All University of Toronto articles
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NewsStudy uncovers how low-carb diet drives colorectal cancer development
A new study suggests that a low-carbohydrate diet promotes the growth of a strain of E. coli that produces DNA-damaging colibactin, which drives genetic mutations and predisposes tumour development.
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NewsPaxlovid’s impact on hospitalization and death in COVID-vaccinated older adults far weaker than previously thought
A new study overturns the assumption that Paxlovid’s effectiveness in reducing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in unvaccinated adults also applies to vaccinated adults.
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NewsResearchers uncover control mechanisms of polysaccharide utilization in gut bacterium
Polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs) complexes enable bacteria to bind, break down, and import specific polysaccharides, contributing to successful gut colonization. A new study explores how PULs are regulated post-transcriptionally to adapt to environmental changes.
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NewsClimate change linked with worse HIV prevention and care
Researchers find that climate change and extreme weather events impact HIV prevention and care through numerous pathways, including increased HIV exposure, reduced testing, and worse health outcomes for people living with HIV.
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NewsStudy uncovers how a new gut microbe drives the gut-lung axis
New findings highlight how a little-known member of the gut microbiome reshapes the lung immune environment to have both beneficial and detrimental effects on respiratory health.
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NewsResearchers develops metagenomic profiling method
Researchers have developed a new k-mer sketching metagenomic profiler, called sylph, that allows scientists to analyze genomic data more quickly and precisely than other profilers.
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NewsFloor swabbing could help prevent COVID-19 outbreaks in hospitals
In two Ontario hospitals, high levels of SARS-CoV-2 on floors correlated with COVID-19 cases among healthcare workers and patients, suggesting floor swabbing as a potential method to prevent outbreaks.
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NewsSoil’s secret language: Researchers decode plant-to-fungi communication
Researchers have cracked the code of plant-to-fungi communication, using baker’s yeast to reveal that the plant hormone strigolactone (SL) activates fungal genes and proteins associated with phosphate metabolism, a system that is key to growth.
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NewsConscience announces top performers in open science challenge to design promising pan-coronavirus drugs
The nonprofit drug discovery biotech Conscience has released seven newly discovered promising early-stage molecules that could lead to a new treatment effective against all coronaviruses, not just SARS-CoV-2.
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NewsRSV vaccination in older adults with health conditions is cost-effective
Targeting vaccination programs for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to older adults with underlying health conditions is a cost-effective way to reduce disease, according to a new modelling study.
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NewsInfections following hip replacement associated with an increased risk of death, study finds
Patients who develop a periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) after a total hip replacement have more than a five-fold increased risk of mortality within 10 years, according to new research.
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NewsResearchers discover ‘trojan horse’ virus hiding in human parasite
An international team led by researchers at the University of Toronto has found a new RNA virus that they believe is hitching a ride with a common human parasite.
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NewsResearchers discover compounds produced by gut bacteria that can treat inflammation
Researchers have found naturally occurring compounds in the gut that can be harnessed to reduce inflammation and other symptoms of digestive issues.
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NewsResearchers a step closer to a cure for HIV
A new study demonstrates that a patented therapeutic candidate, an HIV-virus-like-particle (HLP), is 100 times more effective than other candidate HIV cure therapeutics for people living with chronic HIV on combined antiretroviral therapy (cART).
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NewsGenes fuelling antibiotic resistance in Yemen cholera outbreak uncovered
Widespread antibiotic resistance among cholera-causing bacteria causing the outbreak in Yemen since 2018 explained by gene mixing.
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NewsNatural compound found in plants inhibits deadly fungi
A new study finds that a natural compound found in many plants inhibits the growth of drug-resistant Candida fungi — including its most virulent species, Candida auris, an emerging global health threat.
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NewsDeadly fungus beaten with treatment blocking fatty acid formation
Researchers have discovered a new way to attack fungal infections by blocking fungi from being able to make fatty acids, the major component of fats.
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NewsSoil microbes help plants cope with drought, but not how scientists thought
Researchers have found microbes help plants cope with drought, but not in response to plants’ cries for help - instead, the environment itself selects for drought-tolerant microbes.
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NewsEngineered virus with immunotherapy safe and improves cancer outcomes
A new study validates the safety of a combination approach using an engineered virus and immunotherapy to target an aggressive brain cancer, and offers promise to adapt treatment strategies.
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NewsChange in genetics of SARS-CoV-2 evolved to counter weakness caused by the virus’s initial mutation
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine say their new studies suggest that the first pandemic-accelerating mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, evolved as a way to correct vulnerabilities caused by the mutation that started the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.