Infectious disease

From the journals: JBC

Histone demethylase inhibited by own sequence. MicroRNA reduces cell cycle–related apoptosis. Multipurpose antibiotic takes on staph infections. Read about recent JBC papers on these topics.

Tiny laboratories that fit in your hand can rapidly identify pathogens using electricity

Pathogens have distinct electrical charges, shapes and sizes. Measuring how quickly they move through an electric field can help researchers separate different species in a sample.

Toxoplasma gondii parasite uses unconventional method to make proteins for evasion of drug treatment

This recent study by a team from Bill Sullivan’s lab at the Indiana University School of Medicine was named a Journal of Biological Chemistry Editor’s Pick.

'You can't afford to be 15 years behind the parasite'

David Fidock will receive the Alice and C.C. Wang Award in Molecular Parasitology at the 2025 ASBMB Annual Meeting, April 12–15 in Chicago.

Quantifying how proteins in microbe and host interact

“To develop better vaccines, we need new methods and a better understanding of the antibody responses that develop in immune individuals,” author Johan Malmström said.

3D shapes of viral proteins point to previously unknown roles

A research team led by Jennifer Doudna has harnessed computational and deep-learning tools to predict the shapes of nearly 4,500 species that infect animals and humans.

Not so selfish after all: Viruses use freeloading genes as weapons

Phage viruses, increasingly used to treat antibiotic resistance, gain an advantage by cutting off a competitor’s ability to reproduce.

This common parasite causes birth defects — but the US doesn’t screen for it during pregnancy

Mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy is called congenital toxoplasmosis and up to 4,400 babies may be born with it in the U.S. each year.

Raw milk is risky, but airborne transmission of H5N1 from cow’s milk is inefficient in mammals

Findings suggest that cow’s milk infected with bird flu poses a real risk to humans, but the virus may not spread very far or quickly to others.