All USA & Canada articles – Page 47
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NewsStudy: How can we stop the spread of flu?
Researchers wanted to find out how the flu spreads, so they put college students already sick with the flu into a hotel room with healthy middle-aged adult volunteers. The result? No one caught the flu.
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NewsMicrobes in breast milk help populate infant gut microbiomes
A new study provides one of the most detailed portraits yet of how different combinations of bacteria in human milk contribute to the assembly of infants’ gut microbiomes.
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NewsBeyond gene scissors: New CRISPR mechanism discovered
Two studies describe how researchers found a novel CRISPR mechanism, Cas12a2, in a family of nucleases that exclusively cleave DNA. In contrast, Cas12a2 was able to broadly cleave both RNA and DNA.
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NewsCommon brain parasite can infect your immune cells. Here’s why that’s probably OK
Researchers have determined how our immune systems fight back against the parasite Toxoplasma gondii when it makes it inside the CD8+ T cells meant to destroy it.
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NewsCholera vaccine completes phase 1 trial
A clinical trial shows promising results for PanChol, a single-dose oral vaccine aimed at the up to 4 million annual cholera cases worldwide.
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NewsSome antibodies outmaneuver germs from sticking to cells
Researchers have uncovered several new mechanisms by which antibodies block E. coli bacteria that cause urinary tract infections from attaching to bladder cells. Once E. coli bacteria get a strong grip, they can be difficult to flush out.
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NewsCRISPR discovery could lead to single diagnostic test for COVID, flu, RSV
Researchers report newly discovered details about the Cas12a3 immune system that precisely targets transfer RNA in invading pathogens, without destroying host cells.
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NewsFatal infection risk in newborns may increase when this bacteria and fungus mix
A new study reveals that when Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) interacts with Candida albicans, GBS is more likely to spread disease and become harder to treat in newborns. Infection by both microbes reduces the effectiveness of existing GBS treatments.
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NewsDiscovery could lead to new treatments for drug-resistant fungal infections
Researchers have identified a molecule that may help turn the tide on fungal infections — butyrolactol A, a chemical compound that targets a deadly, disease-causing fungi called Cryptococcus neoformans.
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NewsScience army mobilizes to map US soil microbiome
A small army of researchers are working to catalog the vast and largely unknown soil microbiome of the United States. The project, one of the biggest microbiome studies ever attempted, has already resulted in the discovery of more than 1,000 new strains of bacteria and never-before-seen microbes.
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NewsHigh levels of Chagas disease parasite found in bugs near US-Mexico border
Researchers have found unusually high levels of parasitic infection in the insects that transmit Chagas disease in the Borderlands. The bugs were collected near homes and natural areas along the U.S.-Mexico border.
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NewsMicrobes may hold the key to brain evolution
A groundbreaking new study reveals that changes to the gut microbiome can change the way the brain works. It provides the first empirical data showing the direct role the gut microbiome plays in shaping differences in the way the brain functions across different primate species.
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NewsDeep ocean earthquakes drive Southern Ocean’s massive phytoplankton blooms, study finds
Researchers have uncovered evidence that deep underwater earthquakes can spur the growth of massive phytoplankton blooms at the ocean surface. The new findings point to a previously unknown relationship between the ocean floor and life at the surface.
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NewsFlour choice shapes sourdough microbial communities
Researchers analyzed sourdough starters to understand how the type of flour shaped the microbial community. They found that strains in the genus Kazachstania, a common sourdough yeast, to be most abundant in all the starters, but the bacterial composition varied by flour varieties.
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NewsFrom prey to predator: How carnivores spread beneficial fungi
New research reveals that carnivores play an important role in ecosystem function by providing a largely overlooked mechanism for long-distance dispersal of beneficial mycorrhizal fungi.
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NewsBacteria resisting viral infection can still sink carbon to ocean floor
Researchers exploring the mechanisms of phage resistance and its effects on the ecological jobs done by ocean bacteria found that some of the mutations studied don’t interfere with the bacteria’s ability to carry out their job of capturing and sinking carbon to the ocean floor.
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NewsGut bacteria have evolved rapidly to digest starches in ultra-processed foods
Researchers have found that gene variants that help microbes digest starches found in ultra-processed foods have “swept” the genomes of some species of gut bacteria in industrialized parts of the world.
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CareersA day in the life of a soil microbial ecologist
Dr. Taniya RoyChowdhury, a soil microbial ecologist and biogeochemist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, describes a typical day.
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NewsResearch links tumor bacteria to immunotherapy resistance in head and neck cancer
Two new studies reveal that elevated levels of bacteria in the tumor microenvironment suppress immune response, driving resistance to immunotherapy in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
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NewsCytomegalovirus breakthrough could lead to new treatments
Researchers have developed a new type of antibody with a modified structure that can outsmart cytomegalovirus and neutralize its ability to evade the immune system.