Fungus

The Fungus That Starved Ireland

Fri, 24 May 2013 00:33:55 GMT

Source: dish.andrewsullivan.com --- Thursday, May 23, 2013
Researchers have finally discovered the precise pathogen that caused the Great Famine. Why it matters: The study is the first time that the genetics of a plant pathogen have been analyzed by extracting DNA from dried plant samples, opening up the possibility that researchers can study other plant diseases based on the historical collections of botanical gardens and herbaria around the world. Better understanding the evolution of plant diseases over time, the team says, could be instrumental in figuring out ways to breed more robust plant varieties that are resistant to the pathogens that infect plants today. (Photo of the Dublin memorial to the Irish Potato Famine by Tim Sackton ) ...

Rob Ford Update, London Machete Attack, Body Fungus and more.

Thu, 23 May 2013 21:36:26 GMT

Source: www.cbc.ca --- Thursday, May 23, 2013
Highlights Include: Part One: *Rob Ford Update. Jaye Robinson, a member of the Toronto Mayor's executive committee, says it is time Mr Ford addressed the drug allegations against him. *London Machete Attack. Local politician, Barbara Barwick, tells us how people from the London neighbourhood where a soldier was knifed to death yesterday are coping with the tragedy. Part Two: * BC Landslide Homes. Residents of Johnsons Landing, BC, are told they're still at risk after last summer's landslide, but that doesn't mean the government will pay them compensation if they have to leave their homes. * Body Fungus. Dermatologist, Dr Heidi Kong, the researcher behind a new human body Fungus profile, explains that fungi prefer to congregate on the feet. Part Three: * Oklahoma Planned Parenthood. Oklahoma State Senators have approved a bill that would strip funding for Planned Parenthood clinics. * Raptor Cull Revelation. The British government sanctions the killing of an endangered species of hawk in order to safeguard pheasant hunts. ...

The African clawed frog has likely spread a deadly fungus that is wiping out amp...

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:40:00 GMT

Source: www.facebook.com --- Thursday, May 23, 2013
The African clawed frog has likely spread a deadly Fungus that is wiping out amphibians around the world, including hundreds of frog and salamander species. African Clawed Frog Spreads Deadly Fungus news.nationalgeographic.com "It's the single biggest threat to vertebrate diversity in the world," Kilpatrick said. ...

The Fungus Among Us: Your Skin Is Crawling With Fungi, Especially Your Feet

Thu, 23 May 2013 06:02:17 GMT

Source: www.redorbit.com --- Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Brett Smith for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Your skin is literally covered with almost 200 different kinds of fungi. This isn’t the scene out of some twisted horror movie – it’s the conclusion of a team of American researchers who recently created a topographic map of fungi typically found on living human skin . To create their map, scientists from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) used genetic sequencing technology to identify the different species of Fungus, according to their report in the journal Nature . "Applying DNA sequencing to a study of the skin's fungi is the natural progression in understanding microbial life that co-exists on our bodies," said co-author Dr. Daniel Kastner , a scientific director at the NHGRI. "Along with recent genome sequencing to define bacterial diversity, this analysis of fungal diversity provides a more complete human microbiome picture." "Fungal communities occupy complex niches, even on the human body," added Dr. Heidi Kong, M.D. , co-senior author and a dermatologist NCI's Center for Cancer Research. "By gaining a more complete awareness of the fungal and bacterial ecosystems, we can better address associated skin diseases, including skin conditions which can be related to cancer treatments." The researchers took samples at 14 body sites from 10 healthy adults. The team sampled the ear canal, back of the head, heels, arms, to ...

Strange organism - algae? Fungus?

