New Atlas

Space Audio available

ISS is home to super-tough molds that laugh in the face of deadly radiation

David Szondy June 28, 2019

Mold spores commonly found aboard the International Space Station (ISS) turn out to be radiation resistant enough to survive 200 times the X-ray dose needed to kill a human being, indicating that sterilizing interplanetary spacecraft may be much more difficult than previously thought.

Mold grows on the International Space Station on a panel where exercise clothes were hung to ...

Science Audio available

Gold-mining fungi could guide human prospectors

Michael Irving May 27, 2019

Scientists from Australia’s CSIRO have now found a fungus species that mines for gold and even decorates itself with the precious particles. Following the fungus could be a new, environmentally-friendly way to find large underground gold deposits.

Fashionable fungi: A colored image shows the particles of gold collected by the fungus species fusarium ...

Medical Audio available

Drug-resistant infections could be starved of nutrients using existing medicines

Michael Irving May 26, 2019

Microorganisms are becoming resistant to drugs, hurtling us towards a terrifying future where once-easily-treated infections become potentially life-threatening again. Now researchers have tested an alternative to antibiotics, using existing drugs to starve a fungal infection of vital nutrients.

Existing drugs have been used to starve fungal infections of Candida albicans of nutrients

Biology Audio available

Possible white-nose vaccine shows promise in bat tests

Ben Coxworth May 2, 2019

Caused by a fungus known as Pseudogymnoascus destructans, white-nose syndrome is currently killing bats across North America at an alarming rate. There may be hope, however, as a potential vaccine has recently been shown to be effective at warding off the disease.

A little brown bat affected with white nose syndrome, which is visible as white fuzz around ...

Space Audio available

Study shows the International Space Station is brimming with bacteria

Nick Lavars April 9, 2019

Scientists have just put the finishing touches on what they say is the first comprehensive catalog of bacteria and fungi living inside the ISS, describing a bacteria-filled environment not dissimilar to a gym or an office.

Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques inside the Harmony module aboard the ISS last month

Space Audio available

Microbes survive in space outside the ISS, raising hopes for life on Mars

Michael Irving March 27, 2019

Microorganisms keep turning up in Earth’s most extreme environments. To test whether certain hardy microbes can survive the harsh conditions of space or Mars, colonies were placed on the outside of the International Space Station (ISS) for almost 18 months – and many managed to survive.

Samples of microbes on the outside of the International Space Station, as part of the BIOMEX ...

Biology

Could a microbial "Noah's Ark" save good gut bugs from disappearing?

Michael Irving October 8, 2018

Maintaining the right microbial balance is crucial to your health, but antibiotics and poor diet have reduced the diversity of human microbiota. To preserve that diversity before it’s gone for good, a team of scientists is now calling for the creation of a microbial “Noah’s Ark.”

To protect microbiota diversity and, by extension, human health, researchers have suggested creating a microbial "Noah's ...

Biology

Origins of deadly frog fungus traced to Korea

Ben Coxworth July 5, 2018

If you're a fan of frogs, then unfortunately you've probably heard of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). It's been decimating amphibian populations around the world. Now, however, scientists believe they know where it originates – and that knowledge could help keep it from spreading.

The oriental fire-bellied toad is native to Korea, and is a popular pet

Materials

Graphene-based drying agent might keep your footwear fresher than ever

Nick Lavars June 4, 2018

Those little packets of silica gel that come in everything from your shoeboxes to burrito packets are the gold standard for fending off fungal growth and moisture. But scientists have now developed a material they claim to absorb twice as much.

Shoes with advanced inner soles is one of the target applications for a new high-performing drying ...

Medical

New antibiotic found in tobacco flowers tears into superbugs

Michael Irving May 17, 2018

The world is in desperate need of new antibiotics, as bacteria continue to evolve and develop resistance to the ones we have. Now, researchers at La Trobe University have found a peptide in the flower of a tobacco plant that could be the first of a new kind of antibiotic.

La Trobe researchers have isolated a peptide from tobacco flowers that could be a promising new ...