Microbes and Man Research Programme starting upFebruary 03, 2003Main focus on interaction between microbes and man The newly launched Academy of Finland Research Programme on Microbes and Man (MICMAN) is aimed at producing new information on the interaction between microbes and man and at making use of that information for purposes of maintaining health and preventing and treating illnesses. The programme is a Finnish-Swedish venture. A total of 15 project clusters involving 26 research teams were selected to take part in the research programme. During 2003-2005, the Academy will be spending EUR 4.1 million to support the programme. The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research will be funding five projects with EUR 1.3 million. The two funding bodies have joined forces in the programme with a view to encouraging closer collaboration among researchers; to promoting researcher training; to increasing the international visibility of research; to creating competitive research environments; and to boosting communication as well as the application of research results. "The development of new methods in molecular biology has completely revolutionised research in this field and opened up a host of new opportunities. These new methods are widely applied in the projects involved in this programme," says programme coordinator Soile Juuti. The research projects are concerned with the interaction between man and microbes that promote health and that cause different illnesses. Areas of special interest include Lyme borreliosis, erysipelas, atherosclerosis and reactive arthritis. A number of projects will be devoted to the intestinal microflora and its role in human health and well-being. The impacts of microbes on the human immune defence system will also receive attention. Research into probiots (micro-organisms with positive health effects) will yield a clearer picture of why some bacteria have favourable and others adverse effects on human health. Further areas of study will include the causative role of bacteria in allergies and the health effects of blue algae toxins. Suomen Akatemia (Academy of Finland) |
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| Related Bacteria Current Events and Bacteria News Articles Factors from common human bacteria may trigger multiple sclerosis Current research suggests that a common oral bacterium may exacerbate autoimmune disease. The related report by Nichols et al, "Unique Lipids from a Common Human Bacterium Represent a New Class of TLR2 Ligands Capable of Enhancing Autoimmunity," appears in the December 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology. Exposure to both traffic, indoor pollutants puts some kids at higher risk for asthma later New research presents strong evidence that the "synergistic" effect of early-life exposure to both outdoor traffic-related pollution and indoor endotoxin causes more harm to developing lungs than one or the other exposure alone. New study finds MRSA on the rise in hospital outpatients The community-associated strain of the deadly superbug MRSA-an infection-causing bacteria resistant to most common antibiotics-poses a far greater health threat than previously known and is making its way into hospitals, according to a study in the December issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases. Researchers establish common seasonal pattern among bacterial communities in Arctic rivers New research on bacterial communities throughout six large Arctic river ecosystems reveals predictable temporal patterns, suggesting that scientists could use these communities as markers for monitoring climate change in the polar regions. Biologists discover bacterial defense mechanism against aggressive oxygen Bacteria possess an ingenious mechanism for preventing oxygen from harming the building blocks of the cell. Saving the single cysteine: new antioxidant system found We've all read studies about the health benefits of having a life partner. The same thing is true at the molecular level, where amino acids known as cysteines are much more vulnerable to damage when single than when paired up with other cysteines. Beyond sunlight: Explorers census 17,650 ocean species between edge of darkness and black abyss Census of Marine Life scientists have inventoried an astonishing abundance, diversity and distribution of deep sea species that have never known sunlight - creatures that somehow manage a living in a frigid black world down to 5,000 meters (~3 miles) below the ocean waves. Surface bacteria maintain skin's healthy balance On the skin's surface, bacteria are abundant, diverse and constant, but inflammation is undesirable. Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine now shows that the normal bacteria living on the skin surface trigger a pathway that prevents excessive inflammation after injury. On the Trail of a Vaccine for Lyme Disease: Yale Researchers Target Tick Saliva A protein found in the saliva of ticks helps protect mice from developing Lyme disease, Yale researchers have discovered. The findings, published in the November 19 issue of Cell Host & Microbe, may spur development of a new vaccine against infection from Lyme disease, which is spread through tick bites. Cigarettes Harbor Many Bacteria Harmful to Human Health Cigarettes are "widely contaminated" with bacteria, including some known to cause disease in people, concludes a new international study conducted by a University of Maryland environmental health researcher and microbial ecologists at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in France. More Bacteria Current Events and Bacteria News Articles |
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