One health
Communicable diseases remain one of the major causes of mortality worldwide. There are disparities in the numbers of individuals affected by disease between low-and-middle-income countries and those in developed nations. Microbes will play in important role in drug discovery: producing anticancer drugs and antimicrobials. Applying One Health principles, to understand the interaction of pathogens and the human host, development of diagnostics, treatments, and disease prevention, applied microbiologists can shape global health and wellbeing outcomes.
News
Modern medicine makes gut microbial diversity plummet
Even minimal exposure to modern medicine can rapidly change the human microbiome. Researchers reveal that the gut microbes of remote Amazonian Indigenous communities began shifting toward patterns more commonly seen in urban, industrialized populations after only a few medical visits.
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NewsScientists make groundbreaking discovery – and find a possible new ally – in the opioid crisis
Scientists analyzed used hypodermic needles from a needle exchange program to better understand what narcotics actually were in the needles and determine if any non-viral pathogens were present.
NewsChemists use sea sponge bacteria to create new molecules for drug discovery
Chemists have synthesized new molecules derived from bacteria found in a Pacific Ocean sea sponge. They are the first to successfully synthesize two new marine natural products: tetradehydrohalicyclamine B and epi-tetradehydrohalicyclamine B.
NewsHPV self-collection boosts cervical cancer screening rates
The first major U.S. rollout of HPV self-collection shows benefits for patients and providers, including fewer pelvic exams and better follow-up for HPV-positive results.
More One Health
News
Hospital wastewater reveals drug-resistant fungus strains months before patients show symptoms
A study reveals that sampling raw wastewater closer to the source — sewer lines that directly serve hospitals, retirement homes, and long-term care facilities — allows scientists to detect drug-resistant strains of Candida auris as many as five months before patients begin showing symptoms.
NewsNew clinical study shows pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila MucT supports weight loss maintenance
A clinical trial demonstrates that supplementation with pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila MucT® significantly improved weight loss maintenance in adults with overweight or obesity following an initial weight loss intervention.
NewsScientists harness T cells to help the body fight entire viral families
Scientists have discovered that combining key vaccine ingredients could give the body the tools it needs to fight the entire family of arenaviruses with a single vaccine, protecting against life-threatening infections from Lassa virus, Junin virus, and other arenaviruses with pandemic potential.
NewsSabiá virus has been circulating in Brazil for 142 years and mutating, study finds
Researchers developed a new method and identified the infection in two patients who died from acute hemorrhagic and neurological syndrome in São Paulo in 2019 and 2020.
NewsPatent targets viruses with a breakthrough from linseed oil
A common vegetable oil may hold the key to fighting some of the world’s most dangerous viruses. Scientists have patented a linseed oil polyol-derived compound shown to inhibit viral infections including HIV and SARS-CoV-2 as well as bacterial infections causing strep and staph.
NewsA hypovirulent mycovirus alters stress response and virulence in Talaromyces marneffei
A new study identifies the mycovirus TmNV1 as the first narnavirus discovered in T. maneffei, functioning as a potent virulence attenuator. Coinfection with TmPV1 further amplifies these hypovirulent phenotypes.
NewsTicks are ‘spreading like wildfire’ - and more of them are carrying Lyme
Not only are tick numbers growing in the US, but today’s ticks are more likely to carry Lyme disease bacteria and other dangerous pathogens. Researchers have noticed a greater diversity of ticks, suggesting a complex pattern of movement and perhaps the introduction or reintroduction of animals, including birds.
NewsBacterial STIs reach record highs in Europe, and congenital syphilis cases nearly double
New figures indicate a surge in bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) across Europe. In 2024, notifications of gonorrhoea and syphilis, alongside congenital syphilis, reached their highest levels in over a decade, reflecting sustained transmission across multiple countries.
NewsHealthcare utilization disruptions continue in post-COVID China
Although China’s stringent public health policy, Dynamic Zero-Covid, was lifted in late 2022, researchers have discovered substantial, long-term declines in outpatient clinic visits and hospitalizations compared to expected levels from 2020 to 2024 in China.
NewsLargest-ever Canadian clinical trial tests ‘poop pills’ to improve immunotherapy for lung cancer
For nearly half of people diagnosed with lung cancer, immunotherapy can slow the disease but not stop it. A clinical trial will pair immunotherapy with fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) with the goal of safely increasing treatment effectiveness. If successful, it could provide new treatment options for people with lung cancer.
NewsHost-based antifouling gold nanotube sensor for the selective detection of mechanically sensitive serotonin release in intestinal mucosa
A new study report a stretchable electrochemical sensing platform with high deformation insensitivity and strong antibiofouling capability. The platform enables in situ capture of dynamic small-molecule chemical signals in the gut, and revealed a new mechanism underlying enhanced intestinal mechanosensation under microbe-related stimulation.
CareersVoice of the Future: Inspiring conversations at the science-policy interface
Earlier this year, Suparna Mitra and Alan Koh took part in the Royal Society of Biology’s Voice of the Future event at Parliament, representing AMI. Here they reflect on the experience and what they took away from it.
Careers The First Microbiome Symposium of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean – new success for the COBRE Center for Microbiome Sciences
The inaugural Microbiome Symposium of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean marked a major milestone for microbiome science in the region and reinforced Puerto Rico’s growing leadership in interdisciplinary biomedical research, says chair Filipa Godoy-Vitorino of the University of Puerto Rico.
NewsGlobal Virus Network experts urge rapid regional action as Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak raises cross-border concerns
The Global Virus Network (GVN) calls for greater global financial, logistical and research support for the local response to the rare Bundibugjo Ebola virus outbreak in Africa. The spread of this virus, largely undetected, was declared a global public health emergency by the World Health Organization.
NewsResearch findings could expand bioluminescence-based applications in medicine and other industries
Medical researchers have used fungal light-producing enzymes in the Fungal Bioluminescence Pathway (FBP) to visually track processes like tumor progression and inflammatory responses. New research provides insights that may help improve and expand such bioluminescence-based tools and applications.
NewsNew research offers practical biosecurity tools to limit poultry disease spread
New research could help producers better protect poultry flocks from disease outbreaks while reducing costs. By identifying where contamination occurs and how to interrupt those pathways, the research helps move biosecurity from theory to action, offering tools that can protect animal health and support a more stable food supply.
NewsA common disinfectant could affect how well your liver works
Common household cleaners and pharmaceutical products contain benzalkonium chlorides (BACs), a type of disinfectant. A new study shows that exposure to these compounds caused changes in gut microbiome composition in mice, as well as the genes that encode for liver enzymes that metabolize drugs.
NewsCOVID racism driven by more than fear of infection
Anti-Asian discrimination and violence increased during COVID, and new research has revealed one key psychological driver. Rather than being driven by a fear of infection, aggressive forms of discrimination appeared to be more strongly associated with anger.
NewsStudy reveals “bet-hedging” strategy that helps gut bacteria survive and recover
Researchers have discovered that many gut bacteria use a flexible survival strategy to withstand disruptions such as antibiotics and diet changes. Microbes can switch between functional states, rather than relying solely on genetic mutations, to try to survive shifting conditions.