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
Material extends shelf life and prolongs release of fungus used as bioinsecticide
Encapsulating Beauveria bassiana in a biopolymer made of cellulose and aluminum increased the viability of the fungus from 69% to 85% after five months of storage, providing a more sustainable alternative that releases the bioinsecticide.
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NewsPathogenic fungus transmitted by domestic cat scratches is present in wild animals
Researchers detected pathogenic species of Sporothrix in the internal organs of mammals, birds, and reptiles that were killed by vehicles on Brazilian roads. The study reveals a new reservoir for fungi and highlights the need for surveillance.
NewsSlow down, microbes: When wheat learns to protect the nitrogen
Wheat plants can do more than grow grain. Research shows that their roots release natural compounds that slow down soil microbes and keep nitrogen in the soil potentially cutting losses, greenhouse gas emissions and costs for farmers.
NewsScientists probe antiviral molecules in bacteria that target bacteriophages
Researchers have examined the antiviral molecule daunorubicin, produced by Streptomycetes, and decoded its mode of operation against viruses. They now describe this mechanism, which primarily targets a specific group of viruses – namely bacteriophages.
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Biochar triggers a five-year soil recovery cascade in acidifying rice paddies
A long-term field study reveals how biochar reshapes soil chemistry, microbes, viruses, and metabolites to support healthier agricultural ecosystems.
NewsMicrobial research captured among winning science images
Microbial research features among some of the winning images in Nature’s 2026 Scientist at Work photography competition. Microbiome sampling of whale sharks, algal blooms, and a coral probiotics village feature among five spectacular images showcasing the diversity and challenges of scientific research.
NewsTwo types of biochar help alfalfa survive salty soils
A new study shows that carefully designed biochar can guide plant metabolism and reshape beneficial microbial communities around the roots to help reduce stress from saline-alkali soil.
NewsBiochar and beneficial microbes team up to restore polluted soils and boost crop growth
A new review examines how biochar-immobilized microbes can help clean contaminated soils, improve soil health, and support crop growth. By analyzing evidence from 92 published studies, the authors provide a data-driven overview of how this technology works and what is needed to bring it closer to practical use on farms.
NewsResearchers test two treatments to protect against deadly cattle disease
As cases of a deadly cattle disease rise in Arkansas, researchers are testing two treatments they hope will help ranchers protect their herds. The disease is bovine theileriosis and is caused by the parasite Theileria orientalis Ikeda, carried primarily by the invasive Asian longhorned tick.
NewsWarming may weaken biochar’s climate benefits in cropland soils, global study finds
Researchers found that warming significantly increased carbon dioxide emissions from soils treated with biochar by an average of 77%. The effect was especially strong in croplands, where emissions increased by 117.5%, compared with 30.9% in forest soils.
NewsDolichol biosynthesis conserved across eukaryotes, not limited just to humans
Researchers say a newly proposed three-step “detour” pathway for making dolichol may be more universal than scientists realized. Experiments in yeast suggest eukaryotes may rely on overlapping biochemical pathways, including the evolutionarily conserved “detour” and evidence of a possible “backup route,” to produce a molecule essential to life.
NewsAll-new lab in Kenya fills critical gap in wildlife health
Conservation stakeholders gathered to celebrate the official opening of the Laboratory in Northern Kenya (LiNK), an all-new veterinary diagnostic lab designed to fill a critical need for accessible diagnostic infrastructure in the remote region.
NewsEurope’s crops under threat: €6 million project launches to tackle rising plant pest crisis
The University of Warwick leads a European consortium to build the first platform capable of coordinating Europe’s response to devastating agricultural and forest pest invasions. The project will give plant health authorities the ability to model and optimise pest control strategies across the entire agri-value chain.
NewsHow are chloroplasts communicating with the nucleus? Bacterial enzymes show the way
By utilizing bacterial enzymes that cleave heme molecules at different sites, researchers have developed a method to dissect phytochrome-dependent light and heme retrograde signaling pathways in plants, which have previously been difficult to discuss separately.
NewsNew study provides insights into the control of photosynthesis
Scientists have discovered a previously unknown regulatory mechanism in plant photosynthesis in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. It helps plants adapt to changes in light conditions. A crucial protein interaction at the interface between the two photosystems I and II controls the photosynthetic machinery.
NewsGene swapping helped build the planet’s decomposers
Researchers have reconstructed the deep history of osmotrophic specialization in eukaryotes. Their findings suggest that four groups of eukaryotes which have specialized in osmotrophy first arose between 720 million and 1 billion years ago and that they share a toolkit of genes involved in osmotrophic functions.
NewsIndigenous mushroom transforms agricultural waste into food
An edible, seasonal mushroom in Eastern Nigeria has nutritional and therapeutic potential but is poorly researched. New research suggests that domestication of Lentinus squarrosulus using waste materials, specifically sawdust, could boost food production and provide employment opportunities for farmers and small businesses.
NewsMethane emissions maximised by global warming
A new study explains how increases in natural methane emissions will be maximised under future climate warming. It showed that while methane consuming microbes do work harder under warmer conditions, they cannot fully check the extra methane being produced with warming.
NewsBiochar can reshape how soils respond to warming, but the effect depends on the soil
A new study shows that biochar can change how strongly soil nitrous oxide emissions respond to rising temperatures. But the effect is not one-size-fits-all. The study found that nitrous oxide emissions increased with warming in both agricultural soil and forest soil, but forest soil was more temperature-sensitive than agricultural soil.
NewsFrom spider silk to science: a new way to access hidden fungal diversity
A new study suggests that spider webs - particularly those incorporating environmental debris - can serve as natural, non-destructive collectors of fungal material in agricultural ecosystems. The findings show that viable fungi can be recovered from these structures, including lineages that may represent previously undocumented diversity.
NewsOrganized microbial ‘workforces’ keep Earth’s underground biosphere running
By studying life deep inside a former gold mine, scientists uncovered evidence that Earth’s hidden biosphere operates less like a random collection of microbes and more like an organized workforce. From site to site, the ecosystems were incredibly different from one another but largely stable through time.
NewsArctic river deltas at risk from mounting pressures
Researchers have performed a detailed calculation of the amount of carbon stored in permafrost in Arctic river deltas. In a new study, they point out the risks endangering the storage function of these highly sensitive landscapes due to rapid climate change.
NewsIron-modified biochar turns soil oxygen into a cleaner for antibiotic pollution
Antibiotic residues in agricultural soils are an emerging environmental concern, with potential impacts on soil health, crop safety, and the spread of antimicrobial resistance. A new study reports on an iron-modified biochar that helps soil use its own oxygen and iron chemistry to break down sulfamethoxazole.