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Categories: Biology: Microbiology, Geoscience: Geology

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In a bid to understand why mosquitoes may be more attracted to one human than another, researchers say they have mapped specialized receptors on the insects' nerve cells that are able to fine-tune their ability to detect particularly 'welcoming' odors in human skin.

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Researchers have generated the first induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from bats, gaining valuable insights into the close relationship between bats and viruses.

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A Danish creek has surprised researchers by containing previously unknown virus species.

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56 million years ago, the Earth experienced one of the largest and most rapid climate warming events in its history: the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which has similarities to current and future warming. This episode saw global temperatures rise by 5-8°C. It was marked by an increase in the seasonality of rainfalls, which led to the movement of large quantities of clay into the ocean, making it uninhabitable for certain living species. This scenario could be repeated today.

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Changing the structure of a dietary fiber commonly found in a range of food products has been found to promote healthy gut bacteria and reduce gas formation, a finding that could help people with intolerances to fiber and irritable bowel conditions.

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Researchers have confirmed the first cases of canine distemper virus (CDV), which can cause fatal neurological disease, in tigers and leopards in Nepal.

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A new technique provides fresh insight into the process by which the materials that formed Earth's core descended into the depths of our planet, leaving behind geochemical traces that have long mystified scientists.

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In a potential game changer for the treatment of superbugs, a new class of antibiotics was developed that cured mice infected with bacteria deemed nearly 'untreatable' in humans -- and resistance to the drug was virtually undetectable.

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New research on friction between faults could aid in predicting the world's most powerful earthquakes. Researchers discovered that fault surfaces bond together, or heal, after an earthquake. A fault that is slow to heal is more likely to move harmlessly, while one that heals quickly is more likely to stick until it breaks in a large, damaging earthquake. Tests allowed them to calculate a slow, harmless type of tremor. The discovery alone won't allow scientists to predict when the next big one will strike but it does give researchers a valuable new way to investigate the causes and potential for a large, damaging earthquake to happen, and guide efforts to monitor large faults like Cascadia in the Pacific Northwest.

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A new study in humans and mice shows the antibodies generated by your first COVID vaccination or infection can actually 'hurt' subsequent booster shots. That's because these antibodies rapidly 'mop up' the booster from the body, before it has a chance to stimulate the cells from the immune system. The scientists plan new experiments to administer drugs that transiently block antibody activity at the time of boosting to allow the vaccine to be sensed better by immune cells.

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'Forever chemicals' are everywhere -- water, soil, crops, animals, the blood of 97% of Americans -- researchers are trying to figure out how they got there. Their recent findings suggest that the microbes that help break down biodegradable materials and other waste are likely complicit in the release of the notorious per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into the environment.

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The microbes responsible for some infections can rapidly mutate into variants that evade detection and treatment. Now, a newly developed procedure could help researchers catch up to these sneaky pathogens.

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The spread of antibiotic resistance, where infectious bacteria are able to defeat the drugs intended to kill them, may not be primarily driven by antibiotic consumption, according to a new study.

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Baby kangaroo feces might help provide an unlikely solution to the environmental problem of cow-produced methane. A microbial culture developed from the kangaroo feces inhibited methane production in a cow stomach simulator. After researchers added the baby kangaroo culture and a known methane inhibitor to the simulated stomach, it produced acetic acid instead of methane. Unlike methane, which cattle discard as flatulence, acetic acid has benefits for cows as it aids muscle growth.

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Like the neurons firing in human brains, bacteria use electricity to communicate and respond to environmental cues. Now, researchers have discovered a way to control this electrical signalling in bacteria, to better understand resistance to antibiotics.

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Ginger has a reputation for stimulating the immune system. New results now support this thesis. In laboratory tests, small amounts of a pungent ginger constituent put white blood cells on heightened alert. The study also shows that this process involves a type of receptor that plays a role in the perception of painful heat stimuli and the sensation of spiciness in food.

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What role could rifted margins play in the transition to a carbon-neutral economy? Researchers summarize the current state of knowledge about the so-called rifting of continents. Rifting is the term researchers use to describe the process by which continental plates break and new oceans are formed.

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New research suggests that reducing virulence in drug resistant infections rather than trying to kill bacteria outright may offer an alternative approach to treatment. The study revealed how two proteins enable the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacterium to secrete the toxins that make people sick. The research suggests that therapies targeting these two proteins could disable MRSA, making it less deadly and possibly even harmless. Such an approach would also reduce the risk of promoting antibiotic resistance.

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In some years, rice blast disease destroys more than one quarter of the harvest worldwide. But it's hard to fight with current methods. Researchers have now discovered how the fungus breeches the tough skin of the rice leaf and determined the structure of the enzyme secreted to puncture the leaf. They're now searching for chemical blockers that would work as a spray-on fungicide for rice and other crops.

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Communities of microbes that work together release more carbon dioxide than competitive communities, contributing more to climate change.