A study published today in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy1 provides the best available evidence that cases of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI)---one of the most common and increasing types of hospital-acquired infection---can be reduced in hospital wards if doctors prescribe narrow-spectrum antibiotics rather than broad-spectrum agents.

Four hundred researchers tapping the massive flow of DNA sequence information will gather March 28-30 to share their recent developments at the 2nd Annual U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) User Meeting. DOE JGI is the world's only user facility dedicated to making high-throughput DNA sequencing available to a diverse research community and individual investigators who otherwise would not have access to such a resource to advance the frontiers of their disciplines. The meeting will be held in the California Ballroom at the Walnut Creek Marriott, 2355 North Main Street.

Physicians at UT Southwestern Medical Center and engineers at UT Arlington have collaborated to invent a groundbreaking system that could be key to delivering on the promise of surgery without scars.

People who are frequently infected with malaria parasites can develop immunity against the gametocyte, the infectious stage. This immunity inhibits the spread of the parasite. Dutch researcher Mike van der Kolk discovered this during his research into malaria transmission under the inhabitants of Cameroon, Senegal and Indonesia. After just a few infections, people can develop immunity that inhibits transmission.

Gene therapy - the idea of using genetic instructions rather than drugs to treat disease - has tickled scientists' imaginations for decades, but is not yet a viable therapeutic method. One sizeable hurdle is getting the right genes into the right place at the right time.

Dutch researchers Jeroen van den Beucken and John Jansen have given body implants a DNA layer. This layer ensures a better attachment, more rapid recovery of the surrounding tissue and less immune responses. The older we get the more 'reserve-parts' we need. Up until now placing such parts yielded advantages, but also disadvantages such as inflammations and immune responses. Van den Beucken's invention makes it easier and more reliable to use implants and has already been patented.

Too much of a good thing (nutrients or water) actually decreases the diversity of species in an ecosystem while it increases the productivity of a few species, according to a grassland experiment conducted by University of Minnesota researchers.

Dutch researcher Harm Veling has demonstrated that our brains fend off distractions. If we are busy with something we suppress disrupting external influences. If we are tired, we can no longer do this.

Researchers in Japan have developed a pair of molecular-scale scissors that open and close in response to light. The tiny scissors are the first example of a molecular machine capable of mechanically manipulating molecules by using light, the scientists say.

Juicing up your cell phone or iPod may take on a whole new meaning in the future. Researchers at Saint Louis University in Missouri have developed a fuel cell battery that runs on virtually any sugar source — from soft drinks to tree sap — and has the potential to operate three to four times longer on a single charge than conventional lithium ion batteries, they say.