All University of Massachusetts Amherst articles
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NewsSoil bacteria and minerals form a natural ‘battery’ that breaks down antibiotics in the dark
Researchers have unveiled a surprising new way that soil microbes can use sunlight energy. The team developed a “bio-photovoltage soil-microbe battery” that can capture, store, and release solar energy to power the breakdown of antibiotic pollutants in the dark.
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NewsEngineers use bacterial nanowires to create first artificial neurons that could directly communicate with living cells
Engineers have created an artificial neuron with electrical functions that closely mirror those of biological ones. Using protein nanowires synthesized from electricity-generating bacteria, the discovery could herald immensely efficient computers built on biological principles.
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NewsScientists show how to grow more nutritious rice that uses less fertilizer
Scientists have shown that nanoscale applications of selenium can decrease the amount of fertilizer necessary for rice cultivation while sustaining yields, boosting nutrition, enhancing the soil’s microbial diversity and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
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NewsJie Xiao to receive 2026 Carolyn Cohen Innovation Award from The Biophysical Society
The Biophysical Society has announced that Jie Xiao, of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USA, will receive the 2026 Carolyn Cohen Innovation Award.
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NewsAnswers to existence of alien life might be found in Earth’s deep-sea volcanoes
NASA has awarded microbiologist James Holden $621,000 to spend the next three years using his expertise to help predict what life on Jupiter’s moon Europa might look like. For that, Holden turned to an unexpected place: the volcanoes a mile beneath our own oceans.
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NewsAntimicrobial common in everyday items linked to allergic conditions in children
Researchers found that children exposed to higher levels of triclosan may be more likely to develop eczema and allergy symptoms.
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NewsTick researchers identify new strain of rickettsia bacteria that causes spotted fever infections in humans
In a residential backyard in Maine, researchers stumbled upon a surprise finding: rabbit ticks harboring a new type of bacteria related to a group of pathogens that can cause sometimes life-threatening spotted fever rickettsioses (SFR) infections in humans.
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NewsChickpea and pea tempeh under development as new plant-based protein foods
New research focuses on fermenting dry chickpeas and dry peas to create a new type of tempeh, traditionally made with soybeans. Preliminary research suggests meat alternatives may help offset the health risks of the Western diet.
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NewsScientists to explore role soil microbes play in helping hemlocks survive woolly adelgid
Scientists are investigating why some stands of Eastern hemlock are able to resist a non-native, hemlock-loving invasive species known as the hemlock woolly adelgid which is wiping out the trees throughout the East Coast of the U.S.
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NewsThe banana apocalypse is near, but biologists might have found a key to their survival
Fusarium wilt of banana is decimating the Cavendish banana—the world’s most popular commercially available banana. New research reveals that this strain did not evolve from the strain that wiped out commercial banana crops in the 1950s.
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NewsResearch aims to streamline the detection of foodborne viruses
A research team has received a USDA grant to develop rapid, portable, single-tube technology to help maintain safety of the food supply.
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NewsNew research suggests few people get sick after bite from ticks infected with Powassan virus
Scientists have published new findings on Powassan virus, reporting that people bitten by black-legged (or deer) ticks that tested positive for the virus did not show signs or symptoms of disease.
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News2,000-year-old shipworm mystery solved - its destructive skills are down to bacterial symbionts
Scientists have discovered that a population of symbiotic microbes, living in an overlooked sub-organ of the shipworm gut called the ’typhlosole’, have the ability to secrete the enzymes needed to digest lignin—the toughest part of wood.
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NewsNew testing approach improves detection of rare but emerging Powassan virus spread by deer ticks
Researchers have come up with a new, more accurate method for detecting in ticks the emerging Powassan virus, which can cause life-threatening neuroinvasive disease, including encephalitis and meningitis.
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NewsExposure to Mycobacterium seems to remodel immune response against TB
A collaborative team has uncovered how prior exposure to bacteria changes the lung’s innate immune response - and what it might mean for vaccines.
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NewsResearchers discover how to sabotage antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’
Scientists say they have learned how to sabotage a key piece of machinery that pathogens use to infect their host cells, and have developed a test to identify the next-generation drugs to target this vulnerable cellular machinery.
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NewsMicrobial slime layer can be unlocked with oxalic acid
The extracellular matrix of some microbes only gels when oxalic acid or other simple acids are present.
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NewsBumblebee superfood battles gut pathogen - and boosts queen bee production
Two new papers show that the spiny pollen from plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae) both reduces infection of a common bee parasite by 81–94% and markedly increases the production of queen bumble bees.
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NewsWhite-tailed deer blood kills bacteria that causes Lyme disease
The blood of the white-tailed deer kills the corkscrew-shaped bacterium that causes Lyme disease, a potentially debilitating illness.
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NewsBeneficial bacteria in the infant gut use nitrogen from breast milk to support baby’s health
Beneficial microbes in the gut of infants use nitrogen from human milk to support paediatric nutrition and development.