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In the foreground, a magnifying glass hovers over a strand of DNA, revealing information hidden in the sequence. Binary code and silhouettes of people are in the background.
Biotechs Bolster Biosecurity to Safeguard the Future of Nucleic Acid Sequencing
Synthetic DNA can pose significant biosecurity risks. Experts call for more screening by providers and institutions to mitigate security concerns.
Biotechs Bolster Biosecurity to Safeguard the Future of Nucleic Acid Sequencing
Biotechs Bolster Biosecurity to Safeguard the Future of Nucleic Acid Sequencing

Synthetic DNA can pose significant biosecurity risks. Experts call for more screening by providers and institutions to mitigate security concerns.

Synthetic DNA can pose significant biosecurity risks. Experts call for more screening by providers and institutions to mitigate security concerns.

pathogen

Infographic showing how recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) technique works.
Infographic: Recombinase Polymerase Amplification in Action
Hannah Thomasy, PhD | Dec 4, 2023 | 4 min read
A rapid isothermal amplification technique enables pathogen identification and antibiotic resistance detection in low-resource settings.
four wolves cluster together in the snow next to a tree. one wolf at the front looks out into the distance.
Toxoplasma-Infected Wolves More Likely to Lead Packs, Study Finds
Katherine Irving | Nov 29, 2022 | 3 min read
The parasite appears to make infected wolves less risk-averse, potentially influencing the behavior of packs.
A conceptual illustration of a few red-colored human silhouettes interspersed among many blue-colored silhouettes.
Sexually Transmitted Infections: The Silent Epidemic
The Scientist Creative Services Team in collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific | 1 min read
Advanced diagnostic testing methods empower scientists to swiftly and precisely detect STIs. 
An orange toad perched on a leaf
Past Malaria Surges Linked to Amphibian Die-off
Andy Carstens | Sep 21, 2022 | 2 min read
A study suggests that pathogens affecting other species can indirectly harm human health.
Illustration of a red bacteriophage infecting a blue bacterium, with other bacteria in the background.
Prokaryotes Are Capable of Learning to Recognize Phages
Patience Asanga | Aug 17, 2022 | 3 min read
Immune defense genes in bacteria and archaea can identify viral proteins, a study finds, revealing similarities between the immune systems of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.
Repurposing a Pathogenic Bacteria’s Weapon
LabTalk Podcast - Bugs with Drugs: Repurposing a Pathogenic Bacteria’s Weapon
The Scientist | 1 min read
Cammie Lesser describes her research developing designer probiotics to deliver protein-based therapeutics to the gut.
Mosquitos flying at sunset
Climate Change Worsens Most Infectious Diseases
Andy Carstens | Aug 8, 2022 | 2 min read
Of the pathogens known to have infected humans, more than half may cause more widespread disease as a result of rising temperatures, precipitation changes, or other climate-related factors, a study finds.
Illustration of a targeted virus over a world map
The Hunt for a Pandemic’s Origins
Martha Nelson | Jan 4, 2022 | 10+ min read
Dozens of researchers, including myself, worked for years to uncover that swine flu had leapt to humans from a pig in Mexico in 2009. We learned a lot about influenza evolution, pig farming, and outbreak risk along the way.
Illustration of a world map showing a truck going from the US to Mexico, a plane going from Europe to Mexico, and a pig surrounded by various viruses in Mexico
Infographic: How H1N1 Came to Spark a Pandemic in 2009
Martha Nelson | Jan 4, 2022 | 2 min read
The pathogen known as swine flu evolved in pigs in Mexico following imports of the livestock from the US and Europe.
WHO logo on building
WHO Restarts Investigation of COVID-19 Emergence with New Panel
Chloe Tenn | Sep 28, 2021 | 3 min read
A new, more diverse group of researchers is being appointed take over the stalled investigation.
illustration showing a microscopic view of C. auris, with clusters of round balls connected by filaments
CDC Warns of Person-to-Person Transmission of Resistant Fungus
Shawna Williams | Jul 26, 2021 | 3 min read
In a first, patients who hadn’t been treated with antifungals were found to carry Candida auris impervious to all three available classes of the drugs.
two black-and-white microscope images, one with a few black dots, the other with many rod-shaped bacteria
Identifying a Killer, 1895
Catherine Offord | Jul 1, 2021 | 4 min read
A contaminated ham put bacteriologist Émile Pierre-Marie van Ermengem on the path to discovering the microbe that produces botulinum toxin.
Borrelia burgdorferi Ixodes pacificus chaparral coastal shrubland woodland forest california tick lyme disease
Lyme Disease Pathogen Present in Ticks Near the Coast
Kerry Grens | Apr 26, 2021 | 2 min read
In Northern California, the proportion of ticks infected with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi was the same in shrubland along beaches as in woodland habitats.
Q&A, conservation biology, ecology & environment, freshwater mussel, translocation, parasite, pathogen
Conservation Biologists May Unintentionally Spread Pathogens
Amanda Heidt | Apr 19, 2021 | 5 min read
When conservationists relocate species, they don’t always account for the pathogens hitching a ride, and the consequences of introducing them to a new environment.
kelp maullinia pathogen parasite marine biology
Kelp Pathogen Has Spread Across the Southern Ocean
Chris Baraniuk | Apr 5, 2021 | 3 min read
Scientists suspect the gall-forming protist Maullinia hitches a ride on kelp rafts to reach new host populations at far-flung sites.
Q&A: Natural History Museums’ Role in Pandemic Surveillance
Max Kozlov | Jan 21, 2021 | 5 min read
Host vouchering, the practice of preserving species known to harbor infectious diseases, can be used to help determine a pathogen’s source, scientists say.
Immunity to SARS-CoV-2 Lasts at Least Six Months, Data Show
Ashley Yeager | Nov 23, 2020 | 4 min read
Half a year after infection, people who had recovered from COVID-19 had robust antibodies, along with traces of the virus in their gut, which may drive long-lasting immunity.
wheat blast fungus zambia Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype Triticum
Wheat Blast Arrives in Zambia, First Time in Africa
Munyaradzi Makoni | Oct 19, 2020 | 4 min read
Experts fear the fungal pathogen will spread to other African countries, threatening wheat production.
Cheese Preservative Slows Oral Cancer Spread in Mice: Study
Max Kozlov | Oct 1, 2020 | 4 min read
The results add to mounting evidence of microbes’ roles in tumor growth and point to the possibility of impeding malignancies by inhibiting bacteria.
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