All Penn State articles
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NewsResearchers uncover relationship between gut fungi, human genetic variation and disease risk
A study uncovers evidence of the first ternary relationships between human genetic variation, variation in gut mycobiome, and risk of developing chronic disease.
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NewsBacteria strains infecting cattle and humans in US are highly similar
Salmonella Dublin, a type of bacteria that primarily infects cattle but some strains also can adapt to infect humans, is increasingly becoming resistant to antibiotics, making it a growing public health threat.
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NewsImperfect underground processes help filter wastewater in Florida Keys
Researchers find that microbial and other processes do not completely clear wastewater shallowly injected into groundwater of potentially harmful contaminants.
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NewsFungicides intended to suppress turfgrass diseases may damage fairways
Golf course managers have much more insight into which fungicides to use to suppress turfgrass diseases, such as the common and costly dollar spot disease, without damaging the grass on their fairways, thanks to a new study.
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NewsImmunity to seasonal flu protects against severe illness from bird flu in ferrets
A study in ferrets — which have remarkably similar respiratory systems to humans — suggests that widespread immunity to H1N1 seasonal influenza virus may explain why exposure to H5N1 bird flu causes only mild symptoms in humans.
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NewsNighttime pistachio snacking may reshape gut microbiome in prediabetic adults
A new study has determined that nighttime pistachio consumption affects gut bacteria in adults with prediabetes. The potential therapeutic implications of the findings may prove significant for people who are working to improve their metabolic health.
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NewsStructure of tick-borne virus revealed at atomic resolution for the first time
One emerging tick-borne virus in North America is the Powassan virus (POWV), which can cause encephalitis, seizures, paralysis and coma. Rates of POWV infections have increased in recent years and currently, there are no treatments available.
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NewsNominations for the 2025 Horizon Awards now open
Applied Microbiology International has announced the launch of nominations for the 2025 Horizon Awards, which celebrate the brightest minds in the field and promote the research, group, projects, products and individuals who help shape the future of applied microbiology.
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NewsNew mRNA vaccine is more effective and less costly to develop, Pitt study finds
A new type of mRNA vaccine is more scalable and adaptable to continuously evolving viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and H5N1, according to a study.
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News$2.7 million NIH grant to fund first comprehensive syphilis test
With a four-year, $2.7 million grant from NIAID, researchers aim to develop a one-step confirmatory laboratory test that can definitively diagnose active syphilis infection within 10 minutes.
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NewsThe beginning of the end: Setting a global target for rubella eradication
Scientists discuss the 2024 World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation for universal introduction of rubella-containing vaccines (RCVs) into childhood vaccination programs in all countries – particularly in the remaining 19 countries that have yet to do so.
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NewsFDA-approved dialysis drug may help fight against antimicrobial resistance
In account of the imminent threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a study revealed that the FDA-approved sevelamer, which is used to treat chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis, is successful in the removal of other off-target antibiotics (vancomycin and daptomycin) from the gut.
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NewsTunnel-building virus: How Zika transmits from mother to fetus
For the first time, researchers demonstrated the component involved in the tunneling nanotubes built by Zika virus to infect placental cells, an infection mechanism which is unique to the Zika virus alone.
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NewsSynthetic microbiome therapy suppresses bacterial infection without antibiotics
A synthetic microbiome therapy, tested in mice, protects against severe symptoms of a gut infection that is notoriously difficult-to-treat and potentially life threatening in humans. Clostridioides difficile is a bacterium that can cause severe diarrhea, abdominal pain and colon inflammation.
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NewsStealth virus: Zika virus builds tunnels to covertly infect cells of the placenta
Researchers have discovered that Zika virus in the placenta builds underground tunnels, a series of tiny tubes called tunneling nanotubes, that facilitate the transfer of viral particles to neighboring uninfected cells.
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NewsNIH awards $20.6 million grant to establish Human Virome Characterization Center at UCLA
NIH has awarded a $20.6 million grant over five years to establish one of five Human Virome Characterization Centers to advance understanding of the virome’s role in human health and disease across the oral-gut-brain axis.
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NewsPet dogs often overlooked as spreader of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella
Household dogs are an overlooked transmission point for zoonotic pathogens such as nontyphoidal Salmonella, which can cause diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps, with some infections potentially having life-threatening complications.
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NewsSugar solution fights infection in dairy cows just as well as antibiotics
A concentrated sugar solution could be just as effective as antibiotics at treating a common infection in dairy cows, according to a new study.
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NewsNature’s instructions: How fungi make a key medicinal molecule
Scientists outline how they deciphered nature’s own instructions — namely, the genes of the mold Penicillium citrinum — to discover a previously unreported enzyme that catalyzes the creation of cyclopentachromone-containing compounds.
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NewsOne Health Microbiome Center named as winner of WH Pierce Global Impact in Microbiology Prize 2024
The One Health Microbiome Center at Penn State has been named as this year’s winner of the WH Pierce Global Impact in Microbiology Prize 2024.