Researchers in China identified Fusarium cugenangense as a novel causal agent of pear wilt in China. Systemic infection is demonstrated via GFP-labeling and ultrastructural analysis. This is the first report of F. cugenangense causing pear wilt disease in China.

PCP binds to TLR5, activating the TLR signaling pathway, which triggers inflammation, oxidative stress, disrupted amino acid metabolism, and liver damage, ultimately compromising immune function.

Ovarian cancer kills more women than any other gynecological cancer. Most patients receive their diagnosis only after the disease spreads throughout the abdomen. Until now, scientists have never fully understood why this cancer advances so fast. A new study led by Nagoya University explains why. Published in Science Advances, the study shows that cancer cells recruit help from protective mesothelial cells that normally line the abdominal cavity. Mesothelial cells lead the invasion and cancer cells follow the pathways they create. These hybrid cell clusters resist chemotherapy better than cancer alone. 

Drug resistance has accelerated in recent years with the emergence of deadly bacteria and “superbugs.” In response to this global health crisis, UC San Diego biologists have developed a new CRISPR-based technology capable of removing antibiotic-resistant elements from populations of bacteria.

Researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt have discovered a surprising role for formic acid in the human gut: The small molecule acts as a kind of “taxi” for electrons – both within bacteria and, likely, also between different microorganisms. The gut bacterium Blautia luti produces formic acid as part of a metabolic trick that allows it to respond flexibly to what is available in the gut. In addition to carbohydrates, the bacterium can also metabolize toxic carbon monoxide derived from the body’s own hemoglobin degradation.

Cancer cells often invade different tissues by forming rounded protrusions called blebs. However, the exact mechanism behind this expansion remained unclear. Now, researchers at Kyushu University have discovered that cancer cells use protein clusters to create water pressure inside blebs, which pushes the cell membrane outward, enabling rapid movement. This newly identified mechanism, named “CaMKII-based osmotically-driven deformation or CODE,” reveals a unique physical process that drives the spread of cancer cells inside the body.