One health
Communicable diseases remain one of the major causes of mortality worldwide. There are disparities in the numbers of individuals affected by disease between low-and-middle-income countries and those in developed nations. Microbes will play in important role in drug discovery: producing anticancer drugs and antimicrobials. Applying One Health principles, to understand the interaction of pathogens and the human host, development of diagnostics, treatments, and disease prevention, applied microbiologists can shape global health and wellbeing outcomes.
News
Amino acid boosts last-resort antibiotic’s effectiveness
Colistin is a powerful, last-resort antibiotic for bacterial infections, but the number of colistin-resistant infections is growing. New research suggests that adding L-arginine, an amino acid, to colistin may overcome resistance. Lab and mouse studies show promising results, but more tests are needed before the strategy can help people.
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NewsReview explores hepatitis B surface antigen clearance rate in chronic hepatitis B virus infection treated with pegylated interferon-α
Researchers review the hepatitis B surface antigen clearance rate with pegylated interferon-α therapy in different chronic hepatitis B infection populations.
NewsNew report calls for stronger One Health systems as climate risks grow
Climate change and shrinking global health budgets are increasing the pressure on systems designed to prevent diseases that spread between animals and people. A new report calls for stronger One Health surveillance, more investment in frontline veterinary and environmental services, and greater emphasis on preventing spillover before outbreaks begin.
News40-year mystery solved: Common gut virus infects bacteria, not human cells
Ever since one denizen of the gut microbiome, known as picobirnavirus, was first spotted decades ago, researchers thought it directly infected human tissue and played a role in gastrointestinal illness. But researchers have just rewritten that story: This widespread virus infects gut bacteria, not human cells.
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News
How evolutionary changes in a key enzyme may have tuned the protein synthesis rate
Evolutionary changes in key protein synthesis enzyme, isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase (IleRS), may help bacteria fine-tune how quickly proteins are made, report researchers. Researchers traced the enzyme’s evolutionary history and identified three distinct IleRS clades.
NewsSelective inhibitory effects of docosahexaenoic acid on oral bacteria
Researchers evaluated four polyunsaturated fatty acids against five common oral bacteria, in single-species and mixed-species cultures, and conducted an 8-day randomized, placebo-controlled human mouth-rinse intervention, analyzing saliva by metagenomic sequencing and qPCR.
NewsNew Chinese consensus sets out 16 recommendations for severe dengue
China has issued new clinical guidance for severe dengue as the disease spreads into new regions and increasingly affects older adults and people with underlying conditions. The consensus sets out 16 recommendations covering early warning signs, organ complications, fluid management and blood-product use.
NewsLarge-scale DNA assembly is reshaping microbial cell factory engineering
Engineering microbes to make medicines, fuels and fine chemicals increasingly depends on assembling very large stretches of DNA. A new review maps how technologies from Gibson assembly to synthetic genomes and neochromosomes are expanding what microbial cell factories can be programmed to produce.
NewsDead bacteria can keep making DNA with help from viruses
Researchers at Aarhus University have discovered that bacteria can continue producing DNA after they die. And they have found a way to control what gets produced. The discovery could eventually contribute to the development of new biological materials.
OpinionShigella: A phenotypic genus in a genomic era
In an era where evolutionary relationships can be resolved down to the single-nucleotide level, Shigella stands out as a relic of phenotype-based classification: a label built on lost traits rather than shared ancestry. Yet the genus persists, defended by appeals to clinical utility, says Georgina Donovan.
NewsRNA-protein interactions could lead to new coronavirus drug targets
A study has identified new targets for coronavirus antiviral drugs, including treatments that may be less vulnerable to the rapid evolution of these viruses. The research mapped previously unknown interactions across the SARS-CoV-2 genome between RNA and proteins involved in the virus’s replication and regulation.
NewsOne in four Americans have exaggerated or made up symptoms to try to get antibiotics
More than a quarter of Americans have exaggerated or made up symptoms to try to get antibiotics from their doctor, either for themselves or for their children, a new study has found.
NewsApilimod blocks hepatitis E virus entry by targeting PIKfyve
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a major cause of acute viral hepatitis, yet antiviral treatment remains largely limited to the off-label use of ribavirin. Seeking alternative treatments,scientists screened compounds that interfere with endocytic and endolysosomal pathways—the intracellular transport system used by HEV during cell entry.
NewsHPV-driven cell death pathways offer new directions for cervical cancer treatment
A new review proposes that PCD in cervical cancer should be understood not as a series of isolated pathways, but as an interconnected regulatory network that governs both tumor behavior and therapeutic sensitivity.
NewsMeasles outbreak shows how immunity gaps can unravel disease elimination
A year-long measles outbreak in Ontario was concentrated in closely connected, historically under-vaccinated communities and contributed to Canada losing its measles elimination status. Researchers warn that immunity gaps, cross-border social networks and declining trust in vaccination can quickly undermine decades of disease control.
NewsStudy shows how pre-existing immunity shapes second dengue infections
Why can a second dengue infection be more dangerous than the first? A controlled human challenge study shows how pre-existing antibodies can either boost viral replication or help restrain it, offering new clues for designing vaccines that protect against all four dengue virus types.
NewsStudy 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.
NewsGene-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.
NewsWhy 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.
News$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.
NewsAvian flu could push vulnerable vulture populations into further decline
H5N1 avian influenza is emerging as a serious threat to already vulnerable vulture populations, with deaths reported across the Americas and Europe. Researchers warn that losing these scavengers could also weaken a natural barrier against disease by allowing infected carcasses and pathogens to persist for longer.
NewsMyxobacteria reveal hidden chemistry with anticancer potential
Researchers have uncovered a previously hidden family of natural products made by soil-dwelling myxobacteria and traced how the molecules are assembled. Follow-up work showed that one of these compounds binds to AKR1C3, a human protein linked to several cancers, highlighting the drug-discovery potential of previously silent microbial genes.
NewsMarine compound shows promise against deadly brain-eating amoeba
A compound isolated from a marine bacterium may offer a faster way to attack Naegleria fowleri, the amoeba responsible for one of the deadliest known brain infections. In laboratory tests, rutamycin B reached full potency within four hours and was far more toxic to the parasite than to human cells.