All The University of Texas at Austin articles
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NewsScientists successfully harvest chickpeas from ‘moon dirt’
Scientists have successfully grown and harvested chickpeas using simulated “moon dirt,” the first instance of this crop produced in this medium. They added vermicompost and coated the chickpeas with the fungi arbuscular mycorrhizae before planting.
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NewsImaging technique is step towards needed treatments for hantaviruses in new molecular ma
Researchers have produced a detailed blueprint, the highest resolution yet, for a protein complex the Andes virus uses to infect host cells. The new detailed structural information enabled the researchers to produce a vaccine candidate that caused mice to produce neutralizing antibodies against the Andes virus.
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NewsA break in a longstanding mystery about origin of complex life
One of our microbial ancestors was part of a group called the Asgard archaea, which today live primarily in the deep sea and other oxygen-free spaces. Now scientists have found that some Asgards use, or at least tolerate oxygen.
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NewsEvidence of ‘lightning-fast’ evolution found after dino-killing asteroid impact
The asteroid that struck the Earth 66 million years ago devastated life across the planet, wiping out the dinosaurs and other organisms. But new research shows new species of plankton appeared fewer than 2,000 years after the world-altering event.
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NewsCytomegalovirus breakthrough could lead to new treatments
Researchers have developed a new type of antibody with a modified structure that can outsmart cytomegalovirus and neutralize its ability to evade the immune system.
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NewsDestroying crazy ant nest structure makes them vulnerable to pathogens
Scientists have devised a reliable way to introduce a natural pathogen in colonies, so that invasive tawny crazy ant populations collapse and other native species can recover.
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NewsAs school returns, so do infections & asthma emergencies. Where kids live can make it worse
A new study highlights how neighborhood conditions shape the seasonal surge of virus-triggered asthma emergencies. It found that children in under-resourced communities face sharply higher rates of asthma flare-ups tied to viral infections during the first weeks of school.
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NewsNew AI tool accelerates mRNA-based treatments for viruses, cancers, genetic disorders
A new artificial intelligence model can improve the process of drug and vaccine discovery by predicting how efficiently specific mRNA sequences will produce proteins, both generally and in various cell types.
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NewsResearch identifies key antibodies for development of broadly protective norovirus vaccine
A new study identifies powerful antibodies capable of neutralizing a wide range of norovirus strains. The finding could lead to the design of broadly effective norovirus vaccine, as well as the development of new therapeutic antibodies.
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NewsNewly discovered antibody protects against all COVID-19 variants
Researchers have discovered an antibody able to neutralize all known variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as distantly related SARS-like coronaviruses that infect other animals.
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NewsNext time you beat a virus, thank your microbial ancestors
When you get infected with a virus, some of the first weapons your body deploys to fight it were passed down to us from our microbial ancestors. Two key elements of our innate immune system came from a group of microbes called Asgard archaea.
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NewsAI opens door to safe, effective new antibiotics to combat resistant bacteria
A large language model—an AI tool like the one that powers ChatGPT—has been used to engineer a version of a bacteria-killing drug that was previously toxic in humans.
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NewsPersistent strain of cholera defends itself against forces of change, scientists find
A deadly strain of cholera bacteria that emerged in Indonesia back in 1961 continues to spread widely to this day, claiming thousands of lives around the world every year, sickening millions — and, with its persistence, baffling scientists. Source: CDC/ Dr. William A. Clark Under a magnification of ...
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NewsDaff-derived Alzheimer’s drug fermented with help from AI and bacteria moves closer to reality
An innovative approach uses artificial intelligence and biosensors to pave the way for faster drug development.
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NewsNew disease testing component facilitates lower-cost diagnostics
Biomedical researchers have developed a new, less expensive way to detect nuclease digestion – one of the critical steps in many nucleic acid sensing applications, such as those used to identify COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.