ENVIRO AONE

Scientists have found that bacterial groups spread more rapidly over surfaces when the individuals inside them move slowly, a discovery that may shed light on how bacteria spread within the body during infections. Researchers from the University of Sheffield and the University of Oxford studied Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a species of bacteria responsible for deadly lung…

A new study has found the antimicrobial properties of certain stem cell proteins could offer a potential treatment to reduce infection in skin wounds. Treating wounds with the secretion of a type of stem cell effectively reduced the viability of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus — better known as MRSA — according to a new study from…

A new species of small pterosaur — similar in size to a turkey — has been discovered, which is unlike any other pterosaur seen before due to its long slender toothless beak. The fossilised piece of beak was a surprising find and was initially assumed to be part of the fin spine of a fish,…

Cyanobacteria hardly need any nutrients and use the energy of sunlight. Bathers are familiar with these microorganisms as they often occur in waters. A group of researchers has discovered that the multicellular species Phormidium lacuna can be genetically modified by natural transformation and could thus produce substances such as ethanol or hydrogen. During transformation, a…

Researchers have identified a new species of Rickettsia bacteria that may cause significant disease in dogs and humans. This new yet unnamed species, initially identified in three dogs, is part of the spotted-fever group Rickettsia which includes Rickettsia rickettsii, the bacteria that cause Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF). Rickettsia pathogens are categorized into four groups;…

Scientists used satellite data to map the Houston-Galveston area impacted by Hurricane Harvey to understand why the flooding was so severe and widespread. ASU researcher Manoochehr Shirzaei of the School of Earth and Space Exploration and former graduate student and lead author Megan Miller (now a postdoctoral researcher at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute…

A new study suggests that Mylodon — a ground sloth that lived in South America until about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago — was not a strict vegetarian like all of its living relatives. Based on a chemical analysis of amino acids preserved in sloth hair, the researchers uncovered evidence that this gigantic extinct sloth…

Cas proteins like CRISPR-Cas9 have great potential for gene therapy to treat human disease and for altering crop genes, but the gene-targeting and gene-cutting Cas proteins are often large and hard to ferry into cells with viral vectors such as adenovirus. Scientists have now discovered a hypercompact Cas protein, Cas-phi, that should work better. It…

A new method developed by engineers may offer a starting point for delivering life-saving treatments to plants ravaged by diseases. A new method developed by engineers at MIT may offer a starting point for delivering life-saving treatments to plants ravaged by such diseases. These diseases are difficult to detect early and to treat, given the…