In an exhaustive search of microbes from more than 1,400 insects collected from diverse environments across North and South America, a research team found that insect-borne microbes often outperformed soil bacteria in stopping some of the most common and dangerous antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Medicine was transformed in the 20th century by the discovery and development of…
Vaccinating laboratory mice with Streptococcus mitis bacteria prevents their virulent sibling, Streptococcus pneumoniae from infecting the mice. The research suggests that vaccination of humans with live S. mitis might offer protection from some of the many serotypes of S. pneumoniae that vaccines currently do not exist for. This pathogen is one of the most common causes of severe pneumonia, and can also cause…
Researchers retrieved a peculiar fungus from an artwork in the Old Cathedral of Coimbra, Portugal during a multi-disciplinary scientific survey. The organism was found to belong to the group of microcolonial black fungi, which are infamous amongst conservationists and biologists who care for historic monuments. Significant biodeterioration to stone monuments They cause significant biodeterioration to…
Antibiotic-Resistant Genes (ARGs) that were first detected in urban India. Scientists found them 8,000 miles away in one of the last ‘pristine’ places on earth. Soil samples taken in Svalbard have now confirmed the spread of blaNDM-1 into the High Arctic. Worldwide spread of blaNDM-1 and other antibiotic-resistant genes is a growing concern because they often…
Using a tool first used for strep throat in horses, Houston Methodist researchers unveiled the secret life of flesh-eating bacteria and learned how it causes severe disease while living deep within muscle. The team focused on necrotizing myositis, a devastating human infection with a very high mortality rate. Caused by group A streptococcus, this flesh-eating disease attacks the muscle, resulting in death up to 50 percent of the time and often leaves survivors with severe deformities and missing limbs.
Research from the Perelman School of Medicine and School of Arts and Sciences pointed to a role for lifestyle, geography, and genetics, with surprising similarities to US populations in some cases. Our microbiome, the complex community of bacteria, fungi, parasites, and other microorganisms in and on our bodies, reflects the way we live. If we own a pet, we likely share microbes with them. If we eat meat, the microbiome in our intestines may look different from that of a vegan.
Fecal transplants have become routine treatment for nasty recurrent diarrheal infections, but trials for other conditions have hit a bum note. Now, scientists have re-examined the evidence. Time and again, they found one donor whose stool was substantially more likely to lead to clinical improvement than others in the same trial. These 'super-donors' can provide the necessary bacteria to restore gut chemicals that are lacking in illnesses like IBD and diabetes, according to a new review published in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology.
Coralline red algae have existed for 130 million years, in other words since the Cretaceous Period, the time of the dinosaurs. At least this was the established view of palaeontologists all over the world until now. However, this classification will now have to be revised after fossils discovered by researchers at GeoZentrum Nordbayern at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) in conjunction with researchers at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, prove that coralline red algae existed as far back as 430 million years ago.
University of Otago research to better understand how bacteria and their viruses interact and evolve will enable future studies to exploit the use of bacteria and their viruses for potential biotechnology and health applications. Researchers are investigating the function of bacteria immune systems and what impact they have on the coevolution of bacteria and viruses was published in a top tier scientific journal, Cell Host and Microbe.
There are hundreds of metabolic disorders including phenylketonuria, tyrosinemia, maple syrup urine disease and homocystinuria. These disorders lead to congenital diseases that produce a critical enzyme deficiency that interferes with the body's metabolism. The pathologies and symptoms vary among the diseases, but all of them are usually fatal and have no known cure. Most metabolic disorders affect infants.
A new class of engineered proteins may counter infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus–a bacterial species considered one of the largest global health threats, a new study suggests. Published online in Science Translational Medicine, the study is the result of a five-year research partnership between scientists at NYU School of Medicine and Janssen Research & Development, LLC (Janssen).
Just like land plants, algae use sunlight as an energy source. Many green algae actively move in the water; they can approach the light or move away from it. For this they use special sensors (photoreceptors) with which they perceive light. Scientists have discovered an unusual new light sensor in green algae. The sensor triggers a reaction that is similar to one in the human eye.