Cell Wall News and Research

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No evidence probiotic skincare can improve mood

Current findings reveal no support for emotional benefits from probiotic cosmetics, highlighting the need for further investigation into neurocosmetics.

5 Mar 2026

Modified peptides show promise against tuberculosis bacteria

Antibiotic treatments are losing effectiveness against a range of common bacterial pathogens, including E. coli, K. pneumoniae, Salmonella and Acinetobacter, according to a warning issued by the World Health Organization last October.

13 Feb 2026

Engineered Listeria boosts innate immunity against cancer

After nearly 40 years of research on how Listeria bacteria manipulate our cells and battle our immune system to cause listeriosis, Daniel Portnoy and his colleagues have discovered a way to turn the bacteria into a potent booster of the immune system - and a potential weapon against cancer.

13 Feb 2026

Exploring Targeted Protein Degradation as a New Strategy to Tackle Antimicrobial Resistance

Targeted protein degradation presents a promising strategy to address antimicrobial resistance, focusing on innovative approaches for gram-negative bacteria.

28 Jan 2026

New insights into the global expansion of Candida auris

The fungal species Candida auris is spreading across the globe, and gaining in virulence, according to a new review by a Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) scientist and colleagues.

30 Dec 2025

A massive mid-14th-century volcanic eruption likely triggered the spread of the "Black Death"

A large volcanic eruption or cluster of eruptions in the mid-1340s triggered severe climate anomalies that drove harvest failures across parts of Europe. These shocks reshaped Mediterranean grain trade routes, likely introducing plague-infected fleas into Italian ports and helping ignite the Black Death.

9 Dec 2025

CRISPR-edited fungus boosts protein production and cuts environmental impact

In a new study publishing November 19 in the Cell Press journal Trends in Biotechnology, researchers used a gene-editing technology called CRISPR to increase a fungus's production efficiency and cut its production-related environmental impact by as much as 61%-all without adding any foreign DNA.

21 Nov 2025

Genomic mapping of resistance mutations in A. baumannii

The bacteria Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) is a haunting presence in many hospitals in the United States, where more than one in 100 patients are treated for A. baumannii infections.

7 Nov 2025

Long-read sequencing uncovers massive DNA elements shaping human oral microbiome

Researchers including those at the University of Tokyo have made a surprising discovery hiding in people's mouths: Inocles, giant DNA elements that had previously escaped detection.

10 Sep 2025

AI tool reveals how TB drugs kill bacteria at the molecular level

Tuberculosis (TB) is the world's deadliest infectious disease—and one of the hardest to cure. Standard treatment requires a cocktail of multiple drugs over at least six months, and one in five patients have a type of TB that resists these first-line medications.

25 Aug 2025

Newly discovered drug class could someday lead to breakthrough treatments for fungal infections

A research team at McMaster University has discovered a new drug class that could someday lead to breakthrough treatments for dangerous fungal infections.

11 Aug 2025

Maple compound offers natural protection against cavities

A new study in the journal Microbiology Spectrum highlights the potential of using a natural compound from maple to combat the bacteria responsible for tooth decay: Streptococcus mutans.

7 Aug 2025

Discovery of hybrid Aspergillus species with antifungal resistance in Japan

Aspergillus is a fungus that is commonly found in the environment, both indoors and outdoors. This fungus species can cause aspergillosis-a respiratory infection affecting the lungs. A. fumigatus, A. nidulans, and A. niger are some of the common species within the Aspergillus genus that cause aspergillosis.

17 Jul 2025

Staph bacterium possesses a surprising level of metabolic redundancy, study reveals

In the ongoing battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, MSU researchers have made a discovery that could reshape how we target deadly pathogens like staph infections.

16 Jul 2025

MSU researchers uncover how superfungus Candida auris evades antifungal drugs

A groundbreaking study from Michigan State University (MSU), recently published in Nature Communications, has revealed how the multidrug-resistant superfungus Candida auris uniquely reconstructs its cell wall to survive antifungal treatments.

15 Jul 2025

New study moves closer to defeating dormant tuberculosis cells

New drugs that target 'zombie' tuberculosis (TB) cells are now a step closer, thanks to a new study led by the University of Surrey, published in Scientific Reports.

4 Jul 2025

Study sheds light on how tumor clusters enter the bloodstream

Tumors are made up of millions of cells, and removing all of these cells surgically or eliminating them with medication becomes much more difficult after the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

22 May 2025

New glycopeptide antibiotic discovered to combat resistant bacteria

An international team of researchers, led by the University of Vienna and the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland, has discovered saarvienin A, a new type of glycopeptide antibiotic.

14 May 2025

Breakthrough in labeling TB glycans could lead to faster diagnosis

Tuberculosis, the world's deadliest infectious disease, is estimated to infect around 10 million people each year, and kills more than 1 million annually. Once established in the lungs, the bacteria's thick cell wall helps it to fight off the host immune system.

5 May 2025

New antibiotic offers hope for more effective Lyme disease treatment

Lyme disease, a disease transmitted when deer ticks feed on infected animals like deer and rodents, and then bite humans, impacts nearly half a million individuals in the U.S. annually.

24 Apr 2025