All Environmental Microbiology articles
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NewsEveryday foods could hide fungal risks for mothers and children
A collaborative, multi-institutional project will examine how exposure to zearalenone – a mycoestrogen produced by mold with estrogen-like activity – may affect pregnancy outcomes and children’s growth.
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NewsOne Health antimicrobial resistance modelling: from science to policy
Researchers have identified fundamental gaps in current mathematical modelling approaches that prevent translation of science into policy, including data limitations, knowledge gaps about AMU-AMR relationships, and the absence of international coordination mechanisms similar to climate change efforts.
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NewsScientists identify more effective way to detect poultry viruses in live markets
Scientists have found that viruses circulating in live poultry markets can be detected more effectively by sampling the surrounding environment than by testing individual birds. The study shows that environmental sampling can uncover a broader range of poultry viruses.
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NewsUnderground fungal map of the world’s oldest, slowest-growing rainforest trees can boost the resilience of Earth’s long-term carbon sinks
Protecting and conserving old trees will protect hundreds, if not thousands, of mycorrhizal and other fungal species that inhabit soils around these giants, each of which play a role we might not fully understand in keeping these forests healthy and resilient.
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NewsToxic algal bloom takes heavy toll on mental health
The year-long algal bloom along the South Australian coastline has not only devastated marine life and triggered health risks for humans and pets: it has also had a significant psychological impact on local residents, according to new research.
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NewsPeatland lakes in the Congo Basin release carbon that is thousands of years old
Researchers have discovered that large blackwater lakes in the extensive peatlands of the central Congo Basin are releasing ancient carbon. How the carbon is mobilised from the peat to the lake, where it is finally released to the atmosphere, is still unknown.
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NewsElevated E. coli, staph still detected in Potomac river 4 weeks after sewage spill
Nearly a month after a wastewater pipe broke and spewed hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River just north of Washington, D.C., the latest water testing results continue to show high levels of E. coli and S. aureus, including antibiotic-resistant MRSA.
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NewsWebinar: What does it mean when environmental microbiomes are described as resilient?
Environmental microbiomes are often described as ‘resilient’ - but what does that even mean? A free upcoming webinar and coffee hour delivered by Dr Ashley Shade, as part of the Microbes and Social Equity 2026 Speaker Series, aims to find out.
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NewsRoot microbes could help oak trees adapt to drought
Microbes could help oak trees cope with environmental change. A study observing oaks growing in a natural woodland found that the trees’ above- and below-ground microbiomes were resilient to drought, nutrient scarcity, and exposure to pathogenic beetles and bacteria.
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NewsPreviously unknown viruses discovered in groundwater
Researchers have created a comprehensive picture of viral diversity and function in a groundwater system. They identified over 257,000 viral operational taxonomic units, i.e. viruses at species level, 99 % of which were previously unknown.
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NewsResearchers uncover the invisible worlds beneath our feet
An analysis of a natural aquifer revealed that despite their close spatial contact and possible interactions, the microorganisms in the water and on the rock form two strongly contrasting ecological communities.
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NewsInconsistent standards may be undermining global tracking of antibiotic resistance
A comprehensive review of how antimicrobial resistance is monitored in the environment and why inconsistent interpretation of laboratory results may be distorting our understanding of the scale of the problem.
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NewsScientists solve 66 million-year-old mystery of how Earth’s greenhouse age ended
Experts studying foraminifera fossils have discovered that concentrations of calcium in the sea dropped by more than half across the last 66 million years, which likely caused Earth’s massive drop in temperature.
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NewsCommercial water dispenser machines may contain more contamination than tap water
Water dispenser machines in commercial spaces may contain higher levels of microbial contamination if they aren’t cleaned regularly compared to the tap water sources supplying them that contain residual chlorine, according to a new study.
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NewsCooperation: A costly affair in bacterial social behaviour?
A new study reveals that population bottlenecks can fundamentally reshape how cooperation evolves and persists in complex microbial societies. Researchers explored how repeated bottlenecks affect cooperative traits of Myxococcus xanthus, a model social bacterium.
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NewsMicrobes that break down antibiotics help protect ecosystems under drug pollution
A new study shows that certain microbes can act as community protectors by breaking down antibiotics and stabilizing entire microbial ecosystems, offering a new way to rethink environmental risk assessment and pollution management.
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NewsFrom prey to predator: How carnivores spread beneficial fungi
New research reveals that carnivores play an important role in ecosystem function by providing a largely overlooked mechanism for long-distance dispersal of beneficial mycorrhizal fungi.
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NewsBacteria resisting viral infection can still sink carbon to ocean floor
Researchers exploring the mechanisms of phage resistance and its effects on the ecological jobs done by ocean bacteria found that some of the mutations studied don’t interfere with the bacteria’s ability to carry out their job of capturing and sinking carbon to the ocean floor.
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NewsSoil microbes in Colombia’s páramo and tropical forests respond to seasonal shifts
A new study has demonstrated that microbial communities in the soil of Colombia’s tropical forests and high-altitude páramos are significantly influenced by seasonal changes, particularly during the dry season.
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NewsStage-specific microbial dynamics underpin ecosystem restoration on tropical coral islands
Facilitating the establishment of self-sustaining plant communities has become a crucial scientific and technological issue that urgently needs to be addressed in advancing marine ecological civilization and maintaining ecological safety on tropical coral islands.