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UrduITHACA, N.Y. – A new method that analyzes how individual immune cells react to the bacteria that cause tuberculosis could pave the way for new vaccine strategies against this deadly disease, and provide insights into fighting other infectious diseases around…
Tag: Microbiology
Interaction identified between SARS-CoV-2 and unusual RNA structures in human cells
Replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, depends on a series of interactions between viral proteins and different cellular partners such as nucleic acids (DNA or RNA). Characterizing these interactions is crucial to elucidate the process of viral replication…
Parkinson’s disease: How lysosomes become a hub for the propagation of the pathology
Over the last few decades, neurodegenerative diseases became one of the top 10 global causes of death. Researchers worldwide are making a strong effort to understand neurodegenerative diseases pathogenesis, which is essential to develop efficient treatments against these incurable diseases.…
Global warming may limit spread of dengue fever, new research finds
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Infection with dengue virus makes mosquitoes more sensitive to warmer temperatures, according to new research led by Penn State researchers. The team also found that infection with the bacterium Wolbachia, which has recently been used to…
Tiny organisms shed big light on ocean nutrients
As the world warms, sweeping changes in marine nutrients seem like an expected consequence of increased ocean temperatures. However, the reality is more complicated. New research suggests that processes below the ocean surface may be controlling what is happening above.…
Fully booked at the bottom of the sea: There seems no room for new bacteria on sand grains
Bacteria on the sand on the ocean floor do not change between the seasons. Presumably, there is simply no room for change.
Microbes play role in corn ‘hybrid vigor’
The tiny organisms living in soil may have a greater effect on the yield and pest and disease resistance of crop plants grown in that soil than previously known. Researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of Kansas…
How does the structure of cytolysins influence their activity?
Although Enterococcus faecalis is usually an innocuous member of the bacterial community in the human gut, it can also cause several infections, including liver disorders. The bacteria produce cytolysins, which are molecules that destroy cells. In a new study, researchers…
Traditional Japanese food may hold building blocks of COVID-19 treatments
Natto, a fermented soybean dish often served for breakfast in Japan, originated at the turn of the last millennium but may hold an answer to a modern problem: COVID-19, according to a new study based on cell cultures. Long thought…
Is Bacterial Acidity a Key to Tackle Antimicrobial Resistance?
Decreasing bacterial acidity could help reduce antimicrobial resistance by eliminating bacteria that can survive being treated with antibiotics.
15,000-year-old viruses discovered in Tibetan glacier ice
Scientists who study glacier ice have found viruses nearly 15,000 years old in two ice samples taken from the Tibetan Plateau in China. Most of those viruses, which survived because they had remained frozen, are unlike any viruses that have been cataloged to date.
Mycoplasma mobile moves into overdrive: Twin motor modified from ATP synthase discovered
Scientists discover gliding machinery for Mycoplasma mobile to be a new structure that could share ancestry with ATP synthase
No IgA leads to intestinal inflammation in mice
Tokyo, Japan – While researchers have known for years that immunoglobulin A (IgA) is important for gut health, it has remained unclear exactly what role it plays in preventing infection and disease. But now, researchers from Japan have found that…
A simple compound to control complex gut microbes
Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (IMS) have discovered that acetate, a major metabolite produced by some intestinal bacteria, is involved in regulating other intestinal bacteria. Specifically, experiments showed that acetate could trigger an immune response against…
Ocean microbes team up brilliantly to gather food when it’s scarce
WOODS HOLE, Mass. – What’s a hungry marine microbe to do when the pickings are slim? It must capture nutrients – nitrogen, phosphorus, or iron – to survive, yet in vast expanses of the ocean, nutrients are extremely scarce. And…
Add fatty acid to taste
New technology reveals single cancer cells have different appetites for fatty acids
Nitrogen-producing process of anammox bacterium finally uncovered
After years of research, the molecular structure of the enzyme responsible for a large part of the global nitrate and nitrogen production by bacteria has finally been uncovered. The anammox bacterium and other bacteria use this enzyme to convert toxic…
Human waste contaminating urban water leads to ‘superbug’ spread — study
Contamination of urban lakes, rivers and surface water by human waste is creating pools of ‘superbugs’ in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) – but improving access to clean water, sanitation and sewerage infrastructure could help to protect people’s health, a…
Modified yeast inhibits fungal growth in plants
External application could reduce agricultural reliance on fungicides
Kelp for corn? Illinois scientists demystify natural products for crops
URBANA, Ill. – Corn growers can choose from a wide array of products to make the most of their crop, but the latest could bring seaweed extract to a field near you. The marine product is just one class in…
A new avenue for fighting drug-resistant bacteria
Targeting an RNA sequence in pathogenic bacteria could make them more sensitive to antibiotics
Sperm migration in the genital tract: computer simulations identify factors for success
During mating in wildlife species, males transfer millions of sperm into the female genital tract. On the way to the egg cell the sperm have to pass through the genital tract. Very few of the sperm cells actually succeed in…
Seven degrees from one trillion species of microbes
Global Microbiome Transition Network hints at origins and evolution paths of microbiomes
Antibiotics in early life could affect brain development
Exposure to antibiotics in utero or after birth could lead to brain disorders in later childhood, says Rutgers researcher
Oldest fossils of methane-cycling microbes expand frontiers of habitability on early Earth
A team of international researchers, led by the University of Bologna, has discovered the fossilised remains of methane-cycling microbes that lived in a hydrothermal system beneath the seafloor 3.42 billion years ago. The microfossils are the oldest evidence for this…
€1 Million Prize for Plastics-to-Protein Research Awarded to Steve Techtmann, Ting Lu
Steve Techtmann has won the 2021 Future Insight Prize — awarded to innovative research in health, nutrition and energy — for his food generator concept.
