https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Penn-led researchers have turned a deadly fungus into a potent cancer-fighting compound. After isolating a new class of molecules from Aspergillus flavus, a toxic crop fungus linked to deaths in the excavations of ancient tombs, the researchers modified the chemicals and tested them against leukemia cells. The result? A promising cancer-killing compound that rivals FDA-approved drugs and opens up new frontiers in the discovery of more fungal medicines. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-toxic-ancient-tomb-fungus-anti.html Biochemistry Mon, 23 Jun 2025 05:00:10 EDT news669643761 Despite a deadly disease which has nearly wiped out the critically endangered Alpine Tree Frog from the Snowy Mountains, a new study has found the species is fighting back by breeding more when infected. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-endangered-frogs-deadly-fungus-spurs.html Plants & Animals Wed, 28 May 2025 11:28:03 EDT news667650481 A bat infected with a fungus that has killed millions of bats across the country was found in Longmont last month. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-species-devastating-fungus-colorado.html Plants & Animals Wed, 27 Mar 2024 17:00:01 EDT news630777124 When COVID forced Melburnians to isolate during large parts of 2020 and 2021, many took the opportunity to walk around parks, creeks or remnant bush. https://phys.org/news/2022-06-fungal-bumper-native-fungi.html Plants & Animals Mon, 06 Jun 2022 10:10:47 EDT news573729045 Over the past few weeks, we've received a flurry of emails from concerned people who've seen sick and dead frogs across eastern Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. https://phys.org/news/2021-07-dead-shriveled-frogs-unexpectedly-eastern.html Plants & Animals Thu, 29 Jul 2021 07:27:41 EDT news546762454 Bacteria living on the skin of frogs could save them from a deadly virus, new research suggests. https://phys.org/news/2019-06-skin-bacteria-frogs-virus.html Ecology Fri, 21 Jun 2019 02:45:31 EDT news480303921 A deadly disease affecting amphibians has descended into a global pandemic that has already wiped out 90 species, a prominent US biologist warned Thursday at the World Organisation for Animal Health Aquatic Conference in Santiago, Chile. https://phys.org/news/2019-04-scientists-pandemic-endangering-amphibians.html Ecology Fri, 05 Apr 2019 03:20:14 EDT news473653209 An international study led by The Australian National University (ANU) has found a fungal disease has caused dramatic population declines in more than 500 amphibian species, including 90 extinctions, over the past 50 years. https://phys.org/news/2019-03-mass-amphibian-extinctions-globally-fungal.html Ecology Thu, 28 Mar 2019 14:00:14 EDT news472977513 Scientists have identified the genes of a deadly fungus that is decimating salamander and newt populations in Northern Europe. https://phys.org/news/2017-03-breakthrough-amphibian-plague-deadly-fungus.html Plants & Animals Mon, 27 Mar 2017 08:51:57 EDT news409823504 The little brown bat, a species that has been decimated by a deadly fungus, could be taking the first tentative steps to recovery, scientists say in a recent study published by Great Britain's Royal Society. https://phys.org/news/2017-01-resistance-deadly-fungus.html Plants & Animals Wed, 11 Jan 2017 17:43:57 EST news403379030 New research from two San Francisco State University biologists is filling in some pieces of the puzzle about how a deadly fungus arrived in California and began wiping out amphibian populations. https://phys.org/news/2015-11-biologists-piece-history-deadly-fungus.html Plants & Animals Wed, 11 Nov 2015 08:41:25 EST news366453675 New research from the University of Toronto has scientists re-thinking how a lethal fungus grows and kills immune cells. The study hints at a new approach to therapy for Candida albicans, one of the most common causes of bloodstream infections. https://phys.org/news/2015-03-deadly-fungus-evades-immune.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 31 Mar 2015 05:00:01 EDT news346996637 A deadly fungus responsible for the extinction of more than 200 amphibian species worldwide has coexisted harmlessly with animals in Illinois and Korea for more than a century, a pair of studies have found. https://phys.org/news/2015-03-deadly-frog-fungus-dates-1880s.html Plants & Animals Wed, 04 Mar 2015 14:00:04 EST news344697072 (Phys.org) —A deadly fungus has decimated certain populations of amphibians globally for the past few decades, but scientists remain unclear about the exact mechanisms that lead to its disease. https://phys.org/news/2014-08-genetics-reveal-effects-deadly-frog.html Biotechnology Thu, 07 Aug 2014 05:36:52 EDT news326608600 Amphibian populations are declining worldwide and a major cause is a deadly fungus thought to be spread by bullfrogs, but a two-year study shows they can also die from this pathogen, contrary to suggestions that bullfrogs are a tolerant carrier host that just spreads the disease. https://phys.org/news/2013-06-bullfrogs-deadly-amphibian-fungus-die.html Plants & Animals Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:43:38 EDT news290691794 It is known as the amphibian