Pathogen News and Research

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Researchers determine a novel antiviral technique to combat bacteria

Bacteria use a wide range of defense strategies to combat viral infection, and some of these systems have resulted in game-changing technologies like CRISPR-based gene editing.

From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 15 Aug 2022

Biotrophic fungus uses host auxin signaling pathway for its own purposes

Ustilago maydis attacks and reproduces in the aerial parts of the corn plant. At the location of the infection, massive tumor-like tissue growths frequently develop. The size of these galls can exceed that of a child’s skull.

12 Aug 2022

Research shows higher concentrations of microbe-laden dust landing at lower elevations in Sierras

Dust from all over the world is landing in the Sierra Nevada mountains carrying microbes that are toxic to both plants and humans.

10 Aug 2022

COVID-19 spike protein caused severe heart damage, new research shows

Heart damage is prevalent in COVID-19 patients, leading many to doubt how the virus impacts the heart.

28 Jul 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

Research highlights the impacts of biomolecules in plants over stress

Diphthamide is a biomolecule required for the correct synthesis of proteins in cells.

18 Jul 2022

Comparative mass spectrometry strategy determines the viral and cellular candidate proteins of poxvirus

Pox viruses get a head start on infecting a host by delivering a package of proteins that interferes directly with the innate immune system of the host.

15 Jul 2022

Research highlights how natural cellular molecules trigger plant immune responses

Natural cellular molecules that control vital plant immune responses have been found, according to two studies conducted by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, Germany, and their Chinese counterparts.

From The Max Planck Institute 11 Jul 2022

COVID-19 vaccination stimulates antibodies aiming parts of virus spike protein among corona variants, researchers discover

Can the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine reactivate previously suppressed antibody responses and pave the way for a unified coronavirus vaccine?

8 Jul 2022

Study deciphers the mechanisms of bacterial host cell adhesion

To create a new class of antibiotics, investigators from University Hospital Frankfurt and Goethe University Frankfurt have figured out how bacteria adhere to host cells.

4 Jul 2022

Climate change may be the cause for unusual disease outbreak among Antarctic fish

Climate change might be behind an unusual disease outbreak among Antarctic fish.

30 Jun 2022

Scientists restructure the genome of E. coli using fragments extracted from mummy

An international group led by McMaster University researchers, in partnership with the University of Paris Cité, has recognized and reconfigured the first ancient genome of E. coli using fragments derived from a 16th-century mummy’s gallstone.

17 Jun 2022

OTUD3 shows opposing effects in innate immunity to RNA and DNA viruses

The identification of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) by pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) is the first step in initiating an immune response to viral infection.

13 Jun 2022

Research findings provide clues on the properties that might have made A. baumannii a successful pathogen

Over 670,000 people in Europe become ill each year as a result of pathogenic bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, and 33,000 people die as a result of the diseases they cause. Pathogens that are resistant to multiple antibiotics at the same time are particularly dangerous.

6 Jun 2022

Research shows how current drugs impact bacterial physiology

Tuberculosis is a stubborn disease caused by even more stubborn bacteria. While many bacterial infections clear up within days of taking antibiotics, TB can take up to six months to clear up and, in some cases, never leave the human body. In 2020, it claimed 1.5 million lives, second only to COVID-19 in terms of infectious disease deaths.

1 Jun 2022

Researchers develop a new biochemical process to analyze plant immunity

Researchers from Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research (MPIPZ) and the University of Cologne have identified a new biochemical process that explains how immune proteins protect plants against invading microbes. Their results have been reported in Cell.

From The Max Planck Institute 27 May 2022

Researchers understand the mechanisms of deadly fungal infections

Worldwide research on Fusarium oxysporum discovered that the lack of a certain type of enzyme boosts the incidence of infection, paving the way for new ways to limit its infection.

23 May 2022

Researchers determine the ethical difficulties in microbiome research

A human rights activist and a team of anthropologists and human biologists are scrutinizing how Indigenous peoples are involved in microbiome research.

23 May 2022

Research sheds light on mechanism for skin cell death, likely to help treat cancer

Researchers at Emory University have uncovered a mechanism for skin cell death that might lead to novel therapies for “flesh-eating” infections, alopecia, hives, and possibly even melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer.

18 May 2022

Scientists detect rare genetic signs of drug-resistant tuberculosis with the aim to stop disease progression

Many people believe tuberculosis (TB) is a disease of the past. Nonetheless, it claims over a million lives each year. Furthermore, the problem is escalating as Mycobacterium tuberculosis—the pathogen that causes tuberculosis develops resistance to the antibiotics used to treat the disease.

12 May 2022