Showing 20 articles starting at article 1281

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Anthropology: Early Humans, Biology: Microbiology

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Recent paleogenomic research revealed that interbreeding was common among early human species. However, little was known about when, where, and how often this hominin interbreeding took place. Using paleoanthropological evidence, genetic data, and supercomputer simulations of past climate, a team of international researchers has found that interglacial climates and corresponding shifts in vegetation created common habitats for Neanderthals and Denisovans, increasing their chances for interbreeding and gene flow in parts of Europe and central Asia.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

A mathematical model provides new insights into the distribution of genetic information during bacterial cell division

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Iron is well-known for rusting, but this doesn't just happen on contact with oxygen and water. Some bacteria are also able to able to decompose iron anaerobically in a process referred to as electrobiocorrosion. The sediment-dwelling bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens uses electrically conductive protein threads for this purpose. They produce magnetite from the iron, which promotes further corrosion in a positive feedback loop.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Unexpected new insights into how COVID-19 infects cells help explain why coronaviruses are so good at jumping from species to species and will help scientists better predict how COVID-19 will evolve.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study shows that the cheek teeth of proboscideans (elephants and their ancient relatives) evolved in response to dietary changes due to vegetation changes and climate change in East Africa during the last 26 million years.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using a novel method to detect microbial activity in biological soil crusts, or biocrusts, after they are wetted, a research team in a new study uncovered clues that will lead to a better understanding of the role microbes play in forming a living skin over many semi-arid ecosystems around the world. The tiny organisms -- and the microbiomes they create -- are threatened by climate change.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have created a panel of genetically diverse mice that accurately model the highly variable human response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The team uncovered differences in the innate immune and regulated proinflammatory responses, the timing and strength of which are associated with disease severity.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An experimental malaria vaccine appears safe and promotes an immune response in African infants, one of the groups most vulnerable to severe malaria disease. There is currently only one malaria vaccine, 'RTS,S' that is approved by the World Health Organization and offers partial disease protection. However, in the results of the early-stage phase Ib trial, researchers find that targeting RH5 -- a protein that the malaria pathogen Plasmodium falciparum uses to invade red blood cells -- can generate a promising immune response that is most pronounced in an infant cohort.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new analysis shows that infectious bacteria exposed to the antibiotic albicidin rapidly develop up to a 1,000-fold increase in resistance via a gene amplification mechanism.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study finds that past changes in atmospheric CO2 and corresponding shifts in climate and vegetation played a key role in determining when and where early human species interbred.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study finds that around 1.12 million years ago a massive cooling event in the North Atlantic and corresponding shifts in climate, vegetation and food resources disrupted early human occupation of Europe.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Creating new technologically advanced sensors, scientists have engineered bacteria that detect the presence of tumor DNA in live organisms. Their innovation could pave the way to new biosensors capable of identifying various infections, cancers and other diseases.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers created a germ-free mouse model to evaluate the role of the microbiome in the infection, replication, and pathogenesis of HIV and the Epstein-Barr virus, the virus that can cause mononucleosis and other serious diseases.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new observation suggests that a life-threatening blood clotting disorder can be caused by an infection with adenovirus, one of the most common respiratory viruses in pediatric and adult patients.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study has identified a new pathway that human immune deficiency virus (HIV) uses to enter the nucleus of a healthy cell, where it can then replicate and go on to invade other cells.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Following the first stay-at-home orders issued in the U.S. to curb the spread of COVID-19, gastrointestinal viruses such as norovirus, rotavirus and adenovirus all but disappeared from California communities, and remained at very low levels for nearly 2 years, according to new research.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A scientific journey decades in the making has found a new antibiotic strategy to defeat gram-negative bacteria like Salmonella, Pseudomonas and E. coli, the culprits in many urinary tract infections. The synthetic molecule works fast and is durable. It interferes with synthesis of the bacterial outer membrane by jamming an enzyme. When tested against a clinical collection of 285 bacterial strains, including some that were highly resistant to commercial antibiotics, it killed them all.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Breastfeeding has long been used as a method to help keep newborns healthy and protected against a variety of diseases. But certain sugars naturally found in breastmilk could also help prevent infections before a baby arrives. Researchers have found that these sugars can stop a common prenatal infection in human tissues and pregnant mice. This could someday help people avoid preterm births or complications without the need for additional antibiotics.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Two oral drugs, molnupiravir and paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir), provide equivalent therapeutic benefit in preventing severe COVID-19 in animal models, but only molnupiravir efficiently blocked SARS-CoV-2 transmission when administered at a human effect size-equivalent dose, according to a new study.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The drug tecovirimat is currently in use for the treatment of mpox -- the disease caused by monkeypox virus -- that spread worldwide in 2022. Tecovirimat is an anti-poxviral drug, and its use is driving the emergence of drug-resistant variants of the monkeypox virus. Scientists have identified how monkeypox virus exploits a cellular protein to evade host defenses, allowing it to replicate and spread better. Existing drugs -- developed to treat other viral infections -- also target this cellular protein. When tested against a range of poxviruses, including monkeypox, these drugs were found to have antiviral effects in all cases.