Mechanical stimuli significantly influence organ growth
Organoids help understand the complex interactions of cells and tissue
Symbionts sans frontieres: Bacterial partners travel the world
Some bacterial symbionts in travel the globe and are true cosmopolitans
Match matters: The right combination of parents can turn a gene off indefinitely
UMD scientists discover that mating can cause epigenetic changes in nematode worms that last for 300 generations
Computer-assisted biology: Decoding noisy data to predict cell growth
Tokyo, Japan – Scientists from The University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science have designed a machine learning algorithm to predict the size of an individual cell as it grows and divides. By using an artificial neural network that does…
Scientists explore seamounts in Phoenix Islands Archipelago, gain insights into deep water diversity
Marine scientists aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor have identified likely new marine species and deep sea organisms on nine seamounts that were explored for the first time in the remote Phoenix Islands Archipelago. In a 34-day expedition that…
More ancestral enzyme
Molecular evolution of enzyme beyond recruit hypothesis
Prize winner uncovers the link between the microbiome, metabolites and neurodegeneration
Eran Blacher is the 2021 winner of the NOSTER & Science Microbiome Prize for his work in exploring the relationship between the microbiome and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The findings reveal new…
Anti-coagulant drug could treat COVID-19’s emerging variants
New targetable site on the COVID-19 spike protein discovered
Mount Sinai research reveals how Ebola virus manages to evade the body’s immune defenses
New York, NY (July 6, 2021) – Mount Sinai researchers have uncovered the complex cellular mechanisms of Ebola virus, which could help explain its severe toll on humans and identify potential pathways to treatment and prevention. In a study published…
Microscopy technique makes finer images of deeper tissue, more quickly
Researchers could rapidly obtain high-resolution images of blood vessels and neurons within the brain.
The shape of nanoparticles in body fluids may help identify the type of cancer
A recent study by scientists from Japanese universities has shown that the shape of cell-derived nanoparticles, known as “extracellular vesicles” (EVs), in body fluids could be a biomarker for identifying types of cancer. In the study, the scientists successfully measured…
SARS-CoV-2 encoded miRNA is a biomarker for stratification of severe patients
In a retrospective, multi-centre cohort study conducted by researchers from Nanjing University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Jinling Hospital and the Second Hospital of Nanjing, a microRNA-like small RNA encoded by SARS-CoV-2 was identified in the serum of COVID-19…
Novel coronavirus infects and replicates in salivary gland cells
A study conducted at the University of São Paulo suggests that tissues specializing in saliva production and secretion serve as reservoirs for SARS-CoV-2, magnifying its infectious potential.
Fecal transplant plus fibre improves insulin sensitivity in severely obese
Research provides further evidence the microbiome can benefit patients’ health, says researcher Karen Madsen.
Secret to weathering climate change lies at our feet
New research on the microbiome of grass shows that the future lies with healthy bacteria
Eight new studies to investigate COVID-19 variants of concern in Canada
The research projects span from investigating the social factors that may protect Indigenous peoples — or increase their vulnerability to — COVID-19 and VOCs, to the creation of a Canadian Wastewater Surveillance Database
New signaling pathway could shed light on damage repair during brain injury
The study has uncovered a signaling pathway that causes neural cells to enter divisions after damage
More filling? Tastes great? How flies, and maybe people, choose their food
Flies have discriminating taste. Like a gourmet perusing a menu, they spend much of their time seeking sweet nutritious calories and avoiding bitter, potentially toxic food. But what happens in their brains when they make these food choices? Yale researchers…
Belowground microbial solutions to aboveground plant problems
Land plants – plants that live primarily in terrestrial habitats and form vegetation on earth – are anchored to the ground through their roots, and their performance depends on both the belowground soil conditions and the aboveground climate. Plants utilize…
Microbes in cow stomachs can break down plastic
Bacteria found in the rumen, one of the compartments that make up the cow stomach, can break down plastics, representing an eco-friendly way to reduce litter
How ethane-consuming archaea pick up their favorite dish
Scientists of Bremen sucessfully decoded the structure of the enzyme responsible for ethane fixation
Solving a long-standing mystery about the desert’s rock art canvas
Wander around a desert most anywhere in the world, and eventually you’ll notice dark-stained rocks, especially where the sun shines most brightly and water trickles down or dew gathers. In some spots, if you’re lucky, you might stumble upon ancient…
Liquid chalk highly effective in killing SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A viruses
Melbourne researchers have found that liquid chalk, commonly used in gyms to improve grip, acts as an antiseptic against highly infectious human viruses, completely killing both SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and influenza A viruses.
Unlocking the power of the microbiome
Hundreds of different bacterial species live in and on leaves and roots of plants. A research team led by Julia Vorholt from the Institute of Microbiology at ETH Zurich, together with colleagues in Germany, first inventoried and categorised these bacteria…