Unearthing how a carnivorous fungus traps and digests worms
A new analysis sheds light on the molecular processes involved when a carnivorous species of fungus known as Arthrobotrys oligospora senses, traps and consumes a worm. Hung-Che Lin of Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan, and colleagues present these fi.....»»
A fungus that shrinks in size to better infect the brain
A fungus that is a common cause of fungal meningitis undergoes a remarkable transformation once it enters the body, allowing it to infect the brain, according to new research by scientists at University of Utah Health. Studies in mice show that as th.....»»
Keeping Kermit: New clues to protecting frogs from deadly Bd fungus
As the globe continues to battle COVID-19, another pandemic—the deadly fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd)—is ravaging the world's frog species, contributing to the instability of Earth's delicate ecosystem......»»
New fungus to help Australian farmers fight fast-spreading weed
Farmers now have a new biocontrol tool to help fight one of Australia's most challenging agricultural weeds, flaxleaf fleabane, which causes grain crop revenue losses of more than $43 million each year. Researchers from Australia's national science a.....»»
Behold this award-winning image of fungus making a fly its “zombie” slave
Plus eight other winning images in 2022 BMC Ecology and Evolution image competition. Enlarge / The story of a conquest: The fruiting body of a parasitic fungus erupts from the body of its victim. (credit: Roberto García-Roa/CC BY 4.0.....»»
Building the best zeolite
If science and nature were to have a baby, it would surely be the zeolite. This special rock, with its porous structure that traps water inside, also traps atoms and molecules that can cause chemical reactions. That's why zeolites are important as ca.....»»
Team finds new mechanism for heterochromatin establishment and transcriptional silencing in rice crop fungus
Rice is one of the most important crops in the world, particularly in China. The rice yield is most severely hindered by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. According to the National Agro-Tech Extension and Service Center, approximately 400 acres of rice.....»»
How a harmful fungus renders its host plant defenseless
The fungus Ustilago maydis attacks corn and can cause significant damage to its host. To do this, it first ensures that the plant offers little resistance to the infection. The surgical precision it applies is shown by a new study from the University.....»»
400-year-old Ecuadoran beer resurrected from yeast
Inside an old oak barrel, Ecuadoran bioengineer Javier Carvajal found the fungus of fortune: a 400-year-old yeast specimen that he has since managed to resurrect and use to reproduce what is believed to be Latin America's oldest beer......»»
How highly resistant strains of fungi emerge
An international research team has deciphered the mechanism by which the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans is resistant to fungus-specific drugs. It is a yeast-like fungus that can infect humans. Specific drugs, named antifungals, are available for trea.....»»
Researchers reveal how an insect-eating plant uses rain energy to power its traps
Scientists at the University of Bristol have uncovered the deadly workings of a carnivorous plant......»»
Worms as a model for personalized medicine
Tailoring a person's diet or medicine based on their genomes has been a goal of the medical community for decades, but the strategy has not been widely successful because people metabolize chemicals differently. A drug may work differently for two pa.....»»
Martens, wolverines, skunks and red pandas—Germany was once a paradise for small carnivorans
An international team of researchers reports that at least 20 species of carnivorous mammals lived 11.5 million years ago in what is now the Hammerschmiede fossil site in southern Germany. The site has been a focus of attention since the 2019 discove.....»»
How water fleas defend themselves against carnivorous plants
Water fleas are masters of adaptation. Researchers from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB), the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg and the Technical University of Darmstadt have discovered that they can defend themselves not only against animals but al.....»»
The best offense is a great defense for some carnivorous plants
Insect-eating plants have fascinated biologists for more than a century, but how plants evolved the ability to capture and consume live prey has largely remained a mystery. Now, Salk scientists, along with collaborators from Washington University in.....»»
New giant dinosaur predator discovered with tiny arms, like T. rex
Paleontologists said Thursday they had discovered a new giant carnivorous dinosaur species that had a massive head and tiny arms, just like Tyrannosaurus rex......»»
Florida Once Again Has Giant Calamitous Snails That Spew Parasitic Brain Worms
Officials in Florida are again battling a highly invasive, extraordinarily destructive giant snail species that also happens to be capable of spreading parasitic worms that invade human brains. From a report: The giant African land snail (GALS) -- ak.....»»
New giant carnivorous dinosaur discovered with tiny arms like T. rex
Tyrannosaurs (like the famous T. rex) is not the only group of giant carnivorous dinosaur with tiny arms. Researchers discovered a new species of dinosaur with disproportionally short arms just like T. rex called the Meraxes gigas. The findings, publ.....»»
Florida once again has giant calamitous snails that spew parasitic brain worms
This is the third time the state has tried to eliminate the giant snails. Enlarge / Mary Yong Cong, a Florida Department of Agriculture scientist, holds a giant African snail in her Miami lab on July 17, 2015. (credit: Getty | Kerry.....»»
Florida battling giant, savage snails that spread brain-invading worms—again
This is the third time Florida has tried to eliminate the giant snails from the state. Enlarge / Mary Yong Cong, a Florida Department of Agriculture scientist, holds a giant African snail in her Miami lab on July 17, 2015. (credit: G.....»»
Hidden in genetics: The evolutionary relationships of two groups of ancient invertebrates revealed
Kamptozoa and Bryozoa are two phyla of small aquatic invertebrates. They are related to snails and clams (collectively called mollusks), bristleworms, earthworms, and leeches (collectively called annelids), and ribbon worms (nemertea). But their prec.....»»