Researchers from the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will partner with investigators from industrial and academic institutions, including Ginkgo Bioworks, Baylor University, University of Minnesota, Oregon State University, and Oregon Health & Science University, on a five-year initiative funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health and overseen by Program Manager Andrew Brack, PhD. The project, “Microbe/phage Investigation for Generalized Health TherapY (MIGHTY),” aims to harness the natural predators of bacteria – known as phages – as precision tools to shape the human microbiome and promote health.

A National Science Foundation grant will support Anne Brown’s goal to enhance the technical and practical data science skills of students studying molecular bioscience.

Plant-based materials have traditionally been used to treat a variety of viral infections. Now, researchers have found that cardamom seed extract, as well as its main bioactive ingredient, 1,8-cineole, can have potent antiviral effects through its ability to enhance the production of antiviral molecules known as type I interferons via nucleic acid ‘sensors’ inside cells.

Deep in Guatemala’s Maya rainforest, a team led by Washington State University researchers captured more than just photos of jaguars, tapirs and ocelots. They also captured a rare success story: a way for humans and wildlife to share a forest without destroying it. In a new study published in Conservation Biology, scientists from WSU and the Wildlife Conservation Society found that a community-managed forest in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve supports a rich variety of wildlife. The area, where residents legally log timber and hunt for subsistence, harbors medium-to-large mammals and birds in numbers comparable to those in a strictly protected national park and a wildlife preserve.

Ateneo de Manila University researchers are looking at a possible vaccine for H. pylori, a widely common bacterium that causes stomach ulcers and raises the risk for stomach cancer.

A trailblazing Genomic Press interview with Dr. Bruce M. Cohen explores how cutting-edge brain cell technology is providing revolutionary new information on the biological origins of psychiatric disorders. Among these findings, the Harvard professor discusses discoveries on mitochondrial dysfunction that are opening novel therapeutic pathways for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and Alzheimer disease. In addition, his advocacy for evidence-based diagnostic models challenges century-old psychiatric frameworks, proposing specific dimensional approaches that better capture the complexities of causes, presentations, and outcomes of mental illnesses.

Research team from the Department of Chemical Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University — including Associate Professor Keisuke Obara, Lecturer Kento Yoshioka, and Professor Yoshio Tanaka — has discovered that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a major omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oil, directly relaxes smooth muscle in the male reproductive tract by blocking specific calcium channels. The findings, published in Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin, may help explain DHA’s broader health benefits and suggest potential new approaches to treating male infertility.