Pathogen News and Research

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“Nanobiologic” immunotherapy can train the immune system to eliminate tumor cells

Until recently, it was believed that the innate immune system, the body's first line of defense, lacked the ability to remember pathogens like the adaptive immune system.

2 Nov 2020

SARS-Cov-2 spike proteins can directly impact the function of blood-brain barrier

Like a key, SARS-CoV-2 - the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) - attaches to specific molecules on the host cell surface, opening gateways into the cell interior.

30 Oct 2020

Human immune system may play a key role in shaping the microbiome composition

The gut is an unusually noisy place, where hundreds of species of bacteria live alongside whatever microbes happen to have hitched a ride in on your lunch.

30 Oct 2020

Researchers receive $2.6 million grant to examine tau-glycan interactions involved in Alzheimer's disease

Tangles of misfolded tau proteins in the brain are closely associated with memory loss in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

29 Oct 2020

Researchers develop new sensors to detect gene activity

A team of researchers have developed genetic sensors that are capable of detecting the activity of genes, instead of only the genes themselves.

From The University of Warwick 27 Oct 2020

Research on broadly neutralizing antibodies may lead to universal flu vaccine

New research from an immunology team at the University of Chicago may shed light on the challenges of developing a universal flu vaccine that would provide long-lasting and broad protection against influenza viruses.

23 Oct 2020

Molecular communication may help increase the resistance of crop plants against parasitic plants

Cuscuta spp., also known as dodder, is a parasitic vine which grafts to the host plant using special suckers to obtain water, minerals and carbohydrates.

21 Oct 2020

Study explores the impact of microbial immune diversity on dynamics of host-virus interactions

CRISPR-Cas serves as a key driving force of strain diversity in host-virus systems during an evolutionary fight between the host and virus.

21 Oct 2020

Peptide therapy prevents overreaction of the immune system against infections

Individuals require enough action to remove offensive viruses or bacteria, but not so much that their body suffer a considerable damage.

From UC San Diego 15 Oct 2020

A new protein discovered that repairs DNA

Researchers have identified a new protein that makes it possible to repair DNA. The protein in question is called cryptochrome.

15 Oct 2020

Biofilms of major pathogenic bacteria can deform soft surfaces

The vast majority of bacteria in the world live on surfaces by forming structures called "biofilms". These communities host thousands to millions of bacteria of different types, and are so biologically complex and active that scientists describe them as "cities".

9 Oct 2020

Study offers new insights how the plant tips stay free of virus

Plants are able to keep growing indefinitely because they have tissues made of meristems--plant stem cells--which have the unique ability to transform themselves into the various specialized cells that make up the plant, dividing whenever appropriate and producing new cells of whatever type as needed.

9 Oct 2020

Researchers investigate the role of auxin in regulating pathogen gene expression

Scientists have long known that the plant hormone auxin controls many aspects of plant growth, development, and responses to the environment. Only more recently have they begun to understand that there is also a link between auxin and leaf spotting diseases.

7 Oct 2020

Gut microbial development could be restored in C-section infants by fecal microbiota transplant

The human gut contains a diverse ecosystem of microbes: mainly bacteria, as well as viruses and fungi, termed the gut microbiota.

5 Oct 2020

Researchers identify small molecules that target a structure within SARS-CoV-2 genome

SARS-CoV-2 is a virus that is responsible for causing COVID-19. This pathogen has now crippled economies, health care systems, and everyday lives across the world.

5 Oct 2020

Memory training for the immune system

After an infection of the human body with a pathogen, a cascade of reactions will usually be set into motion.

29 Sep 2020

Analysis of wild tomatoes elucidates genetic basis underlying fruit traits

Domestication and subsequent intensive breeding of tomato had a major impact on fruit ripening and the myriad metabolic processes accompanying it.

29 Sep 2020

Researchers discover how antibiotic resistance genes spread via plasmids

For the first time, researchers have discovered how antibiotic resistance genes are spreading, at a continental scale, via bacterial plasmids in the hospital superbug, Klebsiella pneumoniae.

25 Sep 2020

Scientists uncover new pathway to protect plants from fungal infection

Widespread fungal disease in plants can be controlled with a commercially available chemical that has been primarily used in medicine until now. This discovery was made by scientists from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the University of the State of Paraná in Brazil.

23 Sep 2020

Researchers discover novel resistance gene to devastating potato disease

Late blight is the most important pathogen in potato and causes devastation worldwide. The disease, caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans, was the trigger of the Irish Famine and still one of the most serious threats to potato production that causes significant economic losses.

22 Sep 2020