All Michigan State University articles
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Fungi elude antifungal treatments by restructuring cell walls
A new multi-institutional study has characterized how fungi adapt to restructure their cell walls, effectively thwarting current antifungal medications. This new information opens opportunities to devise more effective use of antifungal drugs.
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Research reveals how the body unwittingly rolls out the red carpet for staph
Scientists have shown that our bodies can unwittingly create conditions that usher staph, including MRSA, right into danger zones such as the airways or heart.
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Vaccine candidate could fight antibiotic resistance
Scientists have announced several discoveries that will help the development of a carbohydrate-based vaccine for infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus and its “superbug” relative methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.
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Wild plants face viral surprise spreading from crops
A new study reveals a previously unknown threat: non-native crop viruses are infecting and jeopardizing the health of wild desert plants.
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Scientists discover new microbial insights hiding above a 60-year-old fire
Soil microbes near the Centralia mine fire reveal new information about how nature responds to — and potentially recovers from — unnatural disasters.
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Faster and simpler point-of-care malaria test developed
Researchers have developed a rapid, accurate test for diagnosing malaria that is significantly faster and easier to use than traditional tests. The advancement has the potential to improve patient outcomes, especially in rural regions with limited health care resources.
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Researchers team up to publish bile acid breakthrough
Bile acids are linked to our full-body health, can act as drugs and are some of the best studied molecules in the history of biochemistry. Source: Image from the RSCB PDB of PDB ID 2BJG (M. Rossocha et al (2005) Biochem. 44: 5739-5748). This imag A 3D rendering ...
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Plankton model bridges the rules of life at individual scale and ecosystem level
Researchers have developed a model that connects microscopic biology to macroscopic ecology, which could deepen our understanding of nature’s laws and create new opportunities in ecosystem management.
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Researchers probe ancient partnership between moss and fungi - and endobacteria
Researchers tracking the subtle but distinct ways a moss interacted with its fungal neighbors found that these interactions came to depend on a unique addition to the cast — endobacteria within the fungi.
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Studying defensive bacteria in squid and newts may help human gut health
Elizabeth Heath-Heckman has received a $1.9 million grant to support her research studying the bacteria animals like squid and newts use to protect themselves.
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Halophilic fungi can restructure cell walls to withstand extreme environments
Researchers have shown how microorganisms known as halophilic fungi stand up to high salt concentrations that would be lethal to other microbes.
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Significant genomic insight into tar spot of corn reveals sexual mode
First reported in 2015, tar spot is an emerging disease on corn that has rapidly spread across the United States and Canada, causing tremendous yield loss estimated at $1.2 billion in 2021 alone. Tar spot gets its name from its iconic symptoms that resemble the splatter of ...
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Researchers awarded $2m to create carbon-negative ‘living’ construction materials
Researchers are working towards a future when homes and other buildings can be constructed using low-cost, sustainable materials that also can repair themselves and capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
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MSU funded $1.2m to make drinking water safer by fighting contaminants
Michigan State University has been awarded a $2.1 million grant by the EPA to better understand the amount of pathogens and disinfection byproducts in drinking water distribution systems and to assess associated health risks.
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Concerns raised over popular Covid disinfectants
The Covid-19 pandemic has boosted the unnecessary use of antimicrobial chemicals linked to health problems, antimicrobial resistance, and environmental harm, scientists warn.