Researchers discovered five phases of brain rewiring across the lifespan. The eras of childhood, adolescence, adulthood, early aging, and late aging each have characteristic rewiring of structural con...

Policy drops “paylines” based on peer-review scores and requires geography and other factors to guide approvals

The development of genetically encoded Zn2+ probes (GEZPs) has been hindered by the limited signal transduction efficiency of natural zinc-binding domains, but the encoded Ca2+ indicators utilize the ...

Science talks with two scientists about finding the beauty in nature’s mosaics

Redox sensing and regulation are critical to both the survival and virulence strategies used by the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans to evade host immunity and establish infection. However, the precise genetic and biochemical mechanisms driving these redox regulation systems in the context of fungal virulence are unclear. To address this limitation, we designed genetically encoded redox sensors optimized for expression in C. neoformans and linked these sensors to cryptococcal redox proteins for real-time monitoring of intracellular redox status. Using these sensors, we established several fluorescence-based techniques for monitoring dose-responsive changes in the intracellular oxidation status of C. neoformans under stress. Specifically, we demonstrated sensor responsiveness to nontoxic doses of peroxide stress and during different stages of cell growth, and we verified sensor responsiveness in a mutant with known sensitivity to oxidative stress. This approach provides a framework for developing and deploying biosensors in pathogenic fungi and in basidiomycetes─a group of microorganisms with relatively few sophisticated genetic tools for molecular and synthetic biology. Overall, our sensors enable real-time insights into the key redox mechanisms driving growth and survival of a globally important pathogen and pave the way for tool development in other fungi.

In a large-scale trial, modRNA was significantly better at preventing confirmed flu cases than a typical seasonal flu shot.

Biomolecular condensates are non-membrane-encapsulated compartments that control various biological processes. Recent studies have revealed that condensates change in response to stimuli and over time...

With the loss of USAID and much of CDC, our ability to respond to pandemics is at risk. Global health issues are a growing threat.

The EPA’s scientists that helped in the aftermath of the East Palestine, Ohio, disaster, are now in the private sector. What does that mean for future crises?

About the Job: The Department of Microbiology & Immunology and the Institute on Infectious Diseases (UMIID) at the University of Minnesota Medical ...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has now weaponized the CDC website to promote his anti-vaccine views

The CDC, under the direction of an unqualified health secretary, is now promoting claims that flunk Logic 101.

The discovery of an unusual protist named Solarion arienae, which has a mitochondrial genome with some intriguing features, provides insight into the early radiation of eukaryotic groups.