News
PASIEKA / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY © 2012
Microbes are always hitting the headlines. Keep up to date with the latest microbiology news. Most stories are linked to the full newspaper article.
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Viruses used to power tiny device
16th May, 2012
Scientists in the US have developed a way to generate electricity using viruses. The researchers built a generator with a postage stamp-sized electrode and based on a small film of specially engineered viruses. When a finger tapped the electrode, the viruses converted the mechanical energy into electricity.
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Seabed test mimics carbon dioxide release
16th May, 2012
Scientists are beginning a month-long experiment in Scottish waters to study the impact of a possible leak from an undersea carbon dioxide storage site. Working in Ardmucknish Bay near Oban, researchers will allow CO2 to bubble through sediments from a buried pipe and look for impacts on marine life.
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Patients 'waiting up to nine years' for NICE to approve drugs
16th May, 2012
Patients are waiting up to nine years for drugs to treat life-threatening conditions to become available through the NHS due to delays in approving them, a study claims. Even drugs which have been cleared for use following trials remain stuck in the queue for years while the official rationing body goes through its approval process, the study suggests.
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Large city hospitals 'breed and spread' MRSA
15th May, 2012
Hospitals in large cities are the breeding grounds of the superbug MRSA which then spreads to other hospitals as patients are transferred, researchers believe. The Edinburgh University team made the discovery by tracking MRSA's movements using its genetic code as a tag.