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Categories: Anthropology: Early Humans, Biology: Microbiology

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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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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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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.

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The idea that forest trees can 'talk' to each other, share resources with their seedlings -- and even protect them -- through a connective underground web of delicate fungal filaments tickles the imagination. The concept is so intriguing, it's taken root in popular media -- even being raised in the popular Apple TV show Ted Lasso -- and been dubbed the 'wood-wide web,' but the science behind those ideas is unproven, cautions an expert.

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Along the shores of Africa's Lake Victoria in Kenya roughly 2.9 million years ago, early human ancestors used some of the oldest stone tools ever found to butcher hippos and pound plant material, according to new research. The study presents what are likely to be the oldest examples of a hugely important stone-age innovation known to scientists as the Oldowan toolkit, as well as the oldest evidence of hominins consuming very large animals. Excavations at the site, named Nyayanga and located on the Homa Peninsula in western Kenya, also produced a pair of massive molars belonging to the human species' close evolutionary relative Paranthropus. The teeth are the oldest fossilized Paranthropus remains yet found, and their presence at a site loaded with stone tools raises intriguing questions about which human ancestor made those tools.

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Bioengineers and experts in tropical medicine have invented a new way of studying mosquito feeding behavior using technology instead of live volunteers. Their open-source design combines automated cameras, artificial intelligence and blood-infused, 3D-printed 'synthetic skin.'

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When it comes to fighting off invaders, bacteria operate in a remarkably similar way to human cells, possessing the same core machinery required to switch immune pathways on and off, according to new research.

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The infamous spike proteins on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 help it bind to and enter human cells. Because of their important role in spreading infection, these spike proteins are one of the main targets for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. But those remedies gradually lose effectiveness when certain segments of the spike proteins mutate. Now, researchers report that they have discovered small molecules that successfully target other segments that mutate less.

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A new study reveals how resistance to bacteraemic pneumonia is provided by a unique subset of lung T regulatory cells.

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A study reveals that licorice leaf extract is a potent bactericide and fungicide that can be used in conventional and organic agriculture.

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Researchers have found differences in the gut microbiomes of people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) compared to healthy controls. Findings from two studies add to growing evidence that connects disruptions in the gut microbiome, the complete collection of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live in our gastrointestinal system, to ME/CFS.

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For the first time, researchers mapped the metabolic mechanisms in a Comamonas bacterium that digests chemicals from plastic and plant waste. This new information could potentially lead to novel biotechnology platforms that harness the bacteria to help recycle plastic waste.