Microbiology

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A New Understanding of Viral Infection

Scientists studying animal viruses with the potential to infect humans have discovered a critical protein that could facilitate the spread of a family of organisms known as arteriviruses.

1 Nov 2024

New Microbe with Potential to Revolutionize Biomanufacturing and Carbon Capture

A unique strain of cyanobacteria, or algae, isolated from volcanic ocean vents has been found by an international team of researchers from the United States and Italy.

30 Oct 2024

Encrypted Peptides Offer Hope Against Antibiotic-Resistant Infections

Researchers have discovered a new class of antimicrobial compounds called encrypted peptides, which could boost the immune system's toolkit to combat infection and counteract the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

29 Oct 2024

Invasive Plants Transform Soil Microbial Communities Across the U.S.

Invasive plants are doing more than just taking over landscapes -; they're also changing the soil beneath them.

29 Oct 2024

Cryo-EM Technology Paves the Way for Major Biological Discovery

Ben Orlando's research talk at MSU's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2019 laid the groundwork for a team effort that had been developing for decades.

25 Oct 2024

New Insights into How TRIM25 Fights RNA Viruses

Human bodies are attacked every single second of every day. The invading agents include bacteria, viruses, parasites, and toxins both living and non-living things that could impair how well bodies work.

25 Oct 2024

Mobile Genetic Elements Alter Antagonistic Strategies of Gut Bacteria

Bacteria evolve rapidly in the human gut by sharing genetic elements with each other. Bacteriodales is a prolific order of gut bacteria that trade hundreds of genetic elements.

25 Oct 2024

Study Reveals Role of Gut Microbes in Enhancing Children's Health

To address childhood malnutrition -; which affects 200 million children globally -; researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis developed a therapeutic food that nourishes the collections of beneficial microbes that reside in the gut, and improves children's growth and other measures of their health.

25 Oct 2024

Early T Cell Changes in Cancer Immunotherapy Patients Tied to Severe Immune Side Effects

Cytokine analysis in cancer patients reveals biomarkers for predicting immune-related adverse reactions, aiding in the management of immunotherapy side effects.

25 Oct 2024

New Insights into SARS-CoV-2’s Evasion of Innate Immunity

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has an enzyme that can counteract a cell's innate defense mechanism against viruses, explaining why it is more infectious than the previous SARS and MERS-causing viruses.

23 Oct 2024

New Bacterial Toxins Discovered as Potential Weapons Against Infections

Researchers have discovered a new group of bacterial toxins that can kill harmful bacteria and fungi, opening the door to potential new treatments for infections.

23 Oct 2024

Structural Insights into Bacteriophages Open Doors for New Therapeutics

The viruses that infect bacteria are the most abundant biological entities on the planet. For example, a recent simple study of 92 showerheads and 36 toothbrushes from American bathrooms found more than 600 types of bacterial viruses, commonly called bacteriophages or phages.

23 Oct 2024

New Study Uncovers How Viral Infections Trigger Pain, Identifies Potential Target for Relief

Findings indicate nociceptors detect viral nucleic acids, activating STING and TRPV1, highlighting new pain mechanisms in viral infections like HSV-1.

23 Oct 2024

Phages Form Unique 3D Shapes, Boosting Disease Detection

While preparing slides to be examined under a powerful microscope, a team of McMaster researchers who frequently work with bacteriophage viruses that consume bacteria had a pleasant and potentially very significant surprise.

22 Oct 2024

Mapping Auxiliary Metabolic Genes in Ocean Viruses

The microbes that cycle nutrients in the ocean don't do the work on their own – the viruses that infect them also influence the process.

21 Oct 2024

Research Sheds Light on Biofilm Bacteria Interactions and Competition

Biofilms -; slimy communities of bacteria -; grow on all sorts of surfaces: from glaciers and hot springs to plant roots, your bathtub and fridge, wounds, and medical devices such as catheters.

18 Oct 2024

Filamentous Bacteria Use Grappling Hooks and Cannons to Hunt

Countless bacteria call the vastness of the oceans home, and they all face the same problem: the nutrients they need to grow and multiply are scarce and unevenly distributed in the waters around them.

18 Oct 2024

Whole Genome Sequencing Reveals New Insights into Providencia rustigianii

Salmonella and E. coli are well-known bacteria that cause food poisoning, but less understood are species of Providencia, another causative agent of serious symptoms.

18 Oct 2024

Disinfectants Foster the Growth of Novel Microbial Strains in Urban Settings

A recent study in the journal Microbiome has uncovered new strains of microbes that have evolved to utilize the scarce resources found in cities, revealing that daily habits are altering the composition of microorganisms in indoor environments.

18 Oct 2024

EVQ-218: A Promising Candidate for Tackling Superbugs Without Triggering Antimicrobial Resistance

As the United Nations (UN) prepares to address the escalating threat of antimicrobial resistance, EVŌQ Nano is helping raise awareness through an educational infographic depicting a common trigger of antimicrobial resistance and highlighting EVQ-218's novel mechanism of action.

18 Oct 2024