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Categories: Anthropology: Early Humans, Biology: Microbiology

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It is estimated that there are approximately 3 to 13 million fungal species on Earth, many of which are microscopic in size. They live in a range of environments such as in soils, inside the tissues of leaves in rainforests, and in deep oceans. Understanding how fungi move across a range of spatial scales is important to understanding ecosystems and has implications for agriculture and human health, according to a new review.

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A collaborative team has re-engineered the process of microbial pathogen identification in blood samples from pediatric sepsis patients using broad-spectrum pathogen capture technology. The advance enables accurate pathogen detection with a combination of unprecedented sensitivity and speed, and could significantly improve clinical outcomes for pediatric and older patients with bloodstream infections (BSIs) and sepsis.

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Sinks and P-traps are home to a surprising number of fungal organisms.

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Antibiotic treatment disrupts the balance of beneficial and harmful bacteria in a person's gut. That disruption can lead to the overgrowth of fungal species in the gut mycobiota, including the common intestinal yeast Candida albicans. However, researchers only have a limited understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Researchers now report on how treatment with a common beta-lactam antibiotic led to significant changes in C. albicans in patients.

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Reforestation projects should include a variety of tree species and ensure genetic diversity within each species to maximize new forests' health and productivity.

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Researchers have discovered and characterized a DNA sequence found in jawed vertebrates, such as sharks and humans, but absent in jawless vertebrates, such as lampreys. This DNA is important for the shaping of the joint surfaces during embryo development.

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About 600 seemingly disparate fungi that had resisted categorization have been shown to have a common ancestor, according to a a research team that used genome sequencing to give these peculiar creatures a new classification home.

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A team of researchers has identified a group of human DNA sequences driving changes in brain development, digestion and immunity that seem to have evolved rapidly after our family line split from that of the chimpanzees, but before we split with the Neanderthals.

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Infectious diseases experts warn of the rising threat and apparent spread of disease-causing fungi outside their traditional hot spots. Fungal lung infections are commonly misdiagnosed, leading to delays in treatment and increase in antimicrobial resistance in the community.

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A genetic survey of porcini mushrooms across the Northern Hemisphere found that these delicious fungi evolved in surprising ways -- contrary to the expectations of many who think that geographic isolation would be the primary driver for species diversity. In fact, there are regions in the world where porcini maintain their genetic distinctiveness in local ecological niches, even if they are not isolated geographically from other genetic lineages.

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Researchers found that the fungus Metarhizium robertsii removes mercury from the soil around plant roots, and from fresh and saltwater. The researchers also genetically engineered the fungus to amplify its mercury detoxifying effects. This new work suggests Metarhizium could provide an inexpensive and efficient way to protect crops grown in polluted areas and remediate mercury-laden waterways.

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Researchers have discovered that the three main kinds of soil fungi that cause lung infections have all expanded their ranges in recent decades. Reliance on outdated maps could be causing delayed or missed diagnoses.

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The preserved footprints found in New Mexico's Lake Otero Basin would upend scientific understanding of how, and when, humans first arrived in North America, if they are accurately dated. A new study brings the age claim into question.

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The remains of a huge carp fish mark the earliest signs of cooking by prehistoric human to 780,000 years ago, predating the available data by some 600,000 years, according to researchers.

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Yeast is not the simple single-celled microorganism we once thought, but a competitive killer. When starved of glucose, yeast releases a toxin that will poison other microorganisms that have entered its surrounding habitat, even its own clones. This venomous phenomenon was previously unknown and contributes to our understanding of unicellular microorganism behavior, the evolution of unicellular to multicellular organisms, as well as having potentially useful applications for the food industry.

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The formation of fruiting bodies for sexual reproduction is a central developmental process in fungi. Even though genetic methods have been applied in recent decades to identify a large number of factors involved in this process, we still lack an understanding of how the formation of different cell types is regulated. A research team has gained new insights by studying a mutant sac fungus that is infertile. The mutant is impaired in its respiratory chain, thus lacking the energy to form fruiting bodies.

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A recent experiment provides evidence of a bark beetle species' agricultural capability. The fruit-tree pinhole borer can suppress the growth of weed fungi and promote food fungi.

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Using DNA from two ancient humans unearthed in two different archaeological sites in northeast Brazil, researchers have unraveled the deep demographic history of South America at the regional level with some surprising results. Not only do they provide new genetic evidence supporting existing archaeological data of the north-to-south migration toward South America, they also have discovered migrations in the opposite direction along the Atlantic coast -- for the first time. Among the key findings, they also have discovered evidence of Neanderthal ancestry within the genomes of ancient individuals from South America.

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The use of ancient DNA, including samples of human remains around 45,000 years old, has shed light on a previously unknown aspect of human evolution.

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Researchers have identified a specific T cell that produces cytokines necessary for immunity against fungal pathogens. The finding could hasten development of effective fungal vaccines. Fungal pneumonia was a deadly comorbidity in COVID infections globally.