Plantwatch: the trees that feed on metal
These plants can clean contaminated soils, could they also offer a greener way of collecting much-needed substances?A magnificent tall tree calledPycnandra acuminata grows on the island of New Caledonia in the South Pacific, and it does something strange – when its bark is cutit bleeds a bright blue-green latex that contains up to 25% nickel, a metal highly poisonous to most plants in more than tiny amounts.An estimated 700 plant species have unusually high levels of metal, mostly nickel but not in all cases. The macadamia tree has leaves and sap rich in manganese, although fortunately not in the nut. If such metal-conta...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - April 21, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Paul Simons Tags: Environment Science Mining Pollution Source Type: news
Superbug killer: New nanotech destroys bacteria and fungal cells
(RMIT University) A new dual bug killer is one of the thinnest antimicrobial coatings to date.The coating works by tearing bacteria and fungal cells apart, offering a smart solution to the twin global health threats of drug-resistant bacterial and fungal infections. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - April 14, 2021 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
What Are Toxin-Mediated Diseases?
Discussion
A poison is a generic term for “a substance with an inherent property that tends to destroy life or impair health.” A toxin is more specific and is “any poison produced by an organism, characterized by antigenicity in certain animals and high molecular weight, and including the bacterial toxins that are the causative agents of tetanus, diphtheria, etc., and such plant and animal toxins as ricin and snake venom.” A toxin does not include those substances that are made synthetically produced. Venom is also a toxin that is used by animals and insects for predation or defense which can cause ...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - April 12, 2021 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Pediatric Education Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news
NIDCR's Spring 2021 E-Newsletter
Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.
NIDCR's Spring 2021 E-Newsletter
In this issue:
NIDCR News
Funding Opportunities & Related Notices
NIH/HHS News
Subscribe to NICDR News
Science Advances
Grantee News
NIDCR News
NIDCR & NIH Stand Against Structural Racism
NIDCR Director Rena D’Souza, DDS, MS, PhD, said in a statement that there is no place for structural racism in biomedical research, echoing remarks from NIH Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, in his announcement of a new NIH initiative—called U...
Source: NIDCR Science News - April 7, 2021 Category: Dentistry Source Type: news
'Germ Hunters' discover rare disease in rural Alberta
(University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine& Dentistry) A rare lung disease that is linked to bats has made Alberta home, according to new research led by scientists at Alberta Precision Laboratories and the University of Alberta. The team of infectious disease experts confirmed that histoplasmosis--a fungal infection transmitted through bat and bird droppings--is now found in Alberta. Their study extends the known range of the disease much farther northwest from its traditional home in the central United States and parts of southern Ontario and Quebec. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - March 18, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
Innovative cancer treatment found to be promising for the control of fungal infections
(Funda ç ã o de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de S ã o Paulo) The use of CAR T-cells reprogrammed to 'recognize' Cryptococcus spp. proved effective to combat the infection in vitro and in mice. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - March 4, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
The battle against hard-to-treat fungal infections
(American Chemical Society) Systemic fungal infections are much rarer than other illnesses, but they are potentially deadly, with limited options for treatment. In fact, fungi are becoming increasingly resistant to the few drugs that are available, and infections are growing more common. A cover story inChemical& Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, details how scientists are working to improve our antifungal arsenal. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - March 3, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
Fungi in the gut prime immunity against infection
(Weill Cornell Medicine) Common fungi, often present in the gut, teach the immune system how to respond to their more dangerous relatives, according to new research from scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine. Breakdowns in this process can leave people susceptible to deadly fungal infections. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - February 5, 2021 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
New eco-friendly technique protects rice plants against devastating fungal infection
(Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology) Researchers have developed a new technique to protect rice seeds against fungal infections that can ruin up to half of all rice crops in the world. The biocontrol method, which involves inoculation of flowers with a different fungus that doesn't cause disease and using seeds harvested from the flower to grow crops, is even better at protecting rice plants from diseases than existing fungicide approaches, and could also be used against similar pathogens that affect other staple crops. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - February 4, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Aberrant type 1 immunity drives susceptibility to mucosal fungal infections
Human monogenic disorders have revealed the critical contribution of type 17 responses in mucosal fungal surveillance. We unexpectedly found that in certain settings, enhanced type 1 immunity rather than defective type 17 responses can promote mucosal fungal infection susceptibility. Notably, in mice and humans with AIRE deficiency, an autoimmune disease characterized by selective susceptibility to mucosal but not systemic fungal infection, mucosal type 17 responses are intact while type 1 responses are exacerbated. These responses promote aberrant interferon- (IFN-)– and signal transducer and activator of transcript...
Source: ScienceNOW - January 14, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Break, T. J., Oikonomou, V., Dutzan, N., Desai, J. V., Swidergall, M., Freiwald, T., Chauss, D., Harrison, O. J., Alejo, J., Williams, D. W., Pittaluga, S., Lee, C.-C. R., Bouladoux, N., Swamydas, M., Hoffman, K. W., Greenwell-Wild, T., Bruno, V. M., Rose Tags: Immunology, Medicine, Diseases, Online Only r-articles Source Type: news
Antifungal drug improves key cystic fibrosis biomarkers in clinical study
(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, News Bureau) A drug widely used to treat fungal infections improved key biomarkers in lung tissue cultures as well as in the noses of patients with cystic fibrosis, a clinical study by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Iowa found. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - December 17, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Research reveals how a fungal infection activates inflammation
(St. Jude Children's Research Hospital) Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have shed light on the mechanisms that underlie how Aspergillus fumigatus activates the inflammasome, with implications for therapeutic development. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - December 2, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
Coronavirus Disease 2019 Sepsis: A Nudge Toward Antibiotic Stewardship
COVID-19 is sepsis caused by SARS-CoV-2, a virus for which there is little in the way of antimicrobial therapy. Because it is sepsis, known tenets of sepsis care and organ support must be our guiding principles. Surprisingly, a key lesson that we must take from the war on this viral sepsis is that we must redouble our efforts to be stewards of antimicrobials and ensure that we have adequate means to control bacterial and fungal infection. Moreover, it is critical that high priority be given to randomized controlled trials that are testing drugs to treat SARS-CoV-2 and the ensuing sepsis. As we face subsequent waves of this...
Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH) - November 13, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
ERC Synergy Project studies drug tolerance in intractable fungal infections
(Charit é - Universit ä tsmedizin Berlin) Over the next six years, research groups at Charit é - Universit ä tsmedizin Berlin and Tel Aviv University will study how invasive fungal pathogens are able to evade treatments and develop tolerance to antifungal drugs. In addition to generating fundamental knowledge of fungal pathogens, this large project aims to provide new insights into fungal cell metabolism. This joint endeavor is supported by a European Research Council ERC Synergy Grant worth approximately 9.7 million. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - November 10, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Oral thrush symptoms: Cracked corners of the mouth may be a sign of the fungal infection
ORAL THRUSH occurs when the fungus, Candida albicans - a normal yeast organism found in your mouth - overgrows. What are the signs of this infection? And how do you treat it? (Source: Daily Express - Health)
Source: Daily Express - Health - October 29, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
