Climate action
Today we are seeing climate change in action, increased concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases have led to a rise in sea levels, temperatures, and extreme weather patterns. Researchers have acknowledged the pivotal role microorganisms in producing sustainable biofuels, increasing carbon sequestration via soil microbes and reducing methane emissions in landfill sites. Microbial innovation will be vital in moving towards a low carbon economy.
News
Climate change linked surge in malaria transmission could be less than feared
Despite concerns about the potential impact of climate change on increasing malaria risk, there is still limited understanding of how temperature affects malaria transmission – until now.
Read story
NewsClimate change is multiplying the threat caused by antimicrobial resistance
Climate change is multiplying the threat caused by antimicrobial resistance (AMR), amplifying its growing risk through increasing global temperatures, greenhouse gas emissions and rising sea levels, experts have warned.
NewsMosquito-borne diseases become a global phenomenon in a warmer, more populated world
An additional 4.7 billion people around the world are predicted to be at risk of malaria and dengue by 2100 if emissions and population growth continue to rise at current levels.
NewsStudy uncovers molecular mechanism of chemical diversity of thermophilic fungus
The new findings might explain why Thermomyces species with a large reduced genome can survive in the biosphere where temperatures are often below their growth temperatures.
More Climate change
News
Bacteria can deliver on promise of climate-neutral chemicals of the future
To explore the potential of synthetic methylotrophs for the biotechnological production of industrially relevant bulk chemicals, researchers have equipped the bacteria with additional genes for four different biosynthetic pathways.
NewsAccelerated marine carbon cycling forced by tectonic degassing over the Miocene Climate Optimum
Massive carbon inputs from volcanism and seafloor spreading have impacted the orbital phase relationships between carbon cycle and climate change, a new study finds.
NewsYeast study helps answer age-old biology question of specialists vs. generalists
Researchers have mapped the genetic blueprints, appetites, and environments of more than 1,000 species of yeasts, building a family tree that illuminates how these single-celled fungi evolved over the past 400 million years.
NewsMarine microbial populations: Potential sensors of the global change in the ocean
A new study analyzes the knowledge generated to date on marine microbial populations and their role in the ecosystem, concluding that their analysis through space and time could reflect the effects of global change.
NewsWarming and exogenous organic matter input affects temperature sensitivity and microbial carbon use efficiency of agricultural soil respiration on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
A study highlights the complexity of the interaction between climate change and exogenous organic matter inputs and their importance in soil carbon dynamics.
NewsMarine plankton behaviour could predict future marine extinctions, study finds
Marine communities migrated to Antarctica during the Earth’s warmest period in 66 million years long before a mass-extinction event.
NewsCyanobacteria gene regulates growth of microbes that promote photosynthesis
Scientists have discovered a gene that plays a key role in the coordination of the nitrogen and carbohydrate metabolism: with it, cyanobacteria indirectly regulate the growth of microorganisms that promote photosynthesis.
NewsResearchers introduce microbial food as a strategy food production of the future
The global food crisis is increasing due to rapid population growth and declining food productivity to climate change. Moreover, today’s food production and supply system emit a huge amount of carbon dioxide, reaching 30% of the total amount emitted by humanity, aggravating climate change. Sustainable and nutritious microbial food is ...
NewsThe nitroplast revealed: a nitrogen-fixing organelle in a marine alga
A nitrogen-fixing bacterial endosymbiont of marine algae is evolving into a nitrogen-fixing organelle, or nitroplast, thereby expanding a function that was thought to be exclusively carried out by prokaryotic cells to eukaryotes.
CareersThe Future is Fungi Award: showcasing the fascinating problem-solving scope of fungi
The huge potential of fungi for solving some of the world’s most pressing environmental problems came under the spotlight at The Future Is Fungi Award.
NewsA microbial plastic factory for high-quality green plastic
Engineered bacteria can produce a plastic modifier that makes renewably sourced plastic more processable, more fracture resistant and highly biodegradable even in sea water.
NewsInside look at how plants and mycorrhizal fungi cooperate
A new view into a symbiosis could offer benefits to address climate change: pulling atmospheric carbon into soil and boosting biofuel feedstocks with less fertilizer.
NewsPlastic-free vegan leather that dyes itself grown from bacteria
Researchers at Imperial College London have genetically engineered bacteria to grow animal- and plastic-free leather that dyes itself.
NewsOnline dashboard to help fight to save children from deadly diarrheal diseases
Researchers are developing a flexible online tool for navigating information used in the fight to save children from deadly diarrheal diseases by identifying transmission hotspots and accelerating the deployment of treatments and new vaccines.
NewsResearchers discover evolutionary “tipping point” in fungi
Scientists have found a ‘tipping point’ in the evolution of fungi that throttles their growth and sculpts their shapes, demonstrating how small changes in environmental factors can lead to huge changes in evolutionary outcomes.
NewsIn Lake Erie, climate change scrambles zooplankton’s seasonal presence
A new analysis of zooplankton in western Lake Erie shows that their biomass and seasonal behavioral patterns have been drastically altered by human-driven changes in water temperature and food webs.
NewsNew soil model integrates microbes and large perennial grasses
A new soil model integrates soil microbes and the distinct physiological traits of large perennial grasses into DayCent.
NewsClimate change disrupts vital ecosystems in the Alps
Reduced snow cover and shifting vegetation patterns in the Alps, both driven by climate change, are having major combined impacts on biodiversity and functioning of ecosystems in the high mountains, according to new research published today.
NewsExperts warn climate change will fuel spread of infectious diseases
A team of infectious diseases experts called for more awareness and preparedness in the medical field to deal with the impact of climate change on the spread of diseases.
