Why multipartite viruses infect plants rather than animals

Being in between living and non-living, viruses are, in general, strange. Among viruses, multipartite viruses are among the most peculiar — their genome is not packed into one, but many, particles. Multipartite viruses primarily infect plants rather than animals. A recent article uses mathematical and computational models to explain this observation.

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Protozoans and pathogens make for an infectious mix

The new observation that strains of V. cholerae can be expelled into the environment after being ingested by protozoa, and that these bacteria are then primed for colonization and infection in humans, could help explain why cholera is so persistent in aquatic environments. The disease-causing bacteria are protected in the protozoan gut and ejected into the environment in membrane-bound expelled food vacuoles (EFVs).

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Did long ago tsunamis lead to mysterious, tropical fungal outbreak in Pacific northwest?

The Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964 and the tsunamis it spawned may have washed a tropical fungus ashore, leading to a subsequent outbreak of often-fatal infections among people in coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest, according to a new article.

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Babies have fewer respiratory infections if they have well-connected bacterial networks

Microscopic bacteria, which are present in all humans, cluster together and form communities in different parts of the body, such as the gut, lungs, nose and mouth. Now, for the first time, researchers have shown the extent to which these microbial communities are linked to each other across the body, and how these networks are associated with susceptibility to respiratory infections in babies.

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The flagellar hook: Making sense of bacterial motility

Researchers show how bacteria transmit motion from an inner motor to an outer tail through a flexible joint in the flagellum known as the hook. This finding could help in the fight against deadly bacterial infections. By better understanding how bacteria move, researchers may be able to improve disease prevention strategies.

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Potent antibody curbs Nipah and Hendra virus attack

A monoclonal antibody has been shown to impede the fusion machinery henipaviruses use to merge with the membrane of cells they are attempting to breach. The antibody halts the attack by blocking membrane fusion and the injection of the viral genome into the host cell. Researchers hope this discovery will pave the way toward preventing or treating Nipah or Hendra virus infections, which now have no vaccines or therapies for people. The main carriers are large bats called flying foxes.

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Your energy-efficient washing machine could be harboring pathogens

For the first time ever, investigators have identified a washing machine as a reservoir of multidrug-resistant pathogens. The pathogens, a single clone of Klebsiella oxytoca, were transmitted repeatedly to newborns in a neonatal intensive care unit at a children's hospital. The transmission was stopped only when the washing machine was removed from the hospital.

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