Pathogen News and Research

RSS

AI-Assisted Protein Tools Guide Design of Synthetic Plant Immune Receptors

Crop production faces threats from plant pathogens. Traditional disease-resistance breeding relies heavily on natural plant resistance genes that encode immune receptors adapted to particular pathogens.

24 Jul 2026

New Research Explains How Toxoplasma Parasite Bookmarks Its Genes

A parasite carried by billions of people worldwide often causes harmful infections during pregnancy, in immunocompromised individuals, and is the cause of a leading infectious blindness in South America.

22 Jul 2026

Study Identifies Immune Cell Failures as Aging Drivers

We may age at different rates, but none of us escapes aging.

17 Jul 2026

Fungal Resistance Requires Healthy Genetic Traits and Intact Natural Landscapes

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that a frog's resistance to a fungus that has decimated hundreds of amphibian species worldwide is due not only to its genes, but also to the beneficial bacteria living on its skin and to the organization of its surrounding landscape.

16 Jul 2026

New Microbiome Study Reveals Natural Defense Mechanism Restricting Candida Albicans

A metabolic byproduct formed when gut bacteria break down dietary fiber appears to protect against dangerous fungal infections common in immunocompromised patients, a study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers shows.

15 Jul 2026

Genetically Stable Bacteriophages Open New Frontiers for Fighting Crop Disease

Researchers have discovered that a group of viruses known to infect an agriculturally important plant pathogen has remained genetically stable for an astonishing four decades.

14 Jul 2026

Next-Generation Biosensing Shows How Bacteriophages Revolutionize Bacterial Disease Detection

Pathogenic bacteria remain a persistent threat to public health, food supplies, and water systems, particularly as antimicrobial resistance makes infections increasingly difficult to treat.

11 Jul 2026

Advanced Synthetic Bone Graft Fights Infections and Kills Cancer Cells

Primary bone tumors, such as osteosarcoma, have seen stagnant survival rates over the past four decades.

10 Jul 2026

Two Antibiotics Outperform Single Drugs Against P. aeruginosa

Findings indicate that combining meropenem with ceftolozane-tazobactam significantly improves treatment outcomes against resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

8 Jul 2026

New Pathogen Mimics Symbiotic Microorganisms to Kill Stink Bugs

Researchers at National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), in collaboration with researchers from The University of Electro-Communications (UEC) and Akita Prefectural University, have discovered a new insect pathogen that invades the gut symbiotic organ of stink bugs by mimicking their symbiotic microorganism, and this pathogen ultimately kills the host bugs.

2 Jul 2026

Researchers Develop Non-Toxic Way to Generate the Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease

Scientists usually use animal models when studying Parkinson's disease because these models mimic the disease well.

30 Jun 2026

Penn Study Uses AI to Discover Prion-Based Antibiotics

New antibiotic candidates for drug-resistant bacteria may reside inside prions, mis-folded protein in the brain best known for rare and fatal degenerative brain diseases.

22 Jun 2026

Mapping Tiny Genetic Variations to Better Predict Future Global Pandemics

Most pandemics start when a pathogen spreads from animals to humans. It's a leading explanation for the COVID-19 pandemic: the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, is a cousin to coronaviruses that live in bats.

16 Jun 2026

Brazilian Researchers Identify Forty Five New Toxins in Salmonella Samples

Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have discovered 45 new toxins produced by Salmonella bacteria, some of which are associated with foodborne infections.

12 Jun 2026

Diagnosing and Treating Borrelia recurrentis Infections in Refugee Populations

Louse-borne relapsing fever is caused by the spirochete bacterium Borrelia recurrentis, which is transmitted by body lice (not head lice).

11 Jun 2026

Antibody-Directed Xenophagy Pathway Blocks Intracellular Infections From Spreading

Scientists have revealed the process by which cells can internally digest bacteria and viruses.

5 Jun 2026

Study Shows How AI and Single Cell Science are Changing Modern Medicine

Recent technological advances have pushed the boundaries of cellular biology far beyond what was conceivable even decades ago

4 Jun 2026

New Protein Discovery Reveals How Bacteria Transport Complex Sugars

Even though sugars are often framed as simple sources of energy, they also serve as structurally complex and functionally diverse molecules that mediate interactions between organisms.

1 Jun 2026

Rapid Diagnostic Tool Yields Definitive Bacterial Pathogen Screening Results in 40 Minutes Flat

Inspired by the widely used and user-friendly COVID-19 strip test kits, a team of science students from Chulalongkorn University has developed a test kit for detecting pathogens in milk and dairy products. The team combined the LAMP technique with strip test technology to create a simple screening tool for harmful bacteria that can be easily used by the public.

26 May 2026

Smart Gray Mold Pathogen Tastes Fruit and Vegetable Chemical Defenses to Counter Them

Even if you haven't heard of Botrytis cinerea, you've likely seen it - slowly growing in your store-bought blueberries, tomatoes or even on your beautiful orchids. Commonly known as gray mold, the fungus attacks hundreds of plants.

21 May 2026