sugar

Sugar found to boost lethal bacteria

Adelaide researchers find how a bacteria digests a sugar can be key to new treatments

The severity of a common and often lethal type of bacteria depends on its ability to process a type of sugar, research from the University of Adelaide reveals.

Streptococcus pneumoniae causes diseases of the lungs, blood, ear and brain, killing an estimated one million people every year. Moreover S. pneumoniae causes otitis media (infection of the middle ear), which devastates Aboriginal populations. It also rapidly develops resistance to antibiotics, making it challenging to treat.

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Oz research of note, 11 December, 2011

A new sugar that could prevent heart disease; an Alzheimer’s vaccine that cures the memory of mice; real Star Wars bacteria and robot aircraft that copy insects are just some of the interesting stories that emerged from Australian research published in the last week. Find over a dozen other stories below.

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