Acinetobacter therapeutics: Inhibitor of LPS synthesis

Much to like in a new study published in the journal mBio today. This study (mBio, 2012, 3[5]:e00312-12) by Lin et al. [1] (led by Brad Spellberg of UCLA) discovered that, for the gram-negative pathogenic bacteria Acinetobacter baumannii, notorious for its association with nosocomial ('hospital-associated') infection the world over and highly resistant to antibiotics, shutting down the production of an extracellular antigen released by the bacteria can effectively silence its effects on the host body and enhance its clearance, to the benefit of the host.

Issue of Spin in the Communication of Scientific Research

Ada Ao, a cancer and stem cell biologist, and aspiring science communicator writing for Nature Education's SciTable blog, has an interesting post put up today. She cautions that it is a tirade (according to her, of course; pffft!) against a recently-published PLoS Medicine article by Amélie Yavchitz and associates, titled "Misrepresentation of randomized controlled trials in press releases and news coverage: a cohort study" (Yavchitz et al., PLoS Med., 9(9):e1001308, 2012).