Host adaptation is the biological process by which a parasite, pathogen, commensal, or mutualistic organism undergoes genetic, phenotypic, and often behavioral changes that increase its fitness in association with a specific host species or host range. It typically involves selection on traits mediating host recognition, attachment, immune evasion, nutrient acquisition, and replication within host tissues or cells. Mechanistically, host adaptation may proceed through point mutations, gene gain or loss, regulatory rewiring, or horizontal gene transfer, and is shaped by host immune pressures, ecological context, and transmission routes, often leading to specialization, host shifts, or emergence of new host-specific lineages.
Researchers have found surprising links that show that Neanderthal ancestry influences our immune system today in ways more nuanced than previously recognized. Their work is published in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution.
Evolution
May 28, 2026
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Johanna Harvey, an assistant professor of wildlife disease ecology at the University of Rhode Island, has described bird flu in public presentations as a quiet virus with loud consequences. Now, she's published a new paper ...
Ecology
May 27, 2026
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10
Even if you haven't heard of Botrytis cinerea, you've likely seen it—slowly growing in your store-bought blueberries, tomatoes or even on your beautiful orchids. Commonly known as gray mold, the fungus attacks hundreds of ...
Plants & Animals
May 20, 2026
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Scientists from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have uncovered what gives Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes cholera, the ability to colonize the human gut. The researchers found that a small RNA embedded within ...
Molecular & Computational biology
May 16, 2026
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19
Male strepsipterans develop inside a host insect during their larval stage and, upon reaching the adult stage, emerge from the host body to begin a free-living phase. In a new study, researchers at University of Tsukuba directly ...
Plants & Animals
May 8, 2026
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36
The human gut harbors a complex ecosystem of trillions of microorganisms (the microbiome), which influences digestion, the immune system and metabolism. A research team led by the University of Vienna has used the "reverse ...
Evolution
May 6, 2026
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261
In every backyard, park, and playground on Earth, the ground is teeming with a type of bacteria called Streptomyces—one of the most abundant organisms on the planet. While these dirt-dwelling microbes are known for producing ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 30, 2026
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115
A research team from the LKS Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) has developed a machine-learning classifier capable of analyzing the genomes of influenza A viruses (IAVs) to accurately predict their ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 29, 2026
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16
Researchers at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln have developed a vaccine approach that shows promise in protecting against highly pathogenic bird flu, demonstrating strong efficacy in both mice and cattle. Avian influenza ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 24, 2026
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15
Research into human genomic diversity has a number of applications in biomedicine, evolution, and history. However, many populations have historically been underrepresented on the human genomic map. This is the case of Native ...
Evolution
Apr 22, 2026
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