Host microbial interactions are dynamic, reciprocal biological processes in which multicellular hosts and their associated microorganisms (commensal, symbiotic, or pathogenic) exchange signals, metabolites, and structural components that modulate physiology, development, and immunity. These interactions involve host pattern-recognition receptors detecting microbe-associated molecular patterns, triggering signaling pathways that shape immune tolerance or activation. Microbes, in turn, influence host nutrient acquisition, barrier function, and cellular differentiation through metabolite production, colonization resistance, and modulation of host gene expression. The net outcome of host microbial interactions emerges from complex community-level dynamics, spatial organization at mucosal surfaces, and context-dependent environmental and genetic factors.
Antibiotics are a medical marvel, but many microbes are gaining the ability to resist and tolerate these therapeutics. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have uncovered how S. pneumoniae adapts to antibiotic ...
Cell & Microbiology
6 hours ago
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How do microorganisms orient themselves to find the optimal habitat? Scientists have thoroughly investigated so-called magnetotactic bacteria, which use the Earth's magnetic field as a biological compass. Some eukaryotic ...
Evolution
Jul 20, 2026
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St. Louis is a plant science powerhouse, but outside the neatly tended rows of crops and gleaming greenhouses sits another treasure trove of biological data: The wild plants tucked into yards, sidewalk cracks, ditches and ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 20, 2026
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Honeybees do not like cold weather. When temperatures dip, they can become sluggish and unable to fly. But no matter the conditions in the outside world, they try to keep their hives close to a comfortable 34°C–36°C (93°F–97°F). ...
Researchers from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) and Kiel University (CAU) have examined immune system function in an early-branching animal—a sea anemone. They discovered that the immune systems of these animals ...
Ecology
Jul 16, 2026
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Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have discovered that tiny photosynthetic bacteria band together into protective "herds" when attacked by predators—a survival strategy that could also influence how carbon is ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 15, 2026
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Tiny particles made from the membranes of human immune cells could offer a promising new way to fight fungal infections that are becoming harder to treat. Engineers at the University of California San Diego created antifungal ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 11, 2026
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A new study reveals that exposing dwarf spiders to a brief period of warm temperatures can disrupt a phenomenon in which internal bacteria normally force genetic males to develop as females. Surprisingly, this reproductive ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 8, 2026
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VUB researcher Maarten Ottaway investigated how trees and their invisible underground allies—the fungi—respond to soil pollution. His Ph.D. sheds new light on an age-old partnership that is crucial for healthy forests, and ...
Ecology
Jul 7, 2026
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9
Scientists at Leiden University have discovered that plants are strongly influenced by their neighbors, not just above ground but also through hidden networks in the soil. Their findings challenge long-held ideas about how ...
Ecology
Jul 6, 2026
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