A global wave of infections caused by fungi growing drug-resistant has the medical community issuing precautions on how to protect yourself.
Tag: Fungi
It’s Hearty, It’s Meaty, It’s Mold
Fungi naturally produce all the ingredients needed for a cruelty-free meat substitute. Our scientists are exploring how tuning the genomes of mushrooms and molds can transform these food sources into gourmet, nutrient-packed meals made with minimal processing and a light environmental footprint.
RUDN ecologists healed apples from fungus using eucalyptus
RUDN University ecologists have discovered that eucalyptus leaves can cure apples from fungal diseases. They can be a natural alternative to toxic fungicides.
Two new freshwater fungi species in China enhance biodiversity knowledge
Researchers have discovered two new freshwater hyphomycete (mould) species, Acrogenospora alangii and Conioscypha yunnanensis, in southwestern China.
Vacuum cleaner-effect in fungi can hold nanoplastics at bay
Using micro-engineered soil models, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have investigated the effect of tiny polystyrene particles on bacteria and fungi.
Researchers discover drug-resistant, often deadly pathogen living in dogs’ ears, creating concern it may jump to humans
Scientists at McMaster University and India’s University of Delhi have discovered and isolated the first live culture of the drug-resistant pathogen Candida auris from an animal, specifically from the ear canals of stray dogs.
Submit proposal for research funding opportunity at EMSL, a Department of Energy scientific facility
The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) is seeking biological and environmental science project proposals for the Fiscal Year 2024 Exploratory Research Call through 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 6.
Cheese experiments show fungal antibiotics can influence microbiome development
In a new study, researchers use cheese rinds to demonstrate that fungal antibiotics can influence how microbiomes develop.
Fungal genetics could help develop novel biotechnologies
An essential pillar of Earth’s ecological system, fungi have long been used to better the lives of humans. While these organisms are still vastly understudied, a new review paper suggests that their unique genomes could be used to make progress in the biotech industry.
Symbiotic fungi transform terpenes from spruce resin into attractants for bark beetles
The mass outbreaks of bark beetles observed in recent years have caused shocking amounts of forest damage throughout Germany.
Chulalongkorn University’s “Plant Trees – Get Mushrooms” Strategy Convinces Nan and Saraburi Farmers to Save the Forests
Lecturers of the Faculty of Science, and the Center of Learning Network for Region (CLNR) Chulalongkorn University successfully planted trees in the forests in Nan and Saraburi provinces through innovative seedlings with ectomycorrhiza fungi, motivating villagers and farmers to “plant trees and get mushrooms”, for extra income.
Genome studies uncover a new branch in fungal evolution
About 600 seemingly disparate fungi that never quite found a fit along the fungal family tree have been shown to have a common ancestor, according to a University of Alberta-led research team that used genome sequencing to give these peculiar creatures their own classification home.
Physicians urged to consider fungal infections as possible cause for lung inflammation
UC Davis Health infectious diseases expert George Thompson warns of the rising threat and apparent spread of disease-causing fungi outside their traditional hot spots. Fungal lung infections are commonly misdiagnosed, leading to delays in treatment and increase in antimicrobial resistance in the community.
First-Ever Mycobiome Atlas Describes Associations between Cancers and Fungi
An international team of scientists, co-led by researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, has created the first pan-cancer mycobiome atlas — a survey of 35 types of cancer and their associated fungi
Millipede species, rarely documented in West Virginia, detected by WVU researchers as part of National Geographic project
Angie Macias, a doctoral student at West Virginia University, and Matt Kasson, an associate professor, are part of a National Geographic-funded project to study the fungal diversity associated with fungus-feeding millipedes.
Food claiming to have ‘wild mushrooms’ rarely does
Harvesting wild mushrooms requires an expert eye, making products containing wild fungi expensive. Due to minimal food regulations, it’s nearly impossible to know what species are actually contained within. Sequencing revealed food products labeled with wild mushrooms mostly contained cultivated fungi and some mushrooms poisonous to humans.
Fungi That Live in the Gut Influence Health and Disease
Bacteria’s role in gut health has received a lot of attention in recent years. But new research publishing in Nature shows that fungi—another microorganism that lives within us—may be equally important in health and disease. Fungi thrive in the healthy gut, but when interactions with the immune system are off-balance, they cause intestinal damage that may contribute to gastrointestinal disease. Additional investigation demonstrate that vaccines could be developed as therapeutics to improve gut health.
Population-specific diversity within fungi species could enable improved drug discovery
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Wisconsin–Madison have discovered that genetically distinct populations within the same species of fungi can produce unique mixes of secondary metabolites, which are organic compounds with applications in medicine, industry and agriculture.
Story tips: Stealthy air leak detection, carbon to chemicals and recycling goes large
ORNL story tips: Stealthy air leak detection, carbon to chemicals and recycling goes large
Rutgers Professor Joan Bennett Elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Joan W. Bennett, a Distinguished Professor of plant biology and pathology at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. She joins neurosurgeon and CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center atmospheric scientist Ann Thompson and media entrepreneur and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey.
New Herbarium Space at Buffalo State College Provides Unique Learning Experience
Buffalo State’s herbarium has a new, dedicated space for the more than 16,000 specimens it holds.
Story tips: Air taxis, fungi speak, radiation game and climate collab
ORNL story tips: Air taxis, fungi speak, radiation game and climate collab
“Hot, dry and salty” symposium to cover plant-microbe interactions in a changing world
As climate change influences our ecosystems, microbes may help crops and environmental management solutions succeed in stressful conditions
Those funky cheese smells allow microbes to “talk” to and feed each other
Researchers found that bacteria essential to ripening cheese can sense and respond to compounds produced by fungi in the rind and released into the air, enhancing the growth of some species of bacteria over others. The make-up of the cheese microbiome is critical to flavor and quality of the cheese.
Why is testing for soil microbes important?
Various types of microbes are key ingredients to healthy soil
Newly discovered pathogen in NY apples causes bitter rot disease
In a study of New York state apple orchards, Cornell University plant pathologists have identified a new fungal pathogen that causes bitter rot disease in apples.
Science Snapshots May 2020
World’s forests are growing younger, U.S. wind plant performance changes with age, and fungi food choices opens the door to better methods for producing bio-based products
Bizarre new species discovered… on Twitter
While many of us use social media to be tickled silly by cat videos or wowed by delectable cakes, others use them to discover new species.
Jonathan Schilling: Then and Now
Jonathan Schilling is a professor in the Department of Plant & Microbial Biology at the University of Minnesota. He is also the director of the Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories in northern Minnesota.
Breaking Down Wood Decomposition by Fungi
SUMMARYThrough a combination of lab and field experiments, researchers have developed a better understanding of the factors accounting for different wood decomposition rates among fungi. The new findings reveal how an understanding of fungal trait variation can improve the predictive…
Fungal decisions can affect climate
Research shows fungi may slow climate change by storing more carbon
‘Are Noncommunicable Diseases Communicable?’ Rutgers Experts Available to Discuss Paper in Science Today
New Brunswick, N.J. (Jan. 16, 2020) – Rutgers professors Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello and Martin J. Blaser are available to discuss a paper in the journal Science today on whether diseases long thought to be noncommunicable – such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer…
Fungi as predictors of climate change effects
Researcher to explain findings from an Alaskan boreal forest and a Costa Rican cloud forest
Blue Pigment from Engineered Fungi Could Help Turn the Textile Industry Green
A new platform for producing blue pigment could provide a sustainable alternative to conventional synthetic dyes and open the door for next-generation bioproduction Often, the findings of fundamental scientific research are many steps away from a product that can be…