A new study, published in Nature Microbiology by researchers from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, reveals a previously unknown mode of resistance. The study was led by Prof. Debbie Lindell, former Ph.D. student Dr. Sofia Zborovsky (currently a postdoctoral fellow in the UK), and Ph.D. student Ran Tahan. Prof. Lindell’s research group has been exploring this field for years and has already made dramatic discoveries about bacteriophage-bacteria interactions in marine environments. Their new study uncovers a passive defense mechanism based on an exceptionally low level of molecules involved in translation of genetic material, the process that leads to protein formation.

Scientists have revealed a parasite’s role in boosting male insect appeal by modulating host processes to facilitate female attraction, thereby enhancing the parasite’s own transmission and survival.