New thread in fabric of insect silks

(PhysOrg.com) -- The aptly named silk worms long appeared to have the monopoly on insect silk production, but now scientists are revealing that the world of insect silks is highly complex.

Scientists rely on high-tech eyes to spy on microscopic world

It's been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and at the Agricultural Research Service's Electron and Confocal Microscopy Unit (ECMU) in Beltsville, Maryland, this adage couldn't be more true. Led by unit director ...

Scientists grow plants with friendly fungi

Dr. Chris Thornton and colleagues at the University of Exeter are examining whether adding a safe and harmless fungus to compost boosts the growth and proliferation of crops' roots, helping them grow with less water. Not ...

New fungi could curb grasshopper populations

(PhysOrg.com) -- Beneficial fungi that could help manage grasshopper populations are being tested by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and university colleagues.

Wasps wage war on behalf of wiliwili trees

A black, two-millimeter-long wasp from East Africa is helping wage war on one of its own kind—the Erythrina gall wasp, an invasive species that's decimated Hawaii's endemic wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis) and introduced ...

Little penguins may benefit from new invasive weed solution

CSIRO researchers have found that the fungus, Venturia paralias, specifically attacks the invasive coastal weed called sea spurge (Euphorbia paralias), which threatens nesting sites of native species including little penguins ...

Bacteriophage treatment decontaminates infant formula

A phage showed strong anti-microbial activity against a type of food-borne bacterium that often kills infants after infecting them via infant formula. Phages are viruses that infect only bacteria. The research is published ...

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