All articles by Linda Stewart – Page 71
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NewsThermo Fisher Scientific launches new color-based culture media to help detect Candida infections faster
Thermo Fisher Scientific today announced the launch of Thermo Scientific™ Brilliance™ Candida 2 Agar and Spectra™ Candida Agar, new color-based (chromogenic) culture media to help laboratories quickly detect and differentiate clinically important Candida species.
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NewsBacteria found in mouth and gut may help protect against severe peanut allergic reactions
One of the big mysteries in food allergy is why two people with similar levels of peanut specific antibodies can react so differently. A new study shows for the first time how gut bacteria break down parts of an allergenic food and influence how a person reacts to peanuts.
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NewsGrowing buildings in space: researchers test fungi as construction material for moon, Mars
A NASA-funded project will investigate whether certain fungi can be combined with regolith — loose rock and soil found on the surface of the moon and other planets — to create materials that could one day support construction in places other than Earth.
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NewsStudy finds natural fungal supplement improves COVID-19 vaccine response
Researchers have found that a natural fungal supplement taken at the time of COVID-19 vaccination reduced short-term vaccine side effects and helped antibodies last longer in people who had not previously been exposed to the virus.
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NewsProlonged drought linked to instability in key nitrogen-cycling microbes in Connecticut salt marsh
A prolonged drought in southeastern Connecticut reduced the stability of microorganisms responsible for a critical step in the nitrogen cycle in a coastal salt marsh, according to new research.
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NewsNew tool reveals the secrets of HIV-infected cells
Scientists have developed a novel tool—named HIV-seq—for profiling the features of rare HIV-infected cells from people with HIV. Using the new tool, they’ve found key differences in people’s HIV-infected cells before versus after starting antiretroviral therapy.
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NewsChemically ‘stapled’ peptides used to target difficult-to-treat cancers
Researchers have developed a new technology that uses bacteria to build, chemically stabilise, and test millions of potential drug molecules inside living cells. The bacteria produce vast libraries of peptide molecules, and chemically stabilise them into defined shapes while they are being tested inside the cell.
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NewsUnderground fungal map of the world’s oldest, slowest-growing rainforest trees can boost the resilience of Earth’s long-term carbon sinks
Protecting and conserving old trees will protect hundreds, if not thousands, of mycorrhizal and other fungal species that inhabit soils around these giants, each of which play a role we might not fully understand in keeping these forests healthy and resilient.
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NewsResearchers find a gentler way to treat aggressive gum disease
Researchers have discovered that the primary bacterium driving gum disease carries an internal “genetic brake” that controls its own aggression. By locking this brake in place, future treatments could silence the pathogen while leaving beneficial bacteria untouched.
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NewsBiodegradable mulch isn’t disappearing as expected, new study warns
Scientists investigated how soybean roots influence the degradation of PBAT microplastics in soil. They tracked both polymer loss and monomer accumulation over a full 70-day plant growth cycle, revealing size-dependent and condition-specific rhizosphere effects.
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NewsEditing for timing, not overdrive: A new genetic route to fire blight resistance in apple
Fire blight remains one of the most destructive bacterial diseases threatening global apple production. A new study identifies a family of inducible lectin genes, MdAGGs, as critical components of apple immune defense and demonstrates that their precise activation timing is key to effective resistance.
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NewsA common CRISPR platform enables comparative studies of multicellularity in social amoebae
Researchers have established a CRISPR genome editing technique that enables comparative analysis of the evolution of multicellularity across different species of social amoebas (cellular slime molds). Until now, genetic studies had been largely restricted to a single model species.
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NewsAncient symbiosis between plants and fungi: Important insights for sustainable agriculture
Almost all plants live in close symbiosis with so-called mycorrhizal fungi – an important symbiosis for absorbing essential nutrients. Scientists have discovered that this mycorrhizal symbiosis is very sensitive to imbalances of certain nutrients in the soil.
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NewsTiny plastics, green solutions: How algae could help clean polluted waters
A new review examines how algae interact with microplastics in aquatic systems. Importantly, it highlights how their biological interactions could be harnessed to mitigate microplastic pollution, offering new perspectives for sustainable aquatic environmental management.
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NewsNanoparticle vaccine approach takes on a new target: Hepatitis C virus
Scientists have engineered a native-like, stabilized version of Hepatitis C virus’s E1E2 complex and used it to build a nanoparticle-based vaccine candidate. It uses a technology called self-assembling protein nanoparticles, which organizes copies of the proteins into virus-like clusters that the immune system can recognize.
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NewsDiisobutyl phthalate at environmental concentration promotes conjugative transfer of antibiotic resistance genes
Researchers investigating the ecological safety risks posed by dibutyl phthalate (DBP), in aquatic environments found it significantly increased conjugative transfer frequency in both intragenus (E. coli DH5α to E. coli HB101) and intergenus (E. coli DH5α to B. subtilis WB100N) systems.
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NewsToxic algal bloom takes heavy toll on mental health
The year-long algal bloom along the South Australian coastline has not only devastated marine life and triggered health risks for humans and pets: it has also had a significant psychological impact on local residents, according to new research.
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NewsBig and small dogs both impact indoor air quality - just differently
An initial study reports that dogs — both big and small — impact indoor air quality. The researchers found that small active dogs produced more airborne particles, but larger animals released more microbes into the air than people did.
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NewsLife forms can planet hop on asteroid debris – and survive
The extremophile bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans can survive the pressures developed during ejection from Mars as a result of massive asteroid impact, a study shows. It means microorganisms can survive more extreme conditions than previously thought, including launch across space after major impacts.
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NewsTestosterone increases severity of bacterial skin infections
Men are more susceptible than women to skin infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, but the biological basis for this disparity has remained unclear. A new study is the first to reveal testosterone, present at higher levels in males, as a key driver of infection.