Science Stories

  The recent outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan has infected thousands of people, especially in China. As of till now 30,00 confirmed cases have been reported in mainland China. Additionally, imported cases of coronavirus were identified in many other countries including Thailand, Japan, South Korea, United States, Vietnam, Singapore, Nepal, India, France, Australia, and Canada. The cause of the outbreak has been named novel coronavirus (2019- nCoV ). This virus belongs to the same family as SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome CoV (MERS-CoV) which cause epidemic and killed many in the early 2000s. The virus is spreading everywhere infecting thousands of innocent people. But there is no drug available for treatment. Scientists around the globe are working their best to develop a drug for the  treatment of infected patients. The quickest solution is to check whether we can treat patients using the drugs that are currently  available for treating ...

  Human gut microbiome                                                   The researchers found that manipulation of gut microbiota of  mice  shows a significant difference in learning in comparison with a mouse of the normal gut. Microbiota  refers to a complex consortium of viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. In mammals,  they have found changes in microbiota composition  to influence many physiologic processes such as development, metabolism, and immunity. Changes in the composition of microbiota can also modulate the behavior of the host—such as  social  activity, stress, and anxiety-related responses - that  are linked  to diverse neuropsychiatric disorders. However, one question remains enigmatic to the neuroscientist. How does the microbiota influence the neuronal activity and t...

    A new antibiotic that selectively acts against Gram-negative bacteria have been discovered in the nematode, Photorhabdus . They named the antibiotic Darobactin .   Darobactin is coded by a silent operon and has an unusual structure with two fused rings that are formed post-translationally. It is produced in very low quantity in laboratory conditions and is  synthesized ribosomally . The Compound is active against Gram-negative bacteria both in vitro and in animal models of infection. The last time we discovered a class of antibiotics against gram-negative was in the 1960s. References : A new antibiotic selectively kills Gram-negative pathogens. Nature 2019

HIV virus                                    For the first time in nearly two decades, a team of scientists has discovered a new strain of HIV. HIV has several subtypes or strains and they mutate over time . HIV subtypes are classified into different groups based on the latest guidelines (2000). The HIV strain that causes a global pandemic is from group M. The newly discovered strain is also from the  HIV-1 Group M, subtype L.1  and it is the first HIV subtypes from group M identified since guidelines for classifying subtypes were established in 2000. It was reported by  Abbott Laboratories, which conducted the research with the University of Missouri .  Is it dangerous for us? We don't need to   panic because not a lot of people are infected with this strain and there is medicine available to treat against this strain.  There's no reason to panic ...

                              What is Bacterial vaginosis? Normally, Lactobacillus species dominated the microbiome community of human Vagina. Bacterial vaginosis is a vaginal inflammation. It occurs when there is disbalance  in the bacterial community i.e. when anaerobes dominate the microbiome instead of Lactobacillus species. Symptoms of BV: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is prevalent in women of reproductive age affecting from one-fourth to one-third of women. BV may be associated with the risk of upper genital tract infection, complications of pregnancy and susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections (STDs). The study: In this study, five patients suffering from Bacterial vaginosis  were recruited . A healthy vaginal fluid for transplantation was collected from the donors . They were then transferred to the patients suffering from BV. All the patients were monitored...