Researchers have shown that stress and retrovirus levels are tightly linked to disease in koalas. High KoRV loads make koalas more vulnerable to chlamydia, worsening epidemics in stressed populations. Protecting habitats, careful breeding, and antiviral trials are now being pursued to give koalas a fighting chance at survival.
Read moreScientists at the University of Geneva have created the first detailed catalogue of gut bacteria at the subspecies level, unlocking powerful new ways to detect colorectal cancer. By applying machine learning to stool samples, they achieved a 90% detection rate—nearly matching colonoscopies, but with far less cost and discomfort. This breakthrough could revolutionize early cancer screening, helping catch the disease before it advances.
Read moreDeformed Wing Virus (DWV), one of the leading causes of honey bee colony losses, is much more genetically diverse in the United States than previously thought. The diverse lineages of this virus are all equally bad for bees, and they make it more complicated to develop antiviral therapeutics, which could be the basis for developing a vaccine for the virus.
Read moreA new study uncovered new information on why the Ebola virus can exert such catastrophic effects on the infected person. They've described for the first time how the virus disables T cells, an important line of immune defense, thus rendering the infected person less able to combat the infection.
Read moreLarge-scale study to identify human adenovirus genotypes in Singapore leads to discovery of four new adenovirus strains and increase in strains linked to severe diseases. Researchers suggest use of antiviral therapies and adenovirus vaccines, and routine monitoring of adenovirus strains.
Read moreA new antiviral drug that induces mutations in the genetic material of influenza virus is highly effective in treating influenza infection in animals and human airway tissue and could be a groundbreaking advance in influenza therapy.
Read moreBacteria that evolve in natural environments — rather than laboratory tests — may become resistant to phage treatments without losing their virulence, new research shows.
Read moreA study in humans and mice demonstrated that a fetus has its own microbiome, or communities of bacteria living in the gut, which are known to play important roles in the immune system and metabolism. Researchers also confirmed that the fetal microbiome is transmitted from the mother.
Read moreThe Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus is a pathogen that affects honey bees and has been linked to Colony Collapse Disorder, a key factor in decimating the bee population. Researchers have now analyzed in detail how the virus hijacks the cellular protein production machinery and misuses it for its own purposes.
Read moreHow bacteria live – whether as independent cells or in a communal biofilm – determines the course of their evolution, with implications for drug-resistant infections.
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