Creepy Crawlies
-
News
Invasive brown widow spiders host novel bacteria related to chlamydia
Invasive brown widow spiders across three continents were highly infected with a single strain of Rhabdochlamydia, a bacterium that is related to major pathogens of humans and animals, including chlamydia.
-
News
New purpose-built insectary will tackle spread of deadly diseases
Keele University is to create a new purpose-built insect research laboratory on its campus – where scientists will carry out vital research to tackle the spread of deadly diseases and reduce crop losses to pests.
-
News
Beetle juice leads to discovery of a virus and solves the mystery of a superworm die-off
Scientists have discovered a virus that caused a nationwide die-off of superworms, a common food for pets. In doing so, they pioneered a different way to search for and identify emerging viruses and pathogens in humans, plants and animals.
-
News
Naturally occurring pathogenic fungi recruited to control Eucalyptus snout beetle
Scientists have found naturally occurring pathogenic fungi infecting the Eucalyptus snout beetle in Eucalyptus forest plantations, and characterised them to develop a bio-pesticide for controlling the beetle.
-
News
Bacterial duo feed cuticle in wood-eating beetles
Two bacterial symbionts supply auger beetles with the vital nutrients for the synthesis of a sturdy exoskeleton.
-
News
Symbiotic yeast helps longicorn beetles to digest wood
Researchers have isolated a symbiotic yeast from adults, larvae, and eggs of the Japanese longicorn beetle and identified specialized organs that store the yeast, allowing the beetles to break down the unpalatable components of wood.
-
News
Body lice may be bigger plague spreaders than previously thought
A new laboratory study suggests that human body lice are more efficient at transmitting Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, than previously thought, supporting the possibility that they may have contributed to past pandemics.
-
News
Researchers engineer ‘cat parasite’ Toxoplasma gondii to release therapeutic proteins in the human brain
In a breakthrough study by an international team of scientists, the ‘cat parasite’ Toxoplasma gondii was engineered to deliver drugs to the human brain.
-
News
New test rapidly diagnoses cat parasite infections and reduces false positives
An easy-to-use test and new paradigm for care can help save lives, sight, cognition and motor function by rapidly diagnosing and treating Toxoplasma infections.
-
News
Identity theft revealed as the secret of cat parasite’s success
Researchers at Stockholm University have discovered how the microscopic parasite Toxoplasma so successfully spreads in the body by infecting immune cells and hijacking their identity.
-
News
Researchers receive international funding to study spiderwebs as biosensors
The dew-covered spiderweb you see in your yard might soon become a platform to detect airborne viruses, according to Jiangtao Cheng, who hopes to build bio-inspired technology that could serve as an early warning system for pathogens.
-
News
Feral cats shed more toxoplasmosis parasites in areas densely populated by humans
A new analysis suggests that wild, stray, and feral cats living in areas with higher human population density tend to shed a greater amount of the parasite that causes the disease toxoplasmosis.
-
News
Monitoring bats can help ID coronaviruses with pathogen potential
Researchers who found novel coronaviruses in UK bats say genetic surveys of the viruses should be regularly conducted, even if none of those viruses can infect humans yet.
-
News
‘Glow-in-the-dark’ proteins could help diagnose viral diseases
Researchers have developed a sensitive diagnostic test for viral disease that analyzes viral nucleic acids in as little as 20 minutes and can be completed in one step with “glow-in-the-dark” proteins.
-
News
Bats disturbed by humans are more frequently infected with coronaviruses
Bats in human-dominated ecosystems have a higher prevalence of coronaviruses, increasing the possibility that these could be transmitted to humans.
-
News
Soft, living materials made with algae glow under stress
A team of researchers has developed soft yet durable materials that glow in response to mechanical stress, such as compression, stretching or twisting, and deriving their luminescence from single-celled algae known as dinoflagellates.