The memory of the immune system is able to distinguish a foreign protein with which the organism has already come into contact from another and to react with a corresponding antibody. Researchers have now discovered in flour beetles that the immune system's ability to specifically fend off pathogens can adapt in the course of evolution.
Read moreWith the help of advanced genetic testing and hundreds of frog skin swabs, an international team of researchers has created the most complete map to date of when and where different genetic variants of the frog-killing Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis have infected frog populations around the world. The investigation also uncovered a whole new genetic lineage of the fungus, one that appears to have originated in Asia and may be the oldest variant yet discovered.
Read moreFindings from an innovative new study reveal that the way in which human fungal pathogens form colonies can significantly impact their ability to cause disease. Understanding how these colonies form could lead to new therapies that target these infections in critically ill patients.
Read moreScientists have discovered that a natural antioxidant commonly found in green tea can help eliminate antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Read moreThe first extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains of Salmonella Typhimurium, a pathogen which is responsible for millions of bloodstream infections per year in sub-Saharan Africa, have been identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Drug-resistance has increased in successive groups of S. Typhimurium over time. These new strains are resistant to all but one of the commonly available drugs in the DRC, with one sample showing reduced susceptibility to this final antibiotic.
Read moreIn just five generations, an altered microbiome can lead to genome-wide evolution in fruit flies, according to new research.
Read moreNew results show that human-acquired antibiotic resistance genes are being transmitted to livestock, companion animals and wildlife. Researchers analyzed a global set of 901 genome sequences of the bacteria Streptococcus agalactiae (aka group B Strep) from nine different host species — humans, cows, dogs, fish, frogs, gray seals, dolphins, goats and a camel — to better understand the transmission process. Streptococcus agalactiae can cause life-threatening illnesses.
Read moreA group of scientists studying the ways plant-associated bacteria interact were surprised to find that strains predicted to be more sensitive to bacteria were able to coexist with aggressor strains.
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Scientists obtained a total of 733 pathogen isolates from 171 individual wild Bottlenose dolphins in Florida and found that the overall prevalence of resistance to at least one antibiotic for the 733 isolates was 88.2%. Resistance was highest to erythromycin, followed by ampicillin. It is likely that these isolates from dolphins originated from a source where antibiotics are regularly used, potentially entering the marine environment through human activities or discharges from terrestrial sources.
Domestic cats, like many other mammals, use smelly secretions from anal sacs to mark territory and communicate with other animals. A new study shows that many odiferous compounds from a male cat are actually made not by the cat, but by a community of bacteria living in the anal sacs.
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