Latest news
Study reveals fungi as overlooked players in agricultural antibiotic resistance
Fungi may be helping antibiotic resistance genes survive during livestock manure composting. Researchers found that suppressing fungal activity weakened microbial networks and increased the removal of resistance genes, suggesting that fungi could play an overlooked role in the environmental spread of antimicrobial resistance.
Scientists warn deadly chytrid fungus is approaching a unique amphibian haven
An isolated mountain range in Colombia remains free of the deadly chytrid fungus that has devastated amphibians elsewhere in the Americas. But researchers found a highly virulent variant only about 20 kilometres away, creating a rare opportunity to protect a rich amphibian community before the disease arrives.
Translucent petals create microclimates that shape flower microbiomes
Translucent patches in flower petals can alter the light and heat inside blooms, creating tiny microclimates that shape the microbes living there. Researchers found that warmer flowers tended to harbour fewer microbes, suggesting that petal structure may influence floral microbiomes and potentially plant-pollinator interactions.
Gene-regulatory pathway helps T cells tolerate gut bacteria and prevent inflammation
The immune system somehow tolerates trillions of gut bacteria without constantly attacking them. Researchers have now identified a gene-regulatory pathway that helps regulatory T cells maintain this peace, with defects in the pathway triggering severe inflammation and autoimmunity in mice.
Why do some people spread the flu while others avoid infection? Mizzou researchers investigate
Why do some people spread influenza efficiently while others barely pass it on? A new $19 million NIH-funded research programme will investigate how immunity, temperature and humidity shape airborne flu transmission, with the aim of improving vaccines and other prevention strategies.
Microbes could become factories for the next generation of food ingredients
Precision fermentation is moving beyond niche ingredients towards a broader role in food production, from egg-white substitutes to proteins that mimic meat. Researchers argue that scaling the technology across both high-value and everyday ingredients could help make food production more sustainable and resilient.
Study reveals fungi as overlooked players in agricultural antibiotic resistance
Fungi may be helping antibiotic resistance genes survive during livestock manure composting. Researchers found that suppressing fungal activity weakened microbial networks and increased the removal of resistance genes, suggesting that fungi could play an overlooked role in the environmental spread of antimicrobial resistance.
Scientists warn deadly chytrid fungus is approaching a unique amphibian haven
An isolated mountain range in Colombia remains free of the deadly chytrid fungus that has devastated amphibians elsewhere in the Americas. But researchers found a highly virulent variant only about 20 kilometres away, creating a rare opportunity to protect a rich amphibian community before the disease arrives.
Translucent petals create microclimates that shape flower microbiomes
Translucent patches in flower petals can alter the light and heat inside blooms, creating tiny microclimates that shape the microbes living there. Researchers found that warmer flowers tended to harbour fewer microbes, suggesting that petal structure may influence floral microbiomes and potentially plant-pollinator interactions.
Perpetual Next signs agreement to accelerate the roll-out of standardized biomethanol plants
Perpetual Next have signed a License and Engineering Agreement with Air Liquide Engineering and Technologies for the supply of syngas-to-methanol technology for Perpetual Next’s first biomethanol facility, with an option to extend across other biomethanol sites.
AFYREN and Terrial renew their partnership for French-manufactured potash fertilizers
AFYREN and Terrial today announce the renewal of their strategic partnership with the signing of a new multi-year fertilizer supply contract, worth several tens of millions of euros This long-term contract strengthens both companies’ commitment to making French agriculture more sustainable and less dependent on international fertilizer markets.
Electricity-powered yeast converts CO₂ into useful chemicals
Researchers have developed an electrobioreactor that turns carbon dioxide into itaconic acid, a valuable chemical used in plastics, textiles and resins. The system combines electrochemistry with engineered yeast, offering a potential route to produce bio-based chemicals from emissions instead of sugar.
Two-in-one tool tracks viral RNA inside live infected cells in real time
The tool lets researchers film activity of Zika and chikungunya viruses in high resolution and identify virus-host interactions, a key step to developing effective antiviral strategies that could stop infections
Light-powered algae bring a soft robotic arm to life
A soft robotic arm powered by living algae can bend, grasp and lift small objects using only changes in light. The device turns photosynthesis-driven changes in acidity into mechanical motion, offering a glimpse of soft robots that could respond to their environment with very little external energy.
Why do some people spread the flu while others avoid infection? Mizzou researchers investigate
Why do some people spread influenza efficiently while others barely pass it on? A new $19 million NIH-funded research programme will investigate how immunity, temperature and humidity shape airborne flu transmission, with the aim of improving vaccines and other prevention strategies.
$16.4m NIH grant launches new hepatitis C vaccine centre
Hepatitis C has long frustrated vaccine developers with its extraordinary ability to mutate and evade immunity. A new $16.4 million research centre will bring together experts in antibodies, T cells and vaccine design to identify the virus’s most stable weak points and develop broadly protective vaccine candidates.
Horizon Awards 2026: Professor Marciane Magnani named as winner of Basil Jarvis Prize
Professor Marciane Magnani, Professor of Food Science at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), Brazil, has been named as the winner of the Basil Jarvis Food Security & Innovation Award.