By mimicking an adhesive protein secreted by mussels and a polymer that repels cells and proteins, researchers at Northwestern University have designed a versatile new two-sided coating that could breathe life into medical implants.

Currently the longevity of certain medical implants suffers because bacteria, cells and proteins in the body gradually accumulate on the devices (known as fouling), compromising their performance and threatening patients with infections. Unfortunately, the polymers that studies have shown to be effective at antifouling do not last long in-vivo, falling prey to chemical degradation or to the body's enzymes.

A research team from Purdue University and the University of California, San Diego has found that the Earth’s atmosphere may be more effective at cleansing itself of smog and other damaging hydrocarbons than was once thought.

Scientists, including Joseph S. Francisco, have learned that some naturally occurring atmospheric chemicals react with sunlight more effectively than previously thought to produce substances that "scrub" the air of smog. This group of chemicals, after absorbing energy from sunlight, is able to break down smog and other pollutants into far less harmful components.

Scientists studying mice have identified a gene that allows immune cells known as neutrophils to protect themselves from the inflammatory chemicals they secrete.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis showed that knocking the gene out in mice prevented the development of an arthritis-like disorder by making the neutrophils victims of their own damaging secretions.

NYU School of Medicine scientists have created the first active vaccine that can significantly delay and possibly prevent the onset of a brain disease in mice that is similar to mad cow disease. The new findings, published online this week in the journal Neuroscience, could provide a platform for the development of a vaccine to prevent a group of fatal brain diseases caused by unusual infectious particles called prions.

Media coverage about "superbugs" that defy current treatments has increased the public's awareness of and fears surrounding the issue of antibiotic resistance. A new book from ASM Press, Revenge of the Microbes: How Bacterial Resistance is Undermining the Antibiotic Miracle, provides an in-depth overview of the subject in a reader-friendly, comprehensible style that will engage everyone from scientists to everyday citizens.

A team of Texas Agricultural Experiment Station scientists will soon begin genome sequencing a disease-fighting fungus used to protect crops, which has implications for both agriculture and the pharmaceutical industry.

The fungus, Trichoderma virens, is used to protect field crops from various plant diseases. Researchers say the genome sequencing work may uncover chemical compounds and beneficial genes useful in producing new human and animal antibiotics.

Most signs of spring, like budding trees, are worth celebrating. But for many in the South, the annual emergence of fertile, winged termites swarming furiously to scatter and search for mates isn't one of them.

In New Orleans, as the swirling, airborne masses of termites become more conspicuous, researchers with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are busy developing a biopesticide that could someday knock down large numbers of Formosan subterranean termites--before they ever take flight.

Identifying and treating HIV-infected newborns is a race against the clock, according to a study from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Researchers found that HIV-infected infants treated with one or two antiretroviral drugs within two months of birth were less likely to develop AIDS by their third birthday than were infants who were 3 or 4 months old when treatment was initiated. Infants who received a combination of three antiretroviral drugs did even better.

In response to the growing number of lipids expected to be discovered through lipidomics and in anticipation of the massive amounts of data that will be generated by the lipid community, an international group of scientists has developed a comprehensive classification, nomenclature, and chemical representation system for lipids. The details of the system appear in the May issue of the Journal of Lipid Research, an American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology journal.