All Editorial articles – Page 10
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NewsBiosynthetic pathway discoveries mean we can halve the price of costly cancer drug
Researchers have identified the enzymes responsible for the two critical final steps in the biosynthetic pathway that makes the chemotherapy drug Taxol active as a drug, potentially opening it up to biotech based production.
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NewsGut bacteria and acetate offer a great combination for weight loss
Researchers have discovered a new way to reduce obesity - supplying the gut with extra acetate reduces fat and liver mass in both normal and obese mice, as long as bacteria of the Bacteroides species is also present in the gut.
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NewsResearchers reveal how microbes can swim without a brain
Many microorganisms can move in a goal oriented way in liquids, despite the lack of a complex nervous system. New research explains the behaviour of microorganisms, and could also enable nanobots to move in a targeted manner.
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NewsCommon drugs can help viruses spread
JAK inhibitors are often prescribed for autoimmune diseases and inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, but scientists have found they also weaken the body’s natural defences against viruses.
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NewsResearch team traces evolutionary history of bacterial circadian clock on ancient Earth
To better understand the circadian clock in modern-day cyanobacteria, researchers studied ancient timekeeping systems. They examined the oscillation of the clock proteins in modern cyanobacteria, comparing it to the function of ancestral Kai proteins.
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NewsCould nanoplastics in the environment turn E. coli into a bigger villain?
New research suggests certain nanoplastics may make foodborne pathogens more virulent. Nanoplastics with positively charged surfaces were more likely to cause physiological stress in E. coli O157:H7, making them pump out more Shiga-like toxin.
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NewsWHO validates Mauritania for eliminating trachoma as a public health problem
The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Mauritania as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, making it the seventh country in WHO’s African Region to achieve this significant milestone.
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NewsHow the Epstein-Barr virus promotes its spread within the body
Researchers have discovered that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) increases the ability of infected immune cells to migrate. In this way, the pathogen promotes its spread in the body – a discovery that may have therapeutic implications.
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NewsGenomic data shows widespread mpox transmission in West Africa prior to 2022 global outbreak
Mpox was transmitted among humans in Nigeria for eight years before sparking the international outbreak in 2022. Using genomic tracing, the researchers estimate that the virus’s ancestor first emerged in southern Nigeria in August 2014.
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NewsStudy probes why patients with mitochondrial disease are more susceptible to infections
A new study shows that damaged mitochondria put the immune system in a constant state of alert, leading to dangerous overreactions when patients with rare mitochondrial diseases encounter bacteria.
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NewsA turning point in medicine: phage therapy moves from promise to practice
From June 10–11, 2025, the international scientific and medical community will gather in Berlin for Targeting Phage Therapy 2025, the leading global event focused on translating phage research into clinical reality.
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NewsPapua New Guinea eliminates trachoma as a public health problem
Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been validated by the World Health Organization (WHO) for eliminating trachoma as a public health problem. Trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness, no longer poses a public health threat in the country.
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NewsOcean microbes offer clues to environmental resilience
Researchers have developed a new way to identify genetic changes that help tiny oxygen-producing microbes survive in extreme environments.
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NewsRising temperatures lead to unexpectedly rapid carbon release from soils
Scientists investigate the sensitivity of soil carbon, which is directly related to the release of CO2 from soils, under a changing climate, such as rising temperatures and/or variations in the hydrological cycle.
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NewsHeat-tolerant symbionts a critical key to protecting elkhorn coral from bleaching during marine heatwaves
Heat-tolerant symbiotic algae may be essential to saving elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata)—a foundational species in Caribbean reef ecosystems—from the devastating impacts of marine heatwaves and coral bleaching.
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NewsMicroalgae remove antibiotic residues from wastewater, reducing environmental contamination
In the laboratory, the species Monoraphidium contortum removed some of the drugs added to the liquid and produced biomass with potential commercial value.
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NewsNovel molecular maneuver helps malaria parasite dodge the immune system
Researchers have discovered how a parasite that causes malaria when transmitted through a mosquito bite can hide from the body’s immune system. Plasmodium falciparum can shut down a key set of genes, rendering itself “immunologically invisible.”
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NewsSeawater microbes are powerful tool for diagnosing coral reef health and strengthening conservation efforts
Microorganisms in the water surrounding coral reefs provide valuable insights on the health state of reefs and surrounding ocean. Sampling and analyzing reef water microbes can be done in a variety of ways ranging in cost and complexity, adding to their usability.
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NewsSulfate-reducing bacteria drive elevated levels of mercury in Colorado mountain wetlands
Climate change is melting glaciers and permafrost in mountains, freeing up minerals containing sulfate to flow downstream into local watersheds. Elevated sulfate levels can increase methylmercury, a potent neurotoxin that accumulates up the food chain.
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NewsLight-to-electricity nanodevice reveals how Earth’s oldest surviving cyanobacteria worked
An international team of scientists have unlocked a key piece of Earth’s evolutionary puzzle by decoding the structure of a light-harvesting “nanodevice” in one of the planet’s most ancient lineages of cyanobacteria.