Pathogen News and Research

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Scientists Discover Genetic Switch that Controls Candida's Toxin Production

The yeast fungus Candida albicans employs the toxin candidalysin not only to cause infections but also to inconspicuously colonize the oral mucosa—though only in precisely regulated amounts.

29 Sep 2025

Study Reveals How Lymphatic Cells Preserve Immune Memory

A study published today in Nature Communications describes how lymphatic endothelial cells assist in generating robust immune memory, offering new insights into how the immune system functions.

26 Sep 2025

Chromatin Accessibility Shapes Growth and Stress Response in Blue Mold

Blue mold, caused by Penicillium expansum, is one of the most destructive postharvest diseases, leading to economic losses across fruit supply chains.

23 Sep 2025

Editing SlVI Gene Enhances Sugar Content and Disease Resistance in Tomato Fruit

Tomato fruit development relies on complex sugar metabolism, including the conversion of stored starch into sucrose, glucose, and fructose.

22 Sep 2025

Integrative Genomic Approaches Reveal Mechanisms of Garlic Storability

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is one of the world's most widely consumed spices and health supplements, with China producing 80% of the international supply.

22 Sep 2025

CRISPR Breakthrough Makes Cacao Plants More Resistant To Deadly Disease

This study shows CRISPR-Cas9 modifications to the TcNPR3 gene in cacao reduce Phytophthora susceptibility, supporting eco-friendly agricultural practices.

17 Sep 2025

Cheesemaking Inspires New Insights into Fungal Evolution and Food Security

Many scientific discoveries are serendipitous-the result of chance. Seeing evolution in action in a cheese cave turned out to be exactly that for Benjamin Wolfe, associate professor of biology, and his colleagues.

15 Sep 2025

Pre-Wired T Cells Offer a New Path for Cancer Vaccines

A team of immunologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has turned what we know about T-cells, one of the most important parts of the body's immune system, on its head, opening the door to next-generation cancer vaccines.

13 Sep 2025

New Genomic Analysis Platform Launched for Tracking for Zoonotic Pathogens

Zoonotic pathogens, capable of crossing between animals and humans, pose escalating threats due to antimicrobial resistance, genetic diversification, and complex transmission patterns.

11 Sep 2025

Ancient Plant Protein Unlocks New Strategy for Engineering Disease-Resistant Crops

Researchers led by Ken Shirasu at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan have identified an ancient protein that has the potential to help defend plants against tens of thousands of different bacteria and other pathogens.

5 Sep 2025

Targeting the Oral Metagenome to Boost Healthy Bacteria

Professor Zhang, a chemical and biomolecular engineering professor at UC Berkeley, is working to distinguish between the healthy and unhealthy bacteria in the human mouth. Her goal is to promote a probiotic oral microbiome by increasing the population of beneficial bacteria.

5 Sep 2025

Ancient Microbial DNA Recovered from Million Year Old Mammoth Remains

An international team led by researchers at the Centre for Palaeogenetics, has uncovered microbial DNA preserved in woolly and steppe mammoth remains dating back more than one million years.

3 Sep 2025

Plants Activate Immunity Instead of Growth During Drought Recovery

A plant's number one priority is to grow-a feat that demands sunlight, nutrients, and water. If just one of these three inputs is missing, like water in a drought, growth halts.

2 Sep 2025

New Molecules from the McMaster Greenhouse Target Drug-Resistant Fungi

A research team at McMaster University has discovered a new drug class that could someday lead to breakthrough treatments for dangerous fungal infections.

13 Aug 2025

Researchers Uncover How Macrophages Respond to Infection Stress

Fighting infections requires speed and accuracy. A team of researchers from CeMM and MedUni Vienna, led by Christoph Bock and Matthias Farlik, explored how macrophages—the body’s initial responders—handle this stress.

11 Aug 2025

Mapping T Cell Targets to Fight Coronaviruses and Beyond

Most vaccines are designed to provide immunity against just one pathogen. Vaccines for chicken pox (caused by varicella-zoster virus) were only developed to fight that one disease, for example.

8 Aug 2025

Genetic Mapping Uncovers Six New Species of Glasswing Butterflies

Some butterflies can smell others of the same species, allowing them to identify each other in areas where multiple species all look the same, new research finds.

30 Jul 2025

Small Viral Protein ORF3a Reveals Big Role in SARS-CoV-2 Infectivity

In a recent study published in Nature Communications, researchers from the University of Chicago discovered that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) uses a small but powerful protein, ORF3a, to assemble the infectious particles, making it more efficient at spreading the disease.

29 Jul 2025