Latest news
Marine compound shows promise against deadly brain-eating amoeba
A compound isolated from a marine bacterium may offer a faster way to attack Naegleria fowleri, the amoeba responsible for one of the deadliest known brain infections. In laboratory tests, rutamycin B reached full potency within four hours and was far more toxic to the parasite than to human cells.
One Health initiative aims to build safer, more sustainable food systems
A new One Health initiative in Thailand is bringing together expertise across food safety, antimicrobial resistance, climate change and public health. The platform aims to turn scientific evidence into coordinated action across agrifood systems, with a strong focus on collaboration between researchers, government, industry and international partners.
Leaf spectra reveal hidden nitrogen-fixing nodules in soybean roots
Soybean roots may no longer need to be dug up to reveal how well they are forming nitrogen-fixing nodules. Researchers have shown that hyperspectral signals from leaves can predict below-ground nodule traits, offering a non-destructive way to track plant–microbe partnerships under drought and salt stress.
Common cell-death inhibitor reveals an unexpected pathway in tuberculosis
A widely used cell-death inhibitor may be triggering macrophage death during mycobacterial infection through an unexpected off-target pathway. The findings reveal a caspase-8-independent route to necroptosis and could help explain how damaging necrotic granulomas form during tuberculosis.
Distant climate patterns may offer early warning of Ebola outbreaks
Ebola outbreaks may leave a climatic trail months before they emerge. By analysing nearly five decades of outbreak data alongside large-scale climate oscillations, researchers identified distant weather patterns that could help flag periods and regions where Ebola risk may be increasing.
Saturn’s icy moon may be more habitable than expected
Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus may be more hospitable to microbial life than previously thought. Laboratory experiments show that methane-producing archaea can survive in conditions designed to mimic its alkaline subsurface ocean, using hydrogen from water-rock reactions and scavenging scarce carbon dioxide.
Marine compound shows promise against deadly brain-eating amoeba
A compound isolated from a marine bacterium may offer a faster way to attack Naegleria fowleri, the amoeba responsible for one of the deadliest known brain infections. In laboratory tests, rutamycin B reached full potency within four hours and was far more toxic to the parasite than to human cells.
Leaf spectra reveal hidden nitrogen-fixing nodules in soybean roots
Soybean roots may no longer need to be dug up to reveal how well they are forming nitrogen-fixing nodules. Researchers have shown that hyperspectral signals from leaves can predict below-ground nodule traits, offering a non-destructive way to track plant–microbe partnerships under drought and salt stress.
Saturn’s icy moon may be more habitable than expected
Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus may be more hospitable to microbial life than previously thought. Laboratory experiments show that methane-producing archaea can survive in conditions designed to mimic its alkaline subsurface ocean, using hydrogen from water-rock reactions and scavenging scarce carbon dioxide.
Perpetual Next signs agreement to accelerate the roll-out of standardized biomethanol plants
Perpetual Next have signed a License and Engineering Agreement with Air Liquide Engineering and Technologies for the supply of syngas-to-methanol technology for Perpetual Next’s first biomethanol facility, with an option to extend across other biomethanol sites.
AFYREN and Terrial renew their partnership for French-manufactured potash fertilizers
AFYREN and Terrial today announce the renewal of their strategic partnership with the signing of a new multi-year fertilizer supply contract, worth several tens of millions of euros This long-term contract strengthens both companies’ commitment to making French agriculture more sustainable and less dependent on international fertilizer markets.
Two-in-one tool tracks viral RNA inside live infected cells in real time
The tool lets researchers film activity of Zika and chikungunya viruses in high resolution and identify virus-host interactions, a key step to developing effective antiviral strategies that could stop infections
Light-powered algae bring a soft robotic arm to life
A soft robotic arm powered by living algae can bend, grasp and lift small objects using only changes in light. The device turns photosynthesis-driven changes in acidity into mechanical motion, offering a glimpse of soft robots that could respond to their environment with very little external energy.
Plasmonic coating on bacterial surfaces paves the way for rapid sepsis diagnosis
Researchers have developed a label-free surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) analysis technology that rapidly detects extremely low concentrations of viable bacteria by directly growing plasmonic metal nanostructures on and around bacterial cells.
One Health initiative aims to build safer, more sustainable food systems
A new One Health initiative in Thailand is bringing together expertise across food safety, antimicrobial resistance, climate change and public health. The platform aims to turn scientific evidence into coordinated action across agrifood systems, with a strong focus on collaboration between researchers, government, industry and international partners.
Scientists propose national microbiome plan to prevent chronic disease
Leading microbiome researchers are calling for a global ‘moonshot’ to determine how the microbes living in and on our bodies contribute to chronic disease. The proposed agenda would combine long-term human studies, clinical trials, global research standards and public education to move the field from promising associations towards proven causes and treatments.
Belgium’s top science foundation honors 'Virus Hunter'
’Virus Hunter’ Ken Stedman has been named an International Collen-Francqui Professor for the 2026-27 academic year, an honor the Francqui Foundation reserves for scientists it considers among the best in their field.