Science Speaks is live-blogging from IDWEEK 2013. Meeting in San Francisco from Oct. 2-6, with the theme “Advancing Science, Improving Care,” the conference features breaking scientific advances and approaches in prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and epidemiology of infectious diseases, including HIV.

A tuberculosis vaccine developed at McMaster University offers new hopes for the global fight against tuberculosis.

A new approach to combating the tubercle bacillus, the microorganism that kills some 1.5 million people in the world each year, has been developed by a French-British team including scientists from CNRS, Inserm, the Institut Curie and Université Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier. The researchers have discovered that an amino acid, aspartate, is essential for the development of the bacillus because it acts as its main source of nitrogen. They have also succeeded in establishing the mechanism by which the bacterium extracts aspartate from its host. These results, published online on 29 September 2013 in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, could make it possible to develop new antibiotics and new vaccines derived from attenuated strains of the bacillus, incapable of supplying themselves with aspartate.

Watch the four-part series of short films on the deadly global TB epidemic and the race to develop new tools to prevent it, now with subtitles in seven languages: http://www.aeras.org/exposed

Tuberculosis (TB) remains an urgent global health problem with 1.4 million deaths per year. New vaccines will have a huge impact in combating the disease, including the growing threat of drug resistant TB. TBVI aims to contribute to the development of new TB vaccines by supporting research partners in universities, research institutes and private companies.

How long is the lag before the new becomes the norm? In the midst of evolving guidelines based on evidence surrounding the treatment of HIV and TB co-infection, the answer can be a matter of life and preventable death. And in resource poor settings, where changes to treatment can face more challenges, and where physicians have less access to professional conferences where data is presented that points to the need to change practices, adjusting treatment to evidence and guidelines has been assumed to take longer, noted authors of a recently released study in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The study, Changes in the timing of antiretroviral therapy initiation in HIV-infected patients with tuberculosis in Uganda: a study of the diffusion of evidence into practice in the global response to HIV/AIDS found that putting guidelines into practice in resource poor settings doesn’t have to take longer in resource-poor settings than in resource-rich settings.

Cost to end deaths from childhood TB estimated to be at least US$120 million annually.

30 September 2013 - Banjul, The Gambia - Funding from the Stop TB Partnership’s TB REACH programme has provided the foundations for a long-term effort to find and treat children with tuberculosis (TB) in The Gambia.

30 September 2013 - The Global Coalition of Tuberculosis Activists (GCTA) has selected a chair, vice-chair and six regional representatives to sit on its Global Steering Committee, the governing body that will lead the GCTA and set its strategic direction.

While global drug companies say they are on the forefront of increasing access to medicines in developing world for sake of global health, some question true commitment of the industry