All UK & Rest of Europe articles
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NewsHorizon Awards 2025: Professor Elaine Cloutman-Green named as winner of Christiana Figueres Policy to Practice Award
Professor Elaine Cloutman-Green, Consultant Clinical Scientist at Great Ormond Street Hospital, has been named as the newest winner of the Christiana Figueres Policy to Practice Award.
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NewsHorizon Awards 2025: Professor Thomas Crowther named as winner of Rachel Carson Award 2025
British ecologist Professor Thomas Crowther has been named as the newest winner of the Rachel Carson Environmental Conservation Excellence Award.
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NewsNew study explores ‘legacy effects’ of soil microbes on plants across Kansas
A new study analyzes soils sampled across the state of Kansas to determine the importance of “legacy effects” — or how soils from a specific location are influenced by microbes that have evolved in response to the specific climate at that site for many years.
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NewsA nose for microbes: how hunger tunes the brain
New research reveals how missing just one essential amino acid can change gene expression and the brain’s sensory systems, prompting animals to seek out protein-rich yeast and gut bacteria that help them restore nutritional balance and survive in times of need.
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NewsBiochar and hydrochar show contrasting climate effects in boreal grasslands
Researchers tested how biochar and hydrochar, combined with nitrogen fertilizer, affected greenhouse gas emissions, soil carbon pools, and crop yield in a typical boreal legume grassland. They found that biochar and hydrochar influenced soil processes in opposite ways.
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NewsNew antibiotic for drug-resistant bacteria found hiding in plain sight
Chemists have discovered a promising new antibiotic that shows activity against drug-resistant bacterial pathogens, including MRSA and VRE. Pre-methylenomycin C lactone was ‘hiding in plain sight’ — as an intermediate chemical in the natural process that produces the well-known antibiotic methylenomycin A.
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NewsNew software tool fast-tracks identification and response to microbial threats
MARTi is an open-source software tool that powers real-time analysis and visualisation of metagenomic data. The team have created an accessible interface which increases the usability and accessibility of metagenomic analysis.
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News£4.56M Wellcome Discovery Award to investigate natural human resistance to Salmonella
The University of Liverpool’s Professor Jay Hinton and an international team have been awarded a £4,555,647 Wellcome Discovery funding to lead a five-year research programme exploring how some healthy humans are naturally protected from being infected by Salmonella Typhimurium.
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NewsPsoriasis-linked gene mutation also impacts gut health
A mutation previously linked to skin disorders like psoriasis may also play a surprising role in gut health, according to new research. This mutation activates skin immune responses but also affects the intestine, revealing a new connection between genetics, the immune system, and the gut.
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NewsStudy shows differences between documented and self-reported polio vaccination rates
Until poliovirus is eradicated worldwide, vaccination protection is important as the virus could be reintroduced at any time. Epidemiologists have now shown that many people in Germany do not know their vaccination status and cannot find it on their vaccination record.
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NewsWarmer Nordic springs double the incidence of avian malaria
A unique long-term study, in which biological samples were collected from the same population of blue tits over a 30-year period, shows that rising spring temperatures have doubled the incidence of avian malaria in southern Sweden.
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NewsGroundbreaking new projects launched to lower the cost of monoclonal antibody production
LifeArc and the Gates Foundation have awarded more than $5m to seven projects aimed at developing cheaper and more efficient ways to produce monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatments. The innovative approaches include using filamentous fungus to produce mAbs.
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NewsHorizon Awards 2025: Dr Manu De Rycker named as winner of WH Pierce Prize
Dr Manu De Rycker, a Principal Investigator at the University of Dundee, has been named as the newest winner of the WH Pierce Global Impact in Microbiology Prize.
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NewsDNA from Napoleon’s 1812 army identifies the pathogens likely responsible for the army’s demise during their retreat from Russia
Microbial paleogenomicists extracted DNA from the teeth of soldiers from Napoleon’s ill-fated invasion of the Russian Empire and found no trace of typhus. Instead, they identified two pathogens known to cause enteric fever and relapsing fever.
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NewsProtection against winter vomiting bug spread with arrival of agriculture
Norovirus clears up after a couple of days, but the protection it provides is short-lived, meaning that the same person can fall repeatedly sick in a short space of time. But some people cannot succumb to the virus, thanks to a particular gene variant whose historical spread has now been traced.
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NewsTiny ocean organisms missing from climate models may hold the key to Earth’s carbon future
The ocean’s smallest engineers, calcifying plankton, quietly regulate the Earth’s thermostat by capturing and cycling carbon. However, a new review finds that these organisms are oversimplified in the climate models used to predict our planet’s future.
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NewsAn edible fungus could make paper and fabric liquid-proof
Researchers report a way to waterproof materials using edible fungus. In a proof-of-concept study, the fungus grew an impervious film on common materials such as paper, denim, polyester felt and thin wood, revealing its potential to replace plastic coatings with sustainable materials.
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NewsFungi paved the way for life on land hundreds of millions of years earlier than previously thought
After reviewing the evolutionary timeline of fungi, scientists have determined that their origin dates back to between 900 million and 1.4 billion years ago. This means that fungi had already been living on Earth hundreds of millions of years before plants took root on our planet.
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NewsNew compound cuts off protein supply to parasites
There is an urgent need for new active ingredients that are capable of circumventing existing resistances in malaria. Researchers have now identified a new drug candidate, ’Substance 31’, which could enable the development of a new malaria drug.
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CareersSummer studentship: Owen investigates how fungal hyphae interact with lung cells
Owen Nicholson reports back on his AMI-sponsored summer studentship which investigated the role of Piezo1 in the immune response during fungal invasion of the human lung at the University of East Anglia.