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Xylem filters from native trees help purify drinking water

The interiors of nonflowering trees such as pine and ginkgo contain sapwood lined with straw-like conduits known as xylem, which draw water up through a tree's trunk and branches. Xylem conduits are interconnected via thin membranes that act as natural sieves, filtering out bubbles from water and sap.

From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 26 Mar 2021

Scientists generate a detailed molecular atlas of lung development

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have produced a detailed molecular atlas of lung development, which is expected to be a fundamental reference in future studies of mammalian biology and of new treatments for diseases, such as COVID-19, that affect the lungs.

25 Mar 2021

Bacteria residing within tumor cells may boost cancer immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy may get a boost from an unexpected direction: bacteria residing within tumor cells. In a new study published in Nature, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science and their collaborators have discovered that the immune system "sees" these bacteria and shown they can be harnessed to provoke an immune reaction against the tumor.

23 Mar 2021

Mitigating the negative impacts of artificial light at night on wildlife

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a major factor in global insect decline. In a paper published today in Insect Conservation and Diversity, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) scientists and partners found that using amber-colored filters to remove the blue spectra of light from "warm white" LED (light-emitting diode) lamps drastically reduces insect attraction to nocturnal lighting in a tropical forest.

18 Mar 2021

Researchers develop new cell-based test system to identify immunoregulatory modulators

Our immune system is very successful when it comes to warding off viruses and bacteria. It also recognizes cancer cells as potential enemies and fights them. However, cancer cells have developed strategies to evade surveillance by the immune system and to prevent immune response.

18 Mar 2021

Collective behavior of bacterial swarms may lead to the emergence of antibiotic resistance

A new study shows that the bacterial equivalent of a traffic jam leads to the formation of multilayered biofilms in the presence of antibiotics.

17 Mar 2021

Four strains of Methylobacteriaceae discovered

The latest discovery aboard the International Space Station could now enable scientists to develop the “fuel” to help plants endure such stressful conditions.

From NASA 17 Mar 2021

Key protein regulates cells’ innate defense mechanisms

Scientists from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) have found that heparanase (HPSE) is an important regulator of innate defense mechanisms of cells.

17 Mar 2021

Spraying leaves with vitamin C can dramatically increase protein production

The production of high-value pharmaceutical proteins in plants provides benefits over other manufacturing techniques.

10 Mar 2021

Study offers fresh insights into infection process during spaceflight

Astronauts face many challenges to their health, due to the exceptional conditions of spaceflight. Among these are a variety of infectious microbes that can attack their suppressed immune systems.

10 Mar 2021

Probiotic spray reduced incidence of fire blight in apple flowers

While many celebrate apple blossoms as classic signs of spring, they are also welcoming entry gates for pathogens. Full of nutrients to lure pollinators and promote pollen germination, flowers also attract bacteria like Erwinia amylavora, a pathogen that causes a damaging disease called fire blight.

10 Mar 2021

New drug target identified for antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Scientists have discovered a key mechanism that enables dangerous bacteria to develop resistance to antibiotics.

9 Mar 2021

UMD awarded grant to explore nettle as a functional food for improving health

Obesity, diabetes, and overall immune system health are issues that are all top-of-mind right now, especially during the pandemic.

9 Mar 2021

Combined treatment can effectively destroy insects in stored grains

Insects, mold, and bacteria in stored grains can be effectively killed through a combined treatment of essential oil vapors and irradiation.

8 Mar 2021

Fluorescent chemical dye helps track specific motor protein within cells

A cell can stay alive only when it supplies all the required energy elements to its various organelles and these elements are formed in the Golgi apparatus.

8 Mar 2021

Gut mycobiome correlates with metabolic outcomes in response to diet

Studies of the microbiome in the human gut focus mainly on bacteria. Other microbes that are also present in the gut -- viruses, protists, archaea and fungi -- have been largely overlooked.

8 Mar 2021

New automated workflow to identify genetic basis of microbial growth inhibition

Researchers at the Earlham Institute (EI) have created a new automated workflow using liquid handling robots to identify the genetic basis to prevent plant pathogens, which can be used on a much larger and rapid scale than current methods.

5 Mar 2021

Legal wildlife trade needs monitoring to reduce emerging zoonotic diseases

With three out of four newly emerging infectious human diseases originating in animals, there is an urgent need to monitor the legal trade in wildlife, according to new research by Vincent Nijman, Professor in Anthropology at Oxford Brookes University.

5 Mar 2021

Study shows causal relationship between neonatal antibody production and mother's microbiota

A healthy system of gut bacteria, or microbiota, is crucial to health: Gut bacteria not only aid with digestion, but also play an important role in the body's immune response. Infants, however, are not born with full-fledged gut microbiota, which makes it difficult for them to fight off intestinal infections.

4 Mar 2021