chytrid fungus and can cause a deadly disease that is decimating some of the world's frogs, toads, newts and salamanders. However, the fungus had not been detected in the other lesser-known major group of amphibians, the caecilians, until now. https://phys.org/news/2013-05-fatal-fungus-major-amphibian-group.html Ecology Thu, 16 May 2013 08:04:05 EDT news287910165 In a new study, biologists will investigate the connection between amphibians' social habits and a disease that has killed a record number of frogs, toads and salamanders worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2013-02-biologists-explore-link-amphibian-behavior.html Plants & Animals Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:18:36 EST news281207907 A deadly disease threatening swathes of ash trees in Britain cannot be eradicated, the environment secretary admitted on Friday as he announced plans to stem the growing problem. https://phys.org/news/2012-11-ash-disease-eradicated-minister.html Ecology Fri, 09 Nov 2012 13:24:45 EST news271689874 The British government convened its emergency crisis committee on Friday to discuss how to contain a fungal disease threatening ash trees that has already wiped out swathes of woodland in Denmark. https://phys.org/news/2012-11-britain-scrambles-deadly-ash-tree.html Ecology Fri, 02 Nov 2012 10:55:35 EDT news271072525 (Phys.org) -- The global trade in bullfrogs, which are farmed as a food source in South America and elsewhere, is spreading a deadly fungus that is contributing to the decline of amphibians worldwide, according to a University of Michigan biologist and his colleagues. https://phys.org/news/2012-08-global-bullfrog-deadly-amphibian-fungus.html Ecology Mon, 13 Aug 2012 07:03:16 EDT news264060180 A deadly fungus that has wiped out large populations of bats in North America has spread to a new species, the endangered gray bat, US wildlife officials said Tuesday. https://phys.org/news/2012-05-killer-fungus-endangered-gray.html Ecology Tue, 29 May 2012 13:40:02 EDT news257516949 Giant cells called "titan cells" protect the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans during infection, according to two University of Minnesota researchers. Kirsten Nielsen, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department of microbiology, and recent Ph.D. recipient Laura Okagaki believe their discovery could help develop new ways to fight infections caused by Cryptococcus. https://phys.org/news/2012-05-titan-cells-cryptococcus.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 28 May 2012 08:26:18 EDT news257412154 Known for its distinctive "ribbit" call, the noisy Pacific chorus frog is a potent carrier of a deadly amphibian disease, according to new research published today in the journal PLoS ONE. Just how this common North American frog survives chytridiomycosis may hold clues to protect more vulnerable species from the disease. https://phys.org/news/2012-03-common-north-american-frog-carrier.html Plants & Animals Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:00:04 EDT news250779966 Biologists have learned in recent years that wild chilies develop their trademark pungency, or heat, as a defense against a fungus that could destroy their seeds. But that doesn't explain why some chilies are hot and others are not. https://phys.org/news/2011-12-chilies.html Plants & Animals Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:00:01 EST news243621351 Zoologists at Oregon State University have discovered that a freshwater species of zooplankton will eat a fungal pathogen which is devastating amphibian populations around the world. https://phys.org/news/2011-08-biological-pathogen-devastating-amphibians.html Plants & Animals Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:34:20 EDT news233573642 An international team of researchers has completed the first major survey in Asia of a deadly fungus that has wiped out more than 200 species of amphibians worldwide. The massive survey could help scientists zero in on why the fungus has been unusually devastating in many parts of the globe -- and why Asian amphibians have so far been spared the same dramatic declines. https://phys.org/news/2011-08-major-survey-amphibian-fungus-asia.html Plants & Animals Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:15:39 EDT news232805706 (AP) -- Scientists say they're close to producing new "super varieties" of wheat that will resist a virulent fungus while boosting yields up to 15 percent, potentially easing a deadly threat to the world's food supply. https://phys.org/news/2011-06-scientists-super-wheat-boost-food.html Biotechnology Sat, 11 Jun 2011 04:30:36 EDT news226985423 (AP) -- Scientists are airlifting dozens of one of the world's largest frogs off of Montserrat island to save them from a deadly fungus devastating their dwindling habitat. The dense forest of this tiny British Caribbean territory is the last remaining stronghold of the critically endangered mountain chicken frog, a 2-pound (0.9 kg), frying pan-size amphibian that got its name because locals say its meat tastes like - you guessed it - chicken. https://phys.org/news/2009-05-frogs-flown-montserrat-deadly-fungus.html Plants & Animals Sat, 09 May 2009 02:20:56 EDT news161054412