Gray mould growing on produce.

Path found to defeat crop-killing gray mould without chemicals

Science Notes: Study reveals how fungus delivers RNA weaponry

It’s a mould that causes billions in crop losses every year, infecting berries, tomatoes and most other fruits and vegetables. Now, researchers have found a way to defeat the mould. If you’ve ever seen a fuzzy gray strawberry, you’ve seen gray mould. It affects more than 1,400 different plant species, and there is no real […] Read more


Images of root chemicals offer new insights on plant growth

Images of root chemicals offer new insights on plant growth

Science Notes: “Roadmap” lays out where key molecules are distributed along stem cells of corn plant roots

Applying an advanced imaging technology used in cancer treatment to plant roots, researchers at the University of California San Diego and Stanford University have developed a new understanding of essential root chemicals responsible for plant growth. Using a type of mass spectrometer, a study led by UC San Diego Biological Sciences postdoctoral scholar Tao Zhang […] Read more

Coronavirus begs question: Why are bat viruses so deadly?

Coronavirus begs question: Why are bat viruses so deadly?

Science Notes: Bats' aggressive immune response may hold the key

University of California – Berkeley – It’s no coincidence that some of the worst viral disease outbreaks in recent years — SARS, MERS, Ebola, Marburg and likely the newly arrived 2019-nCoV virus — originated in bats. A new University of California, Berkeley, study finds that bats’ fierce immune response to viruses could drive viruses to […] Read more

“We shouldn’t limit ourselves to just single drugs or two-drug combinations in our medical toolbox,” said Pamela Yeh, left, with Elif Tekin.

Antibiotic combinations surprisingly effective

Science Notes: Research findings could be a major step in fighting common infections increasingly resistant to antibiotics

Scientists have traditionally believed that combining more than two drugs to fight harmful bacteria would yield diminishing returns. The prevailing theory is that the incremental benefits of combining three or more drugs would be too small to matter, or that the interactions among the drugs would cause their benefits to cancel one another out. Now, […] Read more