Host-pathogen interactions are the dynamic, reciprocal biological processes that occur between a host organism and an invading pathogen, encompassing molecular recognition, immune sensing, signaling, and effector responses, as well as pathogen strategies for attachment, invasion, replication, and immune evasion. These interactions involve pattern recognition receptors (e.g., Toll-like, NOD-like, and RIG-I-like receptors), pathogen-associated molecular patterns, and downstream signaling pathways that regulate inflammation, cell death, and antimicrobial defenses. Concurrently, pathogens deploy virulence factors, secretion systems, and immune-modulatory molecules to manipulate host cell pathways, subvert immunity, and optimize their survival, replication, and transmission, thereby determining infection outcomes and disease pathogenesis.
To enter cells, the COVID-19 virus fuses its surrounding membrane with the membrane of the target cell. This is where the fusion peptides of the spike protein come into play. These regions function as molecular keys that ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 17, 2026
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Scientists, clinicians, seed companies and others may soon have a new tool in their toolkit for detecting bacterial pathogens, thanks to a new study by researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. The research—published ...
Biotechnology
Sep 16, 2026
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Scientists have found how a protein produced by bacteria disrupts the mechanism that controls flower development in plants, turning reproductive organs into leaf-like structures. These findings shed light on a plant disease ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 15, 2026
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30
When a virus mutates, the world usually finds out the hard way. Variants of influenza and SARS-CoV-2 can slip past vaccines and antibody drugs before scientists fully understand what has changed. A new study from Harvard's ...
Evolution
Sep 14, 2026
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When bacteria invade the urinary tract, the body has its own arsenal for fighting back. Among those weapons is an unlikely tool: copper. Researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 11, 2026
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Research underway in the lab of Rebecca Alexander, a professor in Wake Forest University's Department of Chemistry, is shedding light on an unusual human bacterium, Mycoplasma penetrans. Alexander's work to understand how ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 10, 2026
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29
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we wore masks and kept 2 meters (6.6 feet) apart in an effort to reduce the spread of the tiny droplets we release into the air with every breath, conversation or cough. The main goal was to ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 10, 2026
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The human body fights staph infections by starving it of essential nutrients. Staph, it turns out, is remarkably good at changing what's on the menu. Staphylococcus aureus—the infamous agent behind MRSA and most staph infections—needs ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 9, 2026
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14
The immune system is a highly sophisticated defense network designed to protect against pathogens. A research team from the Universities of Würzburg and Jena and the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 7, 2026
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A drug that targets the host rather than the virus could get around the problem of antiviral resistance. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people die of seasonal influenza caused by infection with influenza A and B viruses.
Molecular & Computational biology
Sep 1, 2026
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