All Editorial articles – Page 17
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NewsWas Nîmes depopulated by the Plague of Cyprian?
Analyses of the carbonate deposits in the aqueduct featuring the famous Pont du Gard shed light on the water supply of the ancient city of Nîmes - and support the theory that the city was depopulated by the plague.
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NewsGut microbiome features predict devastating disease affecting preemies
In a discovery that challenges long-standing assumptions about necrotizing enterocolitis, researchers have identified previously unknown predictors for the disease. They found that bacteria-infecting viruses and bacterial antibiotic resistance genes in the gut microbiomes of babies are additional harbingers of necrotizing enterocolitis.
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NewsAn IBEC device simulates natural conditions to grow biofilms and test their antibiotic susceptibility more accurately
Researchers have developed XpertBiofilm, a simple and accessible device that allows biofilms to be grown under continuous, controlled liquid flow, similar to what bacteria encounter in the human body — for example, in lung mucus, blood or urine.
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NewsFungi neutralize spruce defense mechanisms with sugar
A newly discovered detoxification strategy employed by fungi disarms spruce defense compounds by binding a sugar to them, which makes spruce trees more susceptible to bark beetle attacks.
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NewsMolecular insight into biological nitrogen fixation close to the boiling point
Scientists have purified a nitrogen-fixing enzyme from a deep-sea microorganism that shows extreme heat-stability and is possibly of ancient origin. The molybdenum-containing enzyme has been captured in a “turnover” state, highlighting a universal mechanistic principle among nitrogenases.
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NewsWhat you need to know about rabies after recent North Carolina cases
In late August, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services confirmed multiple rabies cases in baby goats at a mobile petting zoo based in Iredell County. Hundreds of people may have been exposed to rabies from the goats when the zoo visited various locations over a five-week period.
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NewsFirst-of-its-kind preventative phage therapy provides promising results
The mammalian gut microbiome is teeming with a delicate balance of bacteria and the phages that keep them in check. What if the phages in the gut could prepare for an orally ingested pathogen and strike it down as it enters the gut, negating the need for a battle?
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NewsStudy supports effectiveness of RSV preventive antibody treatments for infants and provides new way to monitor viral resistance
An analysis of more than 60,000 respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) sequences from around the world found that viral variants associated with resistance to current RSV prevention tools remain rare, according to a study.
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NewsResearchers discover how Epstein-Barr Virus triggers multiple sclerosis attacks
In a study of blood samples from more than 100 participants with MS, researchers detected increased EBV lytic activity in immune cells up to three months before MS relapse and discovered that these cells also showed elevated expression of genes linked to MS risk.
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CareersMeet the Global Ambassadors: our Q&A with Sanjib Bhakta
The Microbiologist gets to know our Global Ambassador for the UK, Professor Sanjib Bhakta who is Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Biochemistry at Birkbeck, University of London.
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NewsHedgehog coronaviruses may threaten cats more than humans, new study finds
Researchers have discovered how a group of coronaviruses circulating in hedgehogs invades host cells, a key to understanding their potential to jump between species and their risk of causing a pandemic in humans.
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NewsHow disease-causing E. coli quickly finds a new way to grip human cells—revealing a possible target for future treatments
A new study shows how a type of disease-causing E. coli can quickly adapt when it loses one of its main ways of attaching to the intestine. The bacteria either change shape or make small changes to a protein that strengthens their grip on human cells.
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NewsLab tackles antibiotic resistance across multiple fronts in new trio of studies
To defeat multidrug-resistant superbugs, bacterial defenses must be confronted wherever they may emerge, from basic genetic mutations in a laboratory, to complex real-world transmission in hospital rooms. A new trio of studies demonstrates how an integrated approach might yet expose and overcome these diverse survival mechanisms.
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NewsKey regulator helps seafood-associated bacterium balance iron and oxidative stress
Bacteria need iron, but bioavailable iron is often scarce, and too much can fuel chemical reactions that damage cells. Many Gram-negative bacteria balance iron through ferric uptake regulator (Fur), a metal-responsive protein that controls iron-related genes. Fur’s role in V. parahaemolyticus, however, had not been clearly defined.
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NewsCan AI find drugs to fight infection?
Researchers have used artificial intelligence (AI) to identify approved drugs that may be effective against Streptococcus pneumoniae. Using a dataset of molecules shown to be active against S. pneumoniae and a larger dataset of molecules inactive against another drug-resistant bacterium, the scientists trained three different learning algorithms.
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NewsBreakthrough optimization of chlamydospore fermentation for Cladophialophora guangxiense HX2
The dark septate endophyte Cladophialophora guangxiense HX2 exhibits excellent control efficacy against tomato bacterial wilt but industrial production of its chlamydospores has been challenging. Researchers have optimized the liquid fermentation process using chlamydospore yield of strain HX2 as the key response indicator.
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NewsBeyond the gut: Necrotizing enterocolitis drives neurodevelopmental impairment through gut-derived inflammation
A severe gut disease in premature infants, known as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), does far more than damage the intestines—it fundamentally alters brain development, leaving up to 40% of survivors with lasting cognitive, motor, and behavioral impairments.
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NewsCan probiotics help T cells fight solid tumors more effectively?
Transferred T cells often have difficulty reaching tumors and overcoming the strongly immunosuppressive environment surrounding cancer cells. Researchers have combined therapeutic T cells with engineered probiotics, physically attaching the bacteria to the surface of T cells to create a hybrid system called T-FOLactis.
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NewsBacteria in airway shape air pollution health risk
A study suggests that the subtype of the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae, together with air pollution exposure impacts the rate and timing of invasive disease — with some strains linked to immediate infection after air pollution exposure, and some taking several weeks.
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NewsGut bacterial enzyme worsens colitis by switching off a protective intestinal signal
Microbiome research often focuses on which microbes are present in the gut and what small molecules they produce. But gut bacteria also make enzymes that can act directly on molecules produced by the host. Researchers report that one such bacterial enzyme can weaken a protective intestinal signal and aggravate colitis in a preclinical model.