Healthy land
Land has a wide variety of uses: agricultural, residential, industrial, and recreational. Microbes play a key role in the terrestrial ecosystem, providing symbiotic relationships with plants. Human use of land has led to the exhaustion of nutrients in soils, contamination of land, and a reduction in biodiversity. Applying our knowledge of microbes will be essential in restoring the biodiversity of affected ecosystems. Greater research into how microbes impact human life on land could all have a positive impact, by increasing crop production, repurposing areas of land and improving microbial biodiversity in soil, land, and water.
News
The mystery of the secretly sexual lichens
Researchers were shocked to find that a type of lichen called Lepraria, long assumed to be asexual, still has the genes that govern sexual reproduction.
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NewsScientist developing probiotics to combat bovine respiratory disease
A new research project aims to develop probiotics derived from healthy cattle to prevent bovine respiratory disease, which is estimated to be responsible for about 70 to 80 percent of feedlot illnesses, and between 40 and 50 percent of all feedlot deaths in the US.
NewsResearchers catalog the microbiome of US rivers
River microbes found near wastewater treatment plants expressed high levels of antibiotic resistance genes, reveals a study of the presence and function of microbes in rivers covering 90% of the watersheds in the continental U.S.
NewsNew research could pave way for vaccine against deadly wildlife disease
A researcher has been awarded a $2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to study the cause of Bang’s disease, Brucella abortus.
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News
Researchers use chemistry modeling software to detect conditions for microbial life on icy worlds
Scientists are working to expand software normally used to model electrolytes and predict corrosion and turn it into a tool that can help determine whether ice-covered worlds have the right conditions for microbial life.
NewsResearchers explore volcanic caves, advancing the search for life on Mars
Through the intricate study of lava tubes – caves formed following volcanic eruptions when lava cools down – researchers have uncovered clues about Earth’s ancient environments that could be significant in the search for life on Mars.
NewsNew edition of book explores ranavirus infection and disease in amphibians, reptiles and fish
Researchers are providing new information and guidance on monitoring and managing viruses that cause life-threatening diseases in amphibians, reptiles and fish, as detailed in a new book edition.
NewsNanoplastics can impair the effect of antibiotics
Researchers investigating how some of the most common nanoplastics interact with tetracycline found significant accumulation of the antibiotics on the surfaces of the nanoplastic particles.
NewsAntarctic streptomyces offer promising biocontrol agents to combat banana wilt
A recent study has unveiled the biotechnological potential of microorganisms from Antarctica. Researchers evaluating the antifungal activity of isolated actinomycete strains found 41.18% of these strains could inhibit the growth of <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i>.
NewsOne new genus and 11 new species of fungi proposed
Scientists have proposed new taxa, combinations, and reports under the Didymiaceae and Physaraceae in China, mainly including 1 new genus and 11 new species.
CareersHow the PATH-SAFE programme has driven forward our understanding of AMR in UK animals
Tamsin Dewé, Anju Kirby and Rachel Baird explain how the UK’s PATH-SAFE programme has filled evidence gaps relating to AMR in animals and furthered our understanding of AMR transmission pathways within agri-food systems.
NewsMigrating birds have stowaway passengers: invasive ticks could spread novel diseases around the world
Ticks have always travelled on migrating birds — but the rising temperatures of the climate crisis mean they may now survive at their destination, and so could the pathogens they carry.
NewsHow do microbiomes influence the study of life?
Researchers from the awardwinning One Health Microbiome Center reveal how holobiont biology underpins a holistic understanding of how life’s forms and functions, from human disease to agricultural output, depend upon the relationships between microbes and hosts.
NewsNew technique reveals the living microbes in Earth’s driest desert
An international team of researchers describes a new way to separate extracellular from intracellular genetic material, providing better insights into microbial life in low-biomass environments such as the Atacama Desert.
NewsNew GPS system for microorganisms could revolutionise police forensics work
A research team led by Lund University in Sweden has developed an AI tool that traces back the most recent places you have been to. The tool acts like a satellite navigation system, but instead of guiding you to your hotel, it identifies the geographical source of microorganisms.
NewsInsect-killing fungi find unexpected harmony in war
Entomologists uncovered a unique relationship between two species of fungi known for their ability to invade, parasitize and kill insects efficiently. The two fungi peacefully cooperate and share their victims.
NewsEpidemiologic features and evidence of new subtypes of Cryptosporidium parvum in diarrheic calves in Egypt
A new study examines the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. infections in diarrheic calves reared in different localities in Egypt under different management systems.
NewsScientists predict the spatial-temporal dynamics of soil microbial-derived carbon stocks
Scientists forecasting the spatial-temporal dynamics of microbial-derived carbon stocks revealed that for every 1°C increase in temperature, there was a global decrease of 6.7 Pg in the soil MDC stock within the predictable areas.
NewsWashington coast avian flu outbreak devastated Caspian terns, jumped to seals
An epidemiological study found that 56% of a large breeding colony of Caspian terns died from a 2023 outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza at Rat Island in Washington state. Since then, no birds have successfully bred on the island.
NewsInfections with parasites affect the local flight behaviour of swallows
Swallows infected with parasites move less and in smaller ranges than healthy ones – with detrimental effects on their foraging success and their survival.
NewsResearchers win major European funding to investigate biological clocks in bacteria
A pioneering collaboration investigating the intricacies of biological clocks in bacteria has been awarded prestigious European Research Council (ERC) funding.
NewsBacterial protein discovered and engineered to better separate rare earth metals
A newly discovered protein naturally houses an unusual binding site that can differentiate between rare earth elements, and researchers have made it even better.
NewsNot the usual suspects: Novel genetic basis of pest resistance to biotech crops
A study reveals a novel genetic basis of resistance to transgenic crops in the corn earworm. To gain protection from this pest, crop plants had been genetically engineered to produce proteins from the common bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt.
