuring out how to stop them from entering in the first place is a key to developing better vaccines and stopping future pandemics.
Horseshoe crabs in spawning season at Reeds Beach, N.J., on June 13, 2023.
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
Horseshoe crabs play a unique role in medicine, but they’re also ecologically important in their home waters along the Atlantic coast. Can regulators balance the needs of humans and nature?
Programmed cell death such as apoptosis is a common stage of cellular life.
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Warmer ocean waters are fueling the spread of the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus. Infections can lead to a rare but fatal condition called necrotizing fasciitis.
West Nile virus is spread by mosquitoes. About 80 per cent of infected people have no symptoms, but the virus can cause encephalitis and can be life-threatening.
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West Nile virus arrived in North America in 1999 and spread across the continent by 2005. Here’s what you need to know about this mosquito-borne pathogen.
Being feverish is unpleasant, but it can help your body overcome invading pathogens.
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The heat and chills that come with fever are not only uncomfortable but also metabolically costly. Increased body temperature, however, can make all the difference when you’re sick.
Health workers who picked their noses were more likely to contract COVID, according to a new study. But here’s what the study means for the rest of us.
Genetics may play a role in COVID-19 disease severity.
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Despite an abundance of research on strep, there is still a great deal of debate in the scientific community over whether and when people should get tested and treated for it.
Tuberculosis is a dangerous bacterial infection of the lungs.
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Although testing for CMV during pregnancy isn’t routine and there isn’t universal screening for infants, there are steps pregnant people can take to protect themselves and their newborns.
After nearly 40 years of effort, Guinea worm disease is on the cusp of being the second human disease – after smallpox – to be eradicated on Earth.
Bacteria (clusters of light pink, surrounded by larger magenta blood cells) can cause deadly infections, but overreactive immune responses can deliver the lethal blow.
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An overactive immune response to infection can be deadly. Studying how one key player called tumor necrosis factor, or TNF, induces lethal immune responses could provide new treatment targets.
Nasal vaccines for COVID-19 are still in early development.
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An effective nasal vaccine could stop the virus that causes COVID-19 right at its point of entry. But devising one that works has been a challenge for researchers.