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Categories: Biology: Microbiology, Ecology: Extinction

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Researchers created a germ-free mouse model to evaluate the role of the microbiome in the infection, replication, and pathogenesis of HIV and the Epstein-Barr virus, the virus that can cause mononucleosis and other serious diseases.

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A new observation suggests that a life-threatening blood clotting disorder can be caused by an infection with adenovirus, one of the most common respiratory viruses in pediatric and adult patients.

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A study has identified a new pathway that human immune deficiency virus (HIV) uses to enter the nucleus of a healthy cell, where it can then replicate and go on to invade other cells.

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Following the first stay-at-home orders issued in the U.S. to curb the spread of COVID-19, gastrointestinal viruses such as norovirus, rotavirus and adenovirus all but disappeared from California communities, and remained at very low levels for nearly 2 years, according to new research.

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A scientific journey decades in the making has found a new antibiotic strategy to defeat gram-negative bacteria like Salmonella, Pseudomonas and E. coli, the culprits in many urinary tract infections. The synthetic molecule works fast and is durable. It interferes with synthesis of the bacterial outer membrane by jamming an enzyme. When tested against a clinical collection of 285 bacterial strains, including some that were highly resistant to commercial antibiotics, it killed them all.

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Breastfeeding has long been used as a method to help keep newborns healthy and protected against a variety of diseases. But certain sugars naturally found in breastmilk could also help prevent infections before a baby arrives. Researchers have found that these sugars can stop a common prenatal infection in human tissues and pregnant mice. This could someday help people avoid preterm births or complications without the need for additional antibiotics.

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Two oral drugs, molnupiravir and paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir), provide equivalent therapeutic benefit in preventing severe COVID-19 in animal models, but only molnupiravir efficiently blocked SARS-CoV-2 transmission when administered at a human effect size-equivalent dose, according to a new study.

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The drug tecovirimat is currently in use for the treatment of mpox -- the disease caused by monkeypox virus -- that spread worldwide in 2022. Tecovirimat is an anti-poxviral drug, and its use is driving the emergence of drug-resistant variants of the monkeypox virus. Scientists have identified how monkeypox virus exploits a cellular protein to evade host defenses, allowing it to replicate and spread better. Existing drugs -- developed to treat other viral infections -- also target this cellular protein. When tested against a range of poxviruses, including monkeypox, these drugs were found to have antiviral effects in all cases.

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New research indicates that mitigating both local land and sea-based human impacts, especially in terms of pollutants and over-fishing, provides coral reef ecosystems with the best opportunity to persist under climate change. Along some highly populated areas on the shorelines of Hawai'i, wastewater pollution and urban runoff combine with fishing pressures to put immense stress on coral reefs.

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In-water monitoring shows hard coral cover across the Great Barrier Reef remains at similar levels to that recorded in 2022, with small decreases in the Northern, Central and Southern regions. AIMS' Annual Summary Report on Coral Reef Condition for 2022/23 found that while some reefs continued to recover, their increased hard coral cover was offset by coral loss on other reefs. Most reefs underwent little change in coral cover.

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Current efforts to protect and restore native biodiversity is being threatened by difficulties in identifying wild and domestic cats, and categorization is likely to remain fraught for the foreseeable future, experts have warned.

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A remarkable new fossil from China reveals for the first time that a group of reptiles were already using whale-like filter feeding 250 million years ago.

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Some HIV-1 carriers who have received an early antiretroviral treatment during several years are able to control the virus for a long term after treatment interruption. However, the mechanisms enabling this post-treatment control have not been fully elucidated. Scientists have now investigated and revealed how neutralizing antibodies, including those described as broadly neutralizing, contribute to virus control. A clinical trial involving the use of broadly neutralizing antibodies should begin in France before the end of 2023.

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Fungal infections are killing thousands of Americans each year, some with a morbidity rate of nearly 80%. To make matters worse, only a handful of antifungal treatments are available, and even those are becoming less effective as fungi become more resistant. However, researchers recently published findings indicating that a novel breakthrough treatment may have been discovered.

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Scientists have worked out how one unusual species of trilobite -- an ancient, sea-dwelling relative of spiders and lobsters -- was able to defend itself against predators and survive a bumpy ride as Earth's oxygen levels fluctuated.

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Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is known to convert resting B lymphocytes into immortal cells that continuously multiply, leading to posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD). Researchers have now uncovered the molecular mechanisms of this growth transformation, demonstrating the crucial role of the cancer-related gene IMPDH2 and nucleolar enlargement. Additionally, the research revealed strong evidence supporting the efficacy of mycophenolate mofetil, an approved immunosuppressant, in inhibiting PTLD, highlighting its therapeutic significance.

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Bacteria make up more than 10% of all living things but until recently we had little realization that, as in humans, soil bacteria have internal clocks that synchronize their activities with the 24-hour cycles of day and night on Earth. New research shows just how complex and sophisticated these bacterial circadian clocks are, clearing the way for an exciting new phase of study.

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Researchers have discovered a previously unknown mechanism by which bacteria share their genetic material through virus parasites. The insights could help scientists to better understand how bacteria rapidly adapt and evolve, and how they become more virulent and resistant to antibiotics.

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Hospital-acquired infections are often hard to treat because the corresponding pathogens become increasingly resistant against antibiotics. The bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii is particularly feared, and there is great pressure to devise novel therapeutic approaches to combat it. Bioinformaticians have now detected an unexpectedly wide diversity of certain cell appendages in A. baumannii that are associated with pathogenicity. This could lead to treatment strategies that are specifically tailored to a particular pathogen.

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Poaching of two Critically Endangered Kordofan giraffes per year could result in extinction in just 15 years within Cameroon's Bénoué National Park without intervention.