The gut mycobiome influences the metabolism of processed foods
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Studies of the microbiome in the human gut have largely overlooked non-bacterial microbes: viruses, protists, archaea and fungi. Now research in mice points to a significant role for fungi, called the mycobiome, in the intestine. "We showed that the gut mycobiome of healthy mice was shaped by the environment, including diet, and that it significantly correlated with metabolic outcomes," said Kent Willis, M.D.
Synthetically created melanin can be used as a toxin adsorbent when applied to fabric. New material protected fabric from nerve gas penetration. Examples in nature lead researchers to believe these materials "exist out there".
The use of CAR T-cells reprogrammed to 'recognize' Cryptococcus spp. proved effective to combat the infection in vitro and in mice.
New research examined the addition of mushrooms to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Patterns resulting in the increase of several micronutrients including shortfall nutrients, while having a minimal to zero impact on overall calories, sodium or saturated fat.
Biologically active compounds from the marine fungus Penicillium dimorphosporum protect cells from paraquat, the highly toxic herbicide with no remedy, and might enhance the action of some drugs. The fungus was isolated from soft coral collected in the South China Sea during an expedition on the Akademik Oparin research vessel. Scientists of Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) and G. B. Elyakov Pacific Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry reported the results in Marine Drugs.
Tel Aviv University researchers have developed a biological substitute for the treatment of tuberculosis, which in the future could serve as an alternative for the traditional "chemical" antibiotic therapy. Dr. Freund: "Advances in molecular medicine enable us to develop new tools to rout microbes, which can also solve the problem of drug-resistant germs". This groundbreaking study has been published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Communications.
German Aerospace Center scientists. The researchers launched these small lifeforms into Earth's stratosphere, which replicates key characteristics of the Martian environment, and found that some microorganisms, in particular spores of black mold, survived the trip. This new way of testing endurance to space travel will be invaluable for understanding the threats and opportunities of microbes in future missions to Mars.
Eastern newt populations in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada are at greatest risk of infection with a new skin-eating fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), according to a study published February 18 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Matthew Gray of the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, and colleagues.
Researchers from the University of Ottawa have discovered that plants may be able to control the genetics of their intimate root symbionts - the organism with which they live in symbiosis - thereby providing a better understanding of their growth. In addition to having a significant impact on all terrestrial ecosystems, their discovery may lead to improved eco-friendly agricultural applications.
Researchers have developed a new technique to protect rice seeds against fungal infections that can ruin up to half of all rice crops in the world. The biocontrol method, which involves inoculation of flowers with a different fungus that doesn't cause disease and using seeds harvested from the flower to grow crops, is even better at protecting rice plants from diseases than existing fungicide approaches, and could also be used against similar pathogens that affect other staple crops.