Microbiology

Wuhan To Europe To America- The Evolutionary Paths Of SARS-CoV-2

The early "evolutionary paths" SARS-CoV-2, the 2019 coronavirus that leads to COVID-19 in humans have been traced using phylogenetic network techniques and shows how it spread from Wuhan to Europe and America. While there are too many rapid mutat ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 9 2020 - 4:18pm

Coronavirus Is Not New, It's Been Evolving Along With Bats For Millions Of Years

Though coronavirus is known to much of the world by now, it is often used synonymously with COVID-19 by journalists. In scientific reality, there are a vast number of types of different coronaviruses, potentially as many as the thousands of bat species, bu ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 23 2020 - 10:57am

The Next Plague: Stenotrophomonas Maltophilia?

Though coronavirus is a new name for much of the world, microbiologists have worried about it for half a century. It is in the same family as the common cold virus but with the right mutation it can be deadly to those with risk factors for respiratory dise ...

Article - News Staff - May 14 2020 - 3:07pm

Coronavirus Risks In Public Bathrooms

Most public restrooms are grungy in the best of times. Now, we have the coronavirus risk to contend with, too. There are lots of risks – dirty sinks and door handles, airborne particles and other people in small, enclosed spaces who may or may not be brea ...

Article - The Conversation - Jun 5 2020 - 12:04pm

Measles Has Been With Us For At Least 8,000 Years- And Cities May Be Why

Environmental groups believe that living in cities is better for the environment but if there is one thing that COVID-19 has made clear, it's that living in cities is better for spreading infectious disease also.  Despite having numerous large cities, ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 22 2020 - 2:44pm

Phylloxera: The Worst Enemy Of Wine Gets Its Genome Mapped

Biologists have mapped the genome of phylloxera, an aphid-like pest capable of decimating vineyards. In so doing, they have identified nearly 3,000 genes enabling the insect to colonize and feed on grape vines by creating what are essentially nutritionally ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 30 2020 - 6:01am

Low Power Microbes Discovery Could Shake Up The Search For Life On Other Planets

We eat various foods and our metabolism converts it to energy our bodies can use. This is a hallmark of life, across plants, animals, algae and bacteria. Energy is a defining characteristic of living. ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 6 2020 - 10:18am

Viroids: Brazilian Plants Are Infested With 200 Natural Pathogens, But Here Is How Science Can Help

An annotated list of 219 pathogens that infect plants in Brazil, including many agriculturally important species, shows just how precarious things can be when it comes to maintaining an affordable, sustainable food supply. ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 6 2020 - 10:36am

IBD: How A Class Of Killer T Cells Goes Rogue

Between 6 and 8 million people worldwide suffer from inflammatory bowel disease, a group of chronic intestinal disorders that can cause belly pain, urgent and frequent bowel movements, bloody stools and weight loss. New research suggests that a malfunctio ...

Article - The Conversation - Aug 23 2020 - 3:56pm

How Does A Virus Win?

To estimate infection rates of viruses like SARS-CoV-2, immunologists use a basic reproduction number, known as R0 (pronounced “R naught”)- an expression of the number of people likely to catch a disease from one contagious person- and a Susceptible-Infect ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 29 2020 - 10:40am