All Asia & Oceania articles – Page 8
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NewsBiochar can act as an ‘interface engineer’ to reshape the hidden world around plant roots
A new review shows how biochar simultaneously modifies soil structure, chemistry and microbial communities in the rhizosphere, offering a framework for more precise and sustainable agricultural use.
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NewsMember Q&A: Harta Wedari on how AMI has opened up new opportunities and communities
Dr Ni Luh Putu Harta Wedari, a medical doctor and Clinical Microbiology Specialist from Bali, Indonesia reveals how engaging with AMI has expanded her international network and unveiled new opportunities.
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NewsKazakh researchers ID antiviral and anti-inflammatory compounds in native medicinal plants
Researchers have identified biologically active compounds with antiviral, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory effects in several plant species native to Kazakhstan, providing new chemical and experimental data on medicinal flora from Central Asia.
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NewsA fourth T6SS in clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa deploys the pore-forming effector TseMt
The hospital-associated pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa has type VI secretion systems (T6SSs). Most reference strains encode three T6SSs, but comparative genomics has identified an additional H4-T6SS in a subset of clinical isolates.
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NewsLess UV light may mean less carbon storage in Antarctic tundra
As the ozone layer heals, less ultraviolet radiation reaches the Antarctic surface—a change usually viewed as beneficial for living organisms. But researchers have found that reduced ultraviolet radiation can substantially weaken the ability of Antarctic tundra to absorb carbon dioxide.
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NewsWhat happens when a shoreline scavenger consumes microplastics?
Researchers report on what happens when wharf roaches, a common shoreline scavenger, eat expanded polystyrene (EPS). Analysis of the wharf roach gut microbiome showed little change, but several rare microbes were found only in the EPS-fed specimens.
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NewsMosaic nanoparticles deliver broad-spectrum mucosal protection against diverse coronaviruses
Researchers have developed a novel “mosaic” nanoparticle vaccine platform that successfully penetrates the mucus barrier to deliver broad-spectrum mucosal protection against a diverse array of coronaviruses, including highly evasive SARS-like and MERS-like strains.
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NewsMicroplastics may act as pollutant shuttles, carrying chemicals, pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes
A new review reveals how microplastics transport multiple pollutants across ecosystems and proposes a framework for identifying when these vector effects become serious ecological threats.
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NewsbZIP transcription factor AflHapX coordinates iron homeostasis and aflatoxin biosynthesis in Aspergillus flavus
Researchers have identified the bZIP transcription factor AflHapX in Aspergillus flavus by searching its genome with the HapX protein sequence from Aspergillus fumigatus. They discovered that AflHapX is critical for A. flavus’s adaptive response to both iron excess and iron starvation.
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NewsMXene-based hydrogel disrupt bacterial biofilms and reprogram immune cell metabolism to reverse bone resorption in periodontitis
Researchers have developed an injectable MXene-based composite hydrogel (GQM) for the treatment of periodontitis. The hydrogel consists of oxidized gellan gum (OG), quaternized chitosan (QCS), and magnesium-tannic acid modified MXene nanosheets (MTA-Mg).
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NewsInternational Society of Microbiota, Nature Awards and Yakult join forces to connect global funding with Japanese microbiome research
A new collaboration at ISM–RIKEN Targeting Microbiota 2026 will bring the Global Grants for Gut Health programme to Tokyo, alongside a dedicated funding discussion and three Best Abstract Prizes.
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NewsStudy sheds light on how bacteria assemble outer membrane proteins
Researchers analyzed the various conformations that a chaperone protein adopts while delivering unfolded outer membrane proteins to the assembly machinery.
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NewsDifference in clinical characteristics and outcomes between hospital-acquired and community-acquired pleural infection
A critical aspect of managing pleural infection is understanding differences between hospital-acquired and community-acquired forms, as these two entities differ fundamentally in etiology, microbiology, antimicrobial resistance patterns, and patient populations.
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NewsArchaea as “flexitarians”: Ammonia-oxidizing microbes also feed on amino acids
Symbiotic ammonia-oxidizing archaea in marine sponges are not strict specialists, but true “flexitarians”. Research has shown that these microbes dine not only on ammonia but also on amino acids - and presumably do that to communicate with their animal host.
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NewsPreliminary wastewater bioremediation by photosynthetic Chlorobium genus isolated from pond water
Researchers have isolated naturally occurring light-driven bacteria from local pond water and shown that, within just one week, these microorganisms can substantially reduce the levels of organic pollutants in raw sewage.
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NewsAncient Dujiangyan water wisdom inspires AI microfluidic chip to spot hidden sub-resistant bacteria
To pinpoint hidden populations of bacteria, researchers have developed a deep learning-based microfluidic rapid phenotypic AST system, named DP-AST, inspired by the “six-four water diversion” principle of the ancient Dujiangyan irrigation system in China.
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NewsChina’s 2025 resistance map reveals progress and renewed threats
A 2025 analysis from the China Antimicrobial Surveillance Network (CHINET) tracked 516,309 clinical bacterial isolates from 80 hospitals across China, revealing a mixed picture: resistance declined in some major pathogens, but worrying rebounds appeared in others.
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NewsHow stressed cells put the brakes on protein shipping
A study in budding yeast suggests that changes in membrane lipids trigger a braking system that slows internal protein transport when the endoplasmic reticulum comes under stress.
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NewsBacterial nanoplatform targets spleen to reprogram immune cells and prevent cancer recurrence
Researchers have announced the development of an engineered nanoplatform named t-SMC, which precisely targets the spleen to reverse splenic myelopoiesis toward an antitumoral immune phenotype.
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NewsSulfur-reducing mechanism of bacterial selenoprotein discovered
A newly discovered multiheme enzyme in Geobacter sulfurreducens contains selenocysteine, which is encoded by a recoded UGA stop codon in the bacterial genome. This enzyme uses a unique selenium–sulfur–heme catalytic center to reduce polysulfides during elemental sulfur respiration.