All Penn State articles
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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.
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NewsHow do microbiomes influence the study of life?
Researchers from the awardwinning One Health Microbiome Center reveal how holobiont biology underpins a holistic understanding of how life’s forms and functions, from human disease to agricultural output, depend upon the relationships between microbes and hosts.
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NewsWinners of Applied Microbiology International Horizon Awards 2024 announced
The winners of the Applied Microbiology International Horizon Awards 2024 have been announced.
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NewsMicrobes in mouth reflect lifestyle choices
A new study in Nepal reveals that oral microbiomes differ among traditional foragers, agriculturalists and industrialists, and with behaviors like smoking and diet.
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NewsBacterial protein discovered and engineered to better separate rare earth metals
A newly discovered protein naturally houses an unusual binding site that can differentiate between rare earth elements, and researchers have made it even better.
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NewsDeep-sea corals are home to previously unknown bacteria with extremely small genomes
Scientists have discovered two highly unusual bacterial species in the tissue of deep-sea corals from the Gulf of Mexico. The previously unknown coral symbionts have an extremely reduced genome and lack the ability to obtain energy from carbohydrates.
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NewsScientists examine how wastewater practices in Florida Keys impact water quality
A new study has tracked how wastewater nutrients migrate from disposal sites in the Florida Keys, and the results have already informed wastewater practices in the region.
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NewsWater fern offers safe potential global food insecurity solution - with no cyanotoxins
An international effort to test Azolla found that it does not contain cyanotoxins, potent toxins produced by a type of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, associated with the plant.
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NewsAI decodes microbes’ message in milk safety testing approach
DNA sequencing combined with artificial intelligence could detect anomalies that signal trouble in dairy production, researchers report.
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NewsRates of a tick-borne parasitic disease are on the rise
Cases of babesiosis increased 9% per year, on average, between 2015 and 2022 and nearly half were co-infected with another tick-borne illness such as Lyme disease, according to a new study.
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NewsPlant compound used in traditional medicine may help fight tuberculosis
A compound found in African wormwood — a plant used medicinally for thousands of years to treat many types of illness — could be effective against tuberculosis, according to a new study.