Toxins News and Research

RSS

Study reveals why the FMO5 gene produces an enzyme with a different activity

Our body produces lots of enzymes that break down toxic substances. One class of such enzymes are the flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs), which are present in all tetrapods. Humans have five different FMO genes, of which the first four display the same activity. However, the fifth FMO gene triggers a different breakdown reaction. University of Groningen biochemists have succeeded in resurrecting the ancestral genes of all tetrapod FMOs to show how this divergence has occurred. Their results appear on 24 February in Nature Communications.

28 Feb 2023

Prototype treatment shows great potential in neutralizing snake toxins from multiple species

Prototype treatment for snake bite envenoming proves effective against the venom of African and Asian elapid snakes, such as some cobra, mamba, and krait species, new research shows.

24 Feb 2023

Modifying patients' intestinal flora could be a new therapeutic approach for colon cancer

Studies show that certain bacteria may contribute to the development of colorectal cancer by producing toxins that may damage colon cells or cause an accumulation of DNA mutations and/or intestinal inflammation.

23 Feb 2023

Study reveals how two proteins enable drug-resistant MRSA bacterium to secrete toxins

Antimicrobial resistance represents one of the top 10 global public health threats according to the World Health Organization, and scientists have been scrambling to find new tools to cure the most deadly drug-resistant infections.

14 Feb 2023

Keanumycins: An alternative in the fight against resistant fungi

Pseudomonas bacteria produce a potent antimicrobial natural product, according to scientists at the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Leibniz-HKI).

7 Feb 2023

Researchers discover new type of pathogenic fungus that infects potatoes

RUDN University biologists have discovered a new type of pathogenic fungus that infects potatoes and leads to massive crop loss.

31 Jan 2023

Researchers discover murderous survival strategy of yeast

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.

8 Nov 2022

“Deep fake” protein created with AI to tackle water pollutants

If text-based artificial intelligence image generator like Craiyon or DALL-E has ever been used, it would lead to the knowledge of lifelike, yet entirely, synthetic visuals that AI tools produce.

21 Oct 2022

Brain cells with the same birthdate display distinct connectivity

According to a recent study, brain cells with the same “birthdate” are more likely to connect into cooperative signaling circuits that perform a variety of tasks, including memory storage.

From New York University (NYU) 25 Aug 2022

Researchers analyze how cannabis cells make cannabinoids

Plant biologists have outlined the elevated “hacks” that cannabis cells use to produce cannabinoids (THC/CBD) for the first time. Although many biotechnology firms are currently attempting to engineer THC/CBD outside of the plant in yeast or cell cultures, it is still unclear how the plant does it innately.

8 Aug 2022

Researchers develop sustainable solutions to trick pathogens’ chemical communication with plants

Harmful fungi cause enormous agricultural losses. Conventional techniques for combating them involve the use of poisonous fungicides.

19 Jul 2022

NSU explore harmful algae blooms to better understand their origins and management

They are bluish-green, stinky and yucky. We're talking algae blooms, that phenomenon that happens in waterways around Florida. And since 2019, researchers at Nova Southeastern University's (NSU) Halmos College of Arts and Sciences have been studying them with the primary goal to find out why they occur.

13 Jul 2022

Experts identify genes responsible for toxin biosynthesis in unrelated poisonous mushrooms

Poisonous mushrooms are a great threat to human health, but they also create crucial drugs and biomolecules. Amanita mushrooms are without a doubt the most lethal of all of them.

7 Jun 2022

$750,000 partnership grant supports the development of portable biosensors for detecting foodborne contaminants

An international team led by a University of Massachusetts Amherst food and environmental virologist has received a $750,000 USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) partnership grant to develop and test portable, rapid biosensors capable of detecting noroviruses and mycotoxins in foods and agricultural products.

6 Jun 2022

Toxins News and Research

Study reveals why the FMO5 gene produces an enzyme with a different activity

Prototype treatment shows great potential in neutralizing snake toxins from multiple species

Modifying patients' intestinal flora could be a new therapeutic approach for colon cancer

Study reveals how two proteins enable drug-resistant MRSA bacterium to secrete toxins

Keanumycins: An alternative in the fight against resistant fungi

Researchers discover new type of pathogenic fungus that infects potatoes

Researchers discover murderous survival strategy of yeast

“Deep fake” protein created with AI to tackle water pollutants

Brain cells with the same birthdate display distinct connectivity

Researchers analyze how cannabis cells make cannabinoids

Researchers develop sustainable solutions to trick pathogens’ chemical communication with plants

NSU explore harmful algae blooms to better understand their origins and management

Experts identify genes responsible for toxin biosynthesis in unrelated poisonous mushrooms

$750,000 partnership grant supports the development of portable biosensors for detecting foodborne contaminants

SARS-CoV-2 can directly infect a specialized type of kidney cell

Encapsulated peptide could provide a new approach to fighting bacterial infections

Study highlights quality control pipeline method to analyze single-cell variation

Researchers show how proteins form DNA-repair mechanism in living bacteria

Cryo-electron microscopes help determine how “911” molecule repairs DNA damage

Researchers develop an antibody as a tool for opening the blood-brain barrier

Expert Insights: HiMedia Labs on Advancing Nucleic Acid Extraction Across Industries

Quorum Bio: Where Synthetic Biology Meets Sustainable Farming

Diagnostic Biochips: Pioneering Brain Research Tools for the Future

Latest in Genomics