The fungus Aspergillus fumigatus is everywhere, and is extremely dangerous for people with weakened immune systems. It occurs virtually everywhere on Earth, as a dark grey stain on damp walls or in microscopically small spores ...
Biochemistry
Feb 8, 2019
0
7
When a pathogen enters their colony, ants change their behavior to avoid the outbreak of disease. In this way, they protect the queen, brood and young workers from becoming ill. These results, from a study carried out in ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 22, 2018
0
353
Tiny particles of sodium salt float in the air over the pristine Amazon basin. Why? The only explanation before now has been that winds blow marine particles hundreds of miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. An international ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 20, 2018
0
2
A team led by Professor Arne Skerra at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed an innovative strategy for preventing the anthrax bacterium from absorbing iron, which is crucial for its survival. It does so ...
Biochemistry
Oct 23, 2018
0
10
Selfish genes are genes that are passed on to the next generation but confer no advantage on the individual as a whole, and may sometimes be harmful. Researchers at Uppsala University have, for the first time, sequenced (or ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Oct 15, 2018
0
5
In professor George Fox's lab at the University of Houston, scientists are studying Earth germs that could be contaminating other planets. Despite extreme decontamination efforts, bacterial spores from Earth still manage ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 27, 2018
6
60
Sixty-six million years ago, the world burned. An asteroid crashed to Earth with a force one million times larger than the largest atomic bomb, causing the extinction of the dinosaurs. But dinosaurs weren't the only ones ...
Archaeology
May 24, 2018
2
298
If a small beetle dives into your beer, consider giving it a break. Referred to as "ambrosia beetles," these insects just want what's best for themselves and their offspring. Drawn to the smell of alcohol, the beetles are ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 9, 2018
1
139
Moving to a new home is usually accompanied with a long to-do list, from painting the walls to unpacking boxes. For young queen Azteca ants however, one important job is to start growing fungus. Many tropical ant species ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 26, 2018
0
11
UConn researchers recently documented in Nature Scientific Reports a gory and fascinating relationship between periodical cicadas and a fungus that infects them, hijacks their behavior, and causes a scene straight out of ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 22, 2018
0
36
