All Duke University articles
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NewsFirst-of-its-kind national trial exploring potential of antibiotics for lowering c-section rates in women with obesity
A multicenter national clinical trial will study whether antibiotics given at the beginning of labor induction result in a decrease in C-sections. The trial is thought to be the first large-scale study of its kind in the United States.
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NewsSelfishness mechanism points way to optimizing inhibitors that fight antibiotic resistance
Resistance can be fought by targeting bacteria that are ’selfish’ with their antibiotic resistance tools, according to a new study.
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NewsPlant prebiotics offer new ally in the fight against pathogens
Disruptions to the community of microbes that live inside the leaves of a spindly plant called <i>Arabidopsis</i> can compromise a plant’s ability to tell harmless invaders from harmful ones – effectively turning the plant’s defensive arsenal against itself.
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NewsIncreased ventilation not effective in reducing influenza virus spread in play-based model
Increasing ventilation in child-care settings may not always be effective at preventing flu virus spread, according to a new study.
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NewsKeto diet boosts lifesaving antifungal drug in mice
In animal tests, researchers have found that taking fluconazole in combination with a low-carb, high-fat keto diet worked significantly better at killing the fungus behind fungal meningitis than taking the medication alone.
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NewsNew strategy could lead to universal, long-lasting flu shot
Researchers have opened a new avenue in the attack against influenza viruses by creating a vaccine that encourages the immune system to target a portion of the virus surface that is less variable.
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NewsClimate change alters the hidden microbial food web in peatlands
A study of protists shows that a neglected part of the peatlands’ microbial food web is sensitive to climate change, and in ways that are currently not accounted for in models that predict future warming.
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NewsIndustrious communities can create cheaters, even in bacteria
These colorful patterns are proof that bacteria and humans aren’t all that different — both harbor individuals that will take the easy way out when given the chance. And that lifestyle can quickly spread to the detriment of all.
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NewsRefrigerate lettuce to reduce risk of E. coli contamination, researchers say
Leafy green vegetables are important sources of dietary fiber and nutrients, but they can harbor harmful pathogens. In particular, lettuce has often been involved in outbreaks of foodborne illness across the U.S. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign examines factors that affect E. coli ...
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NewsCopies of antibiotic resistance genes greatly elevated in humans and livestock
Biomedical engineers at Duke University have uncovered a key link between the spread of antibiotic resistance genes and the evolution of resistance to new drugs in certain pathogens. The research shows bacteria exposed to higher levels of antibiotics often harbor multiple identical copies of protective antibiotic resistance ...
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NewsFungi that live in healthy plants are sensitive to climate change
Findings more than a decade in the making reveal a rich diversity of beneficial fungi living in boreal forest trees, with implications for the health of forests.
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NewsUnlikely ally: sex hormones help gonorrhea fight off antimicrobials and antibiotics
Hormones of the human urogenital tract allow gonorrhea to make and use more pumps to push the killing chemicals out of its cells, fighting intrinsic antimicrobials and prescribed antibiotics.
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NewsRising sea levels could lead to more methane emitted from wetlands
A low-salinity Bay Area estuary ecosystem is producing higher-than-expected levels of methane.
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NewsExperiment shows how predator mass mortality events affect food webs
A team of biologists experimentally caused a predator die-off to understand how rapid predator deaths affect freshwater ecosystems.
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NewsResearchers share up to $13.6 million to solve maritime challenge
Researchers are working on a more sustainable alternative to antifouling paint that would employ natural marine microbes as “building blocks” to form smooth, stable biofilms that reduce drag.
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NewsUnzipping mRNA rallies plant cells to fight infection
Scientists studying a plant called Arabidopsis thaliana have discovered short snippets of folded RNA that are unzipped in the presence of a pathogen to allow plant cells to make defense proteins to fight infection.
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NewsBiological clocks of people and malaria parasites tick in tune
Research could pave the way to new anti-malarials that work by ’jet-lagging’ the parasites that cause the disease.
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NewsWarming climate could turn plankton microbes into carbon emitters
New research finds that a warming climate could flip globally abundant microbial communities from carbon sinks to carbon emitters, potentially triggering climate change tipping points.
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NewsClinical trial of mRNA universal influenza vaccine candidate begins
A clinical trial of an experimental universal influenza vaccine, H1ssF-3928 mRNA-LNP, has begun enrolling volunteers to test for safety and its ability to induce an immune response.
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NewsViruses may disrupt carbon cycle in warming world
Scientists describe many different ways that increasing temperatures could affect viruses and their microbial hosts, changes that could ultimately affect the responses of whole ecosystems to warming.
