‘Latent’ Tuberculosis? It’s Not That Common, Experts Find- Lalita Ramakrishnan, Dept of Medicine, University of Cambridge

Active infections kill 4,000 people a day worldwide, more than AIDS does. But the notion that a quarter of the global population harbors silent tuberculosis is “a fundamental misunderstanding.”

Professor Lalita Ramakrishnan elected Fellow of The Royal Society

Lalita Ramakrishnan is the Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge and has been elected Fellow of the Royal Society (2018). She studies tuberculosis disease pathogenesis in the zebrafish. The zebrafish is genetically tractable and optically transparent enabling the manipulation and monitoring of infection in real-time. The use of the zebrafish has led to surprising discoveries about TB that have immediate clinical implications.

Typhoid outbreak: genetic cause of extensive drug resistance found

The results suggest that treatment options for typhoid treatment are running out and preventative strategies are needed. “We have used genetic sequencing to uncover how this particular strain of typhoid became resistant to several key antibiotics. Sporadic cases of typhoid with these levels of antimicrobial resistance have been seen before, but this is the first time we’ve seen an ongoing outbreak – which is concerning.” Professor Gordon Dougan, a senior author from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and University of Cambridge Department of Medicine

Computer-designed antibodies target toxins associated with Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have designed antibodies that target the protein deposits in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease, and stop their production.