Tuberculosis

The 102-year-old tuberculosis vaccine shrank liver cancer tumors in mice, which suggests it may be replicated in a human trial. If this was the case, the vaccine might prove successful in tackling this notoriously hard-to-treat cancer.

Scientists have uncovered a promising new pathway in the development of tuberculosis drugs, describing what they call a newly-discovered “keyhole” that can be targeted to starve tuberculosis-causing bacteria of the sustenance they need to survive.

Researchers at Stanford studying scorpion venom have identified a pair of compounds that were shown to kill off both staph and tuberculosis bacteria. And better yet, they were able to create synthetic versions of them in the lab.​

​In developing nations with limited infrastructure, obtaining vitamin supplements can be difficult. With that in mind, German scientists are now suggesting that people in such regions could fight tuberculosis (TB) by ingesting something else – oyster mushrooms that have been sitting in the sun.

Tuberculosis is currently curable, but the bacteria responsible for it are fast evolving resistance to our antibiotics, thwarting attempts to keep the disease under control. Scientists have found a new compound that can boost the power of existing antibiotics and even reverse the bugs’ resistance.

When tuberculosis-causing bacteria invade the human body, a drama unfolds at the cellular level involving invasions, toxic poisons, shape-shifting, prisons and daring escape plans. Now researchers have watched it all play out in real time. The finding could help fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

A team of researchers led by a team Stellenbosch University in South Africa is developing a point-of-care rapid test for tuberculosis. The new test is aimed especially at areas and settings with limited resources, where it could help speed up diagnosis of the disease.

A team of international researchers has turned to stem cells in a quest to find an a more effective treatment for patients with resistant tuberculosis (TB) – a type of drug-resistant TB associated with lung damage, immune dysfunction and low rates of treatment success.