Scientists discover first nitrogen-fixing organelle

Modern biology textbooks assert that only bacteria can take nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it into a form that is usable for life. Plants that fix nitrogen, such as legumes, do so by harboring symbiotic bacteria ...

Boosting survival of a beneficial bacterium in the human gut

The microbes that inhabit the gut are critical for human health, and understanding the factors that encourage the growth of beneficial bacterial species—known as "good" bacteria—in the gut may enable medical interventions ...

Prehistoric faeces reveal parasites from feasting at Stonehenge

A new analysis of ancient faeces found at the site of a prehistoric village near Stonehenge has uncovered evidence of the eggs of parasitic worms, suggesting the inhabitants feasted on the internal organs of cattle and fed ...

The most common organism in the oceans harbors a virus in its DNA

The most common organism in the oceans, and possibly on the entire planet, is a family of single-celled marine bacteria called SAR11. These drifting organisms look like tiny jelly beans and have evolved to outcompete other ...

Stealth nanocapsules kill Chagas parasites in mouse models

Lychnopholide, a substance isolated from a Brazilian plant, and formulated as part of "nanocapsules" cured more than half of a group of mice that had been infected experimentally with Chagas disease parasites. "Chagas disease ...

Mosquitoes smell you better at night, study finds

In work published this week in Nature's Scientific Reports, a team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame's Eck Institute for Global Health, led by Associate Professor Giles Duffield and Assistant Professor Zain ...

A new method for assessing the microbiome of the human gut

The gut microbiome—the population and variety of bacteria within the intestine—is thought to influence a number of behavioral and disease traits in humans. Most obviously, it affects intestinal health. Cancer, inflammatory ...

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