Wed, 22 May 2013 20:54:27 GMT

Source: www.3reef.com --- Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Can you ID this? This growth is slow, but it is spreading on the glass and along the stratum of my 46 gallon freshwater community tank. I have the tank planted with moderate to low light plants, also with mopani and driftwood pieces, which produce beautiful tannins in the water. This particular organic growth is about the size of a dime in width. I cleaned two off today while doing a partial water change, which were larger and began developing centralized clusters of white eggs/spores/??? over the past few days. I missed this smaller one, but thought to take a picture of it so I could plan my attack (with some help, of course). Water tests at all safe and ideal levels, with very slight alkalinity. I've obsessed with searching the web for similar images, and found one which was close, and referred to as "coralline"/"caroline" Fungus. However, this is a slightly salty freshwater community tank (for my Amano Shrimp). Any ideas/advice/help would be appreciated. Attached Thumbnails ...

yes i did just post about the coffee fungus out of the blue didn’t i i mean don’t you...

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:39:47 GMT

Source: robbiebaldwin.tumblr.com --- Wednesday, May 22, 2013
yes i did just post about the coffee Fungus out of the blue didn’t i i mean don’t you follow me for random updates of that kind ...

Frog-Killing Chytrid Fungus Hits Rarely Seen, Wormlike Amphibians

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:20:14 GMT

Source: blogs.scientificamerican.com --- Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Don’t feel bad if you’ve never seen a caecilian , let alone donât know how to pronounce the word . These rare, legless amphibiansâwhich look like a cross between a worm and a snakeâspend most of their time underground, far from the prying eyes of scientists and other humans. Although some of the 190 or so known caecilian (think “Sicilian”) species can reach massive lengthsâ1.9 meters in some casesâthey are rarely studied and very little is known about them. Here’s something we do know: Caecilians, like the frogs and salamanders to which they are related, are apparently now at risk from the deadly chytrid Fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ( Bd ), which has already caused hundreds of amphibian extinctions around the globe. This news of the chytrid Fungus’s spread comes from scientists in England with the Natural History Museum and the Zoological Society of London, who caught more than 200 caecilians and tested them for Bd . The scientists traveled to five countries in Africa and South America and studied 29 different species. They found the chytrid Fungus living in the skin on 58 individual caecilians, many of which later died from the infections. The results are detailed in the May 2013 issue of EcoHealth . “The Fungus was known to infect and potentially kill both the other major groups of amphibians, but we did not know if it definitively could infect caecilians in the wild, and whether it could potentially also kil ...

Nanotech filter may protect farmed fish from fungus

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:27 GMT

Source: africanbrains.net --- Tuesday, May 21, 2013
By Wagdy Sahel – SciDev.Net Iranian scientists have coated a water filter with silver nanoparticles to prevent fungal infections in fish farmed indoors, in a step that they say could [...] ...

These South African Clawed Frogs are spreading a deadly fungus among wildlife in...

Tue, 21 May 2013 21:20:01 GMT

Source: www.facebook.com --- Tuesday, May 21, 2013
These South African Clawed Frogs are spreading a deadly Fungus among wildlife in California: http://kp.cc/10SgacE South African Clawed Frogs spreading deadly Fungus in California www.scpr.org A species of frogs once used to test for signs of human life is now contributing to the spread of a fatal disease among a wide variety of California wildlife. ...

Scientists identify strain of fungus that caused the 1840s Irish potato famine

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:07:25 GMT

Source: www.globalpost.com --- Tuesday, May 21, 2013
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The Fungus Amoung Us Every Friday 2 to 6 at The Lodi Valley Farmers Market!!!

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:43:50 GMT

Source: www.lodivalleynews.com --- Tuesday, May 21, 2013
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Cathie Anderson Fungus killing coffee plantations in Mexico Central America

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:10:57 GMT

Source: www.haitisun.com --- Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Coffee lovers probably won't hear much about la roya in the United States, but this fungal disease is decimating thousands of coffee farms across Mexico and Central America.Pete Rogers isn't the average American coffee lover. He travels to Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and other exotic locales to find and purchase green coffee beans for his family's company, Rogers ... ...

Invasive frogs carry amphibian-killing fungus

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:56:00 GMT

Source: www.latimes.com --- Sunday, May 19, 2013
A study links African clawed frogs, which were brought to California decades ago for use in pregnancy tests, with a deadly pathogen. African clawed frogs were first brought to California decades ago to help doctors figure out whether their patients were pregnant. After new technology made those pregnancy tests obsolete, the creatures were let loose, and thrived for decades in the state's drainage ditches and ponds. ...

