Category: Science and Tech
Are Pesticides Breeding the Next Pandemic? Experts Warn of Fungal Superbugs
Science Tech Daily Fungicides used in agriculture have been linked to an increase in resistance to antifungal drugs in both humans and animals. Fungal infections are on the rise, and two UC Davis infectious disease experts, Dr. George Thompson and Dr. Angel Desai, are sounding the alarm. In a recent commentary published in the New England Journal of […]
Jun 17, 2025
Bat Cave Footage Offers Clues to How Viruses Leap Between Species
NYT Video from a national park in Uganda depicted a parade of predatory species feeding on and dispersing fruit bats that are known natural reservoirs of infectious diseases. Bats carry an assortment of viruses, including infectious diseases that have jumped into humans in a process known as zoonotic spillover. In some cases, the aerial mammals […]
Jun 17, 2025
Hundreds of Mysterious Giant Viruses Discovered Lurking in The Ocean
Science Alert Scientists have just discovered hundreds of new giant viruses, in a comprehensive study covering oceans across the globe. The team behind the study, marine biologist Benjamin Minch and virologist Mohammad Moniruzzaman from the University of Miami, used bespoke computer software to identify the genomes of microbes in seawater samples – including 230 giant viruses previously unknown […]
Jun 17, 2025
Artificial intelligence reimagines infectious disease forecasting
Johns Hopkins The new tool is the first to use large language modeling to predict infectious disease risk. A new AI tool to predict the spread of infectious disease outperforms existing state-of-the-art forecasting methods. The tool, created with federal support by researchers at Johns Hopkins and Duke universities, could revolutionize how public health officials predict, […]
Jun 11, 2025
Searching for clues in the genome: What ancient DNA reveals about the history of epidemics
Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut How did the devastating epidemics of plague and tuberculosis come about – and what can we learn from them today? Renowned paleogeneticist Prof. Dr. Johannes Krause, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, will give the 13th Loeffler Lecture at the Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg in Greifswald, providing exciting insights into his research […]
Jun 4, 2025
Black Death Plague That Killed Millions Became Less Fatal because of This Genetic Tweak
Scientific American Reducing the copies of one gene in the bubonic plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, made it less deadly but potentially more transmissible. A small genetic change makes the bacterium that caused the plague less fatal but possibly more transmissible, allowing for greater disease spread in smaller populations, a study in Science reports. The bacterium Yersinia pestis caused the Black Death […]
Jun 3, 2025
RFK Jr. says he may bar scientists from publishing in top medical journals
Washington Post Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took aim at reputed journals such as the Lancet and said his agency will create “in-house” publications instead. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday that he may bar government scientists from publishing in the world’s leading medical journals, instead proposing the creation […]
May 28, 2025
Can bioimaging build capacity in fungi research?
Wellcome.org Fungal infections are an increasing threat and we need researchers around the world to work on these problems. But fungal research is very challenging in resource-limited settings. Dr Elizabeth Ballou explains how promising new technologies could change that. Fungi are beautiful and very charismatic. The most fascinating thing about them is that they’re incredibly […]
May 21, 2025
Genetic Study Retraces the Origins of Coronaviruses in Bats
NYT As China and the United States trade charges of a lab leak, researchers contend in a new paper that the Covid pandemic got its start, like a previous one, in the wildlife trade. In the early 2000s, a coronavirus infecting bats jumped into raccoon dogs and other wild mammals in southwestern China. Some of […]
May 7, 2025
New Antimicrobial Paint Kills Flu, MRSA, and COVID-19 on Contact
SciTechDaily A new bacteria-killing paint shows powerful promise in eliminating dangerous pathogens like MRSA and COVID-19 from hard surfaces. nfused with chlorhexidine, a trusted dental disinfectant, the coating works on plastics and metals and activates once dry. Collaborating with industrial paint maker Indestructible Paint, the team aims to bring this innovation to hospitals, public transport, and even […]
Apr 23, 2025