Researchers have traced the remaining last steps of the biological pathway that gives oats resistance to the deadly crop disease take-all. The discovery creates opportunities for new ways of defending wheat and other cereals against the soil-borne root disease. The research team have already taken the first step in this aim by successfully reconstituting the…

A new study found that specific types of gut bacteria can protect other good bacteria from cancer treatments — mitigating harmful, drug-induced changes to the gut microbiome. By metabolizing chemotherapy drugs, the protective bacteria could temper short- and long-term side effects of treatment. A new Northwestern University study found that specific types of gut bacteria…

Research reveals key differences between single- and double-stranded RNA, insights that may prove useful to fields from agriculture to medicine. Less common in nature is double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), which has two strands and resembles the well-known DNA double helix. It’s found in some viruses, but for the past few decades, people have been developing synthetic…

Accumulation of assembled tau protein in the central nervous system is characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease and several other neurodegenerative diseases, called tauopathies. Researchers have now established a new mouse model of tau accumulation and propagation in brain. Single intracerebral injection of synthetic tau filaments induced by dextran sulphate into wild-type mice caused seeding of endogenous…

According to a UN-agreement, assistance dogs like guide dogs, signal dogs and medical response dogs are welcome in hospitals and other public places. However, in practice, they are regularly refused entry. Hygiene reasons are often given as the main argument for this. Research now shows that the paws of assistance dogs are cleaner than the…

Destroying senescent cells in the aging stem cell niche enhances hippocampal neurogenesis and cognitive function in mice, researchers report. «Our results provide further support for the notion that excessive senescence is a driving factor behind aging, and even late-life reduction of these cells can rejuvenate and restore the function of the stem cell niche,» says…

Researchers have developed a new sequencing-based approach for pathogen discovery from challenging samples. Infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic viruses, bacteria, fungi or parasites. The treatment of bacterial and fungal infections relies particularly on antimicrobial drugs, while the focus in treating viral infections is the alleviation of symptoms. Initial therapy for infection is often empiric…

COVID-19 saliva testing kits that include a novel preservative can also be used measure microscopic organisms in the mouth, a new study has found. This enables study of the relationship between mouth and lung microbes and the SARS-CoV-2 virus that may allow for the development of new treatments. The study, published in the journal NPJ…

Researchers have shown that the enzyme lysine demethylase 7a helps ensure the ordered axial development of the mouse embryo by modulating Hox genes which specify positional characteristics along the head-to-tail axis. Their findings suggest that the enzyme modulates Hox gene activation by regulating the repressive histone mark H3K9me2, an epigenetic modification of the DNA packaging…

The mechanism of plant defense mediated by the non-expressor of pathogenesis-related (NPR) genes in monocots (plants having a single embryonic leaf) is not well-documented. Now, scientists have discovered how the NPR family of genes regulate immune responses in the model monocot Brachypodium distachyon. These findings provide a blueprint for plants’ defense systems and might contribute…