Toxin News and Research

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Researchers discover new type of pathogenic fungus that infects potatoes

RUDN University biologists have discovered a new type of pathogenic fungus that infects potatoes and leads to massive crop loss.

31 Jan 2023

Highly potent antibiotic candidate identified

One of the most promising new antibiotic candidates in decades is a powerful plant toxin that harbors a novel way of killing hazardous bacteria.

26 Jan 2023

Puffer fish use non-toxic version of a powerful neurotoxin to communicate with each other

A delicacy in Japanese cuisine, puffer fish (fugu) also contain a lethal toxin. Improperly prepared puffer fish can cause the person eating it to experience food poisoning and a swift death.

11 Nov 2022

Researchers discover murderous survival strategy of yeast

Yeast is not the simple single-celled microorganism we once thought, but a competitive killer. When starved of glucose, yeast releases a toxin that will poison other microorganisms that have entered its surrounding habitat, even its own clones.

8 Nov 2022

New imaging technologies to evade immune responses of Candida albicans

Researchers from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute have demonstrated how the common fungus Candida albicans evades immune responses using newly discovered imaging technologies. The researchers claim that this involves a fungus that can shape-shift in an “alien-like” manner to escape immune cells.

21 Sep 2022

Defense mechanisms of horticulture crops against fungal infections

Recent research on defense responses of horticulture crops to fungal infections, novel ways to govern the induction of plant resistance, issues, challenges, and future research objectives have been summarized by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

22 Aug 2022

Research highlights the impacts of biomolecules in plants over stress

Diphthamide is a biomolecule required for the correct synthesis of proteins in cells.

18 Jul 2022

Experts identify genes responsible for toxin biosynthesis in unrelated poisonous mushrooms

Poisonous mushrooms are a great threat to human health, but they also create crucial drugs and biomolecules. Amanita mushrooms are without a doubt the most lethal of all of them.

7 Jun 2022

Climate change may increase aflatoxin problems in US corn

As climate change continues to alter weather patterns around the planet including the Midwest, researchers at Michigan State University are modeling the impact on crops such as corn.

5 May 2022

Rockefeller scientists reveal how a narrow-spectrum antibiotic selectively targets C. diff

Most antibiotics are double-edged swords. Besides killing the pathogen they are prescribed for, they also decimate beneficial bacteria and change the composition of the gut microbiome.

7 Apr 2022

Chemical component geosmin’s taste makes bacteria-eating worms at risk

Geosmin has a distinct smell that pervades the air after a summer rainstorm or fills your nose when gardening. It smells like moist dirt—earthy and somewhat comfortable.

7 Apr 2022

Exceptional research recordings display RNA switching “on” and “off”

RNA switches (also known as riboswitches) control which genes are turned “on” and “off”, much like a light switch. Although this appears to be a straightforward process, biologists have been astonished by the inner workings of these switches for decades.

1 Apr 2022

A cryptic molecule can awaken killer viruses from their slumber

Some gut bacteria have a spooky superpower: they can reanimate dormant viruses lurking within other microbes.

24 Feb 2022

Tropical sea anemone stings could hold key to new pain-relieving drugs

QUT PhD researcher Lauren Ashwood has studied sea anemones' venom makeup extensively, in particular, Telmatactis stephensoni a reef-based sea anemone that can grow from 8 to 10 cm.

8 Feb 2022

Bacterial-fungal partnership leads to disease in humans

New research discovered that the fungus Rhizopus fights back against soil predators and human immune cells by partnering with a bacteria called Ralstonia in a two-way partnership.

From University of Exeter 8 Feb 2022

Study finds amphipathic peptide that safely opens endosomal membrane

The cell plasma membrane and the derived endosomal membranes are both greasy barriers that prevent the inflow of water-soluble macromolecules like nucleic acids and proteins into cells.

2 Dec 2021

Study reveals the complex architecture of the outer membrane of bacteria

UCL scientists have recorded the sharpest images ever of living bacteria.

From University College London 29 Oct 2021

Genetic markers linked to increased lipopolysaccharide level in blood discovered

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a bacterial component, is a toxin and its increased concentrations in the blood induce sepsis.

29 Oct 2021

Study identifies a novel role for regulatory protein Bach1 in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder, afflicting more than 10 million people worldwide and more than one million Americans. While there is no cure for PD, current therapies focus on treating motor symptoms and fail to reverse, or even address, the underlying neurological damage.

26 Oct 2021

How do large proteins and drugs cross a cell membrane?

Researchers have been wondering for several decades how molecules like proteins travel through cell walls, also called plasma membranes, without any trace.

22 Oct 2021