As Coronavirus Variants Spread, the US Struggles to Keep Up
The nation is a sequencing superpower. But without a federal strategy or enough funding, scientists can’t coordinate to track an evolving threat fast enough......»»
An Enormous Meteorite, Bird Flu in Washington State and a Troubling Scurvy Case Study
We cover a 3.26-billion-year-old meteorite impact, the spread of bird flu and a scurvy case study that serves as a cautionary tale in this week’s news roundup......»»
Bacterial pathogen must balance between colonizing airways and developing antibiotic tolerance, study reveals
Imagine trying to settle into a new home while constantly being attacked. That's what the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa faces when it infects the lungs, and it can't both spread and protect itself from antibiotics at the same time......»»
Bird flu hit a dead end in Missouri, but it’s running rampant in California
No new cases in Missouri, but plenty in California and Washington. As H5N1 bird flu continues to spread wildly among California dairy herds and farmworkers, federal health officia.....»»
Warming lakes and rivers may spread fish pathogens
Michigan's rivers and lakes were once cold enough that fish were protected from some infection-causing parasites. As the Great Lakes ecosystem warms, a Michigan State University researcher is investigating new pathogens that may become relevant to th.....»»
When ribosomes go rogue
Unusual variations in the cellular protein factory can skew development, help cancer spread, and more. But ribosome variety may also play biological roles, scientists say. In the.....»»
An elegant switch regulates production of protein variants during cell division
Our cells contain thousands of proteins that have gone largely undetected and unstudied until recent years: these are variants of known proteins, which cells can make when their protein-building machinery interacts differently with the same stretch o.....»»
These 3 struggles sent this retired couple back to the U.S. after a move overseas
These 3 struggles sent this retired couple back to the U.S. after a move overseas.....»»
Researcher finds special proteins are key when antibiotic resistance spreads
Antibiotic resistance is a growing public health problem globally. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that some bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics have the ability to spread that resistance to other bacteria via secretion systems......»»
"Nano-weapon" discovery boosts fight against antibiotic-resistant hospital superbugs
Researchers have discovered how a bacteria found in hospitals uses "nano-weapons" to enable their spread, unlocking new clues in the fight against antibiotic-resistant superbugs......»»
Invasive flathead catfish impacting Susquehanna"s food chain, researchers find
Flathead catfish—native to the Mississippi River basin—were first detected in the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania in 2002, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. In the two decades since then, the invasive species has spread throughout the ri.....»»
Scientists find southern killer whales of the Pacific have access to enough food, deepening mystery of their struggles
A pair of marine mammal scientists at The University of British Columbia, has found that claims that a lack of access to salmon is what is driving the crash in population numbers for southern resident killer whales of the Pacific are wrong......»»
As Fiat stalls as part of Stellantis, Italy"s Turin struggles to stave off decline
Turin's Mirafiori plant — once the symbol of Fiat's might, employing about 60,000 — has shriveled to a shadow of its former self under Stellantis ownership......»»
Q&A: Experts discuss the beaver, a controversial mammal
When an endangered species succeeds in repopulating its former habitat, the immediate reaction is one of joy. In the long term, however, its spread is often associated with conflict. One example is the beaver, a keystone species. Other keystone speci.....»»
An ill kitten in Nebraska sparked efforts to stamp out the spread of rabies
The 2023 illness and death in Nebraska of a stray kitten infected with rabies set off a large-scale effort to discover how the feline became infected in the first place......»»
How to spot AI deepfakes that spread election misinformation
Generative AI systems, such as ChatGPT, are trained on large datasets to create written, visual or audio content in response to prompts. When fed real images, some algorithms can produce fake photos and videos known as deepfakes......»»
Nonnative plants are a major force behind global insect invasions, study finds
In an article in the journal BioScience, an international team of researchers led by Dr. Cleo Bertelsmeier from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, argues that the global spread of nonnative plants is a key factor driving the growing number of i.....»»
Study of wild type mosquitoes in Burkina Faso discovers new signs of insecticide resistance
One of the main discoveries of a new study is the identification of new variants in genes associated with insecticide resistance in Anopheles mosquitoes, the primary vectors of malaria in West Africa, and potential novel resistance mechanisms, emphas.....»»
How the invasive spiny water flea spread across Canada, and what we can do about it
Across the tranquil waters of Canada's vast network of lakes and rivers, a quiet invader is on the move. The spiny water flea, Bythotrephes cederströmii, is a microscopic predator that is forever altering the ecological fabric of aquatic habitats in.....»»
Are you tasty to mosquitoes? Study offers clues into when and why they bite
As mosquitoes and mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue fever spread across the world, researchers say that a key strategy to prevent these illnesses may be dissuading the insects from biting their victims in the first place. But while scientists have.....»»
Study explores how children engage with dual-language books
Dual-language books (DLBs) are ones with the story told in two languages—sometimes with both languages on the same page, and other times in a two-page spread with the first language on one page and the second language on the other......»»