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Categories: Biology: Microbiology, Offbeat: Space

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Researchers have demonstrated that chemical compounds containing special metals are highly effective in fighting dangerous fungal infections. These results could be used to develop innovative drugs which are effective against resistant bacteria and fungi.

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Researchers investigated how the process of human body decomposition affected microbial life of the surrounding soil microbiome. One factor that may play an important role is body mass index (BMI), they report.

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A new study links an amphibian die-off in Costa Rica and Panama with a spike in malaria cases. The study demonstrates the importance of biodiversity to human health.

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Fungal pathogens have a major global impact upon human health -- they are often difficult to diagnose and treat, and there is an urgent need for better diagnostics and more effective antifungal treatments. Using newly developed imaging technologies, researchers have now revealed how Candida albicans, a common fungus, evades immune responses. According to the researchers this involves an 'alien-like' shape shifting that allows the fungus to break out of immune cells.

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Researchers have identified a new reason to protect mangrove forests: they've been quietly keeping carbon out of Earth's atmosphere for the past 5,000 years.

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Insects that are adapted to perennially wet environments, like tropical rainforests, don't tend to do well when their surroundings dry out. New research indicates they may be equally averse to heavy rainfall. The results of an extensive five-year study conducted in Peru revealed a 50% decline in arthropod biomass following short periods of both drought and increased precipitation. One of only a few studies of this scope conducted in the tropics, the findings suggest terrestrial arthropods, a group that includes insects and spiders, will be more susceptible to climate change than previously suspected.

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A fungus that is a common cause of fungal meningitis undergoes a remarkable transformation once it enters the body, allowing it to infect the brain, according to new research. The discovery could lead to new strategies for blocking Cryptococcus neoformans infection and preventing detrimental effects on the host. C. neoformans is the leading cause of a rare but deadly swelling of the brain that occurs in people with weakened immune systems.

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In a new study, researchers have identified the structure of protein fibrils linked to a hereditary form of human prion disease. This insight, they say, reveals the mechanism for how prions can jump between some animal species, while retaining a transmissibility barrier between other species.

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A hallmark of a truly luxurious meal is a sprinkling of truffle shavings -- the fungal kind, not the chocolate. Nicknamed 'diamonds' of the culinary world, these fanciful fungi are prized for their unique flavor and scent. But newer truffle species are fighting to achieve that same gourmet status. Now, researchers have performed the first full aroma characterization of the Appalachian truffle, unlocking the potential for a new North American 'black diamond.'

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New research has mapped the DNA from more than 150 species of native rodents from across Australia, New Guinea and Melanesian islands, painting a clearer picture of how they're related and how they ended up spreading across the Pacific.

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Researchers have found a naturally occurring compound, known as hydroquinine, has bacterial killing activity against several microorganisms.

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Scientists have discovered that the vast anatomical variety of fungi stems from evolutionary increases in multicellular complexity.

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The fungus Ustilago maydis attacks corn and can cause significant damage to its host. To do this, it first ensures that the plant offers little resistance to the infection. The surgical precision it applies is shown by a new study.

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Dust from all over the world is landing in the Sierra Nevada mountains carrying microbes that are toxic to both plants and humans. New research shows higher concentrations of the dust are landing at lower elevations, where people are more likely to be hiking.

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The worldwide distribution of one of the most important cereal pathogens is the result of human activity. Researchers have traced the history and spread of wheat powdery mildew along wheat trade routes and found that mixing of genetic ancestries of related powdery mildew species played a central role in the evolution and adaptation of the pathogen.

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Antibiotic resistance is a matter of common knowledge. And the same phenomenon also occurs with drugs against pathogenic fungi. What causes it is still not very well understood.

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A novel bioremediation technology for cleaning up per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, chemical pollutants that threaten human health and ecosystem sustainability, has been developed. The material has potential for commercial application for disposing of PFAS, also known as 'forever chemicals.'

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Grapevine Trunk Diseases, or GTDs, are the bane of vineyard owners worldwide, and as of 2012, were responsible for more than $1.5 billion in annual economic damages. While researchers have long known that a host of pathogenic fungi combine to gang up on grapevines, the mechanics of how these GTD-causing fungi work has remained a mystery.

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A promising new treatment for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) has shown 'very encouraging' early results following its use in six patients.

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China's Père David's deer was nearly gone in the late 1800s. Just 18 deer -- the very last of their kind -- were brought into captivity after the rest had been hunted to extinction. When 11 of the deer reproduced, the species had a chance. Today, after centuries of reintroductions and breeding under human care, the population sits at around 3,000. It's a success story. But that success could come crashing down if chronic wasting disease (CWD) were to infect the population.