Deadly fungus brought into US — by frogs

Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:50 GMT

Source: 180dfo.com --- Saturday, May 18, 2013
Fox News – African frogs once imported to laboratories and hospitals around the world may have carried with them a devastating fungal infection thought to be responsible for a rapid, global decline in amphibians, according to new research… More at Fox ...

Stemming the Rust – The Global Battle Against Wheat Fungus -- Business India

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:05:38 GMT

Source: www.diigo.com --- Saturday, May 18, 2013
(2013-04-01) Tags: EWCAlumniAssnMumbai ...

African Clawed Frog Spreads Deadly Amphibian Fungus

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:13:21 GMT

Source: www.inquisitr.com --- Saturday, May 18, 2013
A species of frog, the African clawed frog ( Xenopus laevis ), initially used from the 1930s for human pregnancy tests, has been found to be a carrier of a deadly amphibian disease that now threatens hundreds of other species of frogs and salamanders worldwide. This species of frog was originally shipped across the globe for the use of pregnancy tests until the early 1970s after different methods were established. Originally, if a woman suspected she was pregnant, her urine sample would be injected into a female South African clawed frog to medically assess a positive or negative result. If the frog began to ovulate within 10 days, it was likely the woman was pregnant. After newer testing technology became available, the frogs were released into the wild on multiple continents. Ever since their release, millions of other frogs and salamanders have succumbed to the deadly Fungus the African claw frogs carried, called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Bd infects the skin and causes it to thicken up to 40 times. After a couple weeks the thickening results in an electrolyte imbalance and the amphibians ultimately die from heart attacks. Researchers have yet to find a cure. According to Dr. Vance Vredenburg – a conservation biologist at San Francisco State University and one of the researchers involved in a related study of Bd published in the journal PLOS One – “There are populations here in Golden Gate Park, in San Diego, Los Ang ...

New weapon in war on pests: Fungus?

Sat, 18 May 2013 05:39:00 GMT

Source: www.myfoxtampabay.com --- Friday, May 17, 2013
Researchers at the University of Florida say a genetically engineered Fungus could become a major weapon against mosquitos and fire ants. ...

Frogs, pregnancy tests and a lethal-to-amphibians fungus have more in common tha...

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:34:51 GMT

Source: www.facebook.com --- Friday, May 17, 2013
Frogs, pregnancy tests and a lethal-to-amphibians Fungus have more in common than you think. Fungus-Spreading Frogs Could 'Wipe Out' California Amphibians | KPBS.org www.kpbs.org The chytrid Fungus is what they're dying from. As the San Diego Zoo's resident frog disease expert, Pessier knows all about this deadly infection. He helps detect it in the wild and in zoo frogs. He's worried that the Fungus could make most of California's frogs simply disappear. ...

Roundtable: Cancer in Jail; Sea Wall Lawsuits; Frogs With Fungus; Mice With Alzheimer's; Undocumented Millions

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:25:30 GMT

Source: www.kpbs.org --- Friday, May 17, 2013
A woman dying in Las Colinas jail would be released if she were in prison. Homeowners atop the Solana Beach bluffs may sue the city. The decision to import African Clawed Frogs decades ago having dire consequences now. The landscape of undocumented immigrants in California and the nation is complex. ...

Deadly Amphibian Fungus Plagues Frogs

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:00:52 GMT

Source: www.globalanimal.org --- Friday, May 17, 2013
(ANIMAL SCIENCE) Beware, frogs! The chytrid Fungus is out there! The lethal Fungus, which seems to only harm amphibians, causes a thickening of the infected creature's skin and hinders the animal's breathing and electrolyte balance. Ultimately, the infection can lead to cardiac arrest and has already caused several Central American frog species to go extinct. One scientist even referred to the destructive Fungus as "the single biggest threat to vertebrate diversity in the world." Continue reading for more on the chytrid Fungus and the study behind this amphibian epidemic. — Global Animal ...