Ashley York

Microbiome: Gut microbiota sways response to cancer immunotherapy

Three new studies provide evidence that the composition of the intestinal microbiota affects the outcome of cancer immunotherapy.

Biofilms: Shocking biofilms

This study highlights a heretofore unappreciated role of electrical signalling in biofilm communities and in their interaction with their environment.

Channeling the vacuole

Two recent studies provide new insights into the architecture, molecular mechanisms and function of the Plasmodium translocon of exported proteins (PTEX) complex and the core PTEX protein EXP2.

Structural biology: The tick-tock of circadian clocks

Two new studies provide a structural basis to help us understand the periodic assembly of cyanobacterial clock proteins.

Bacterial evolution: Historical influences on antibiotic resistance

A recent study investigated how the history of adaptation to a single antibiotic influences the trajectory of evolutionary dynamics during subsequent treatments with different antibiotics.

Delivery of the gut microbiome

Two studies characterize the transmission of the microbiome from mother to infant during the first months of life.

Environmental microbiology: Marine biogeochemical cycles in a changing world

Two new studies highlight the potential impact of climate change on microbial biogeochemical cycles.

On the origin of Plasmodium falciparum

This study reports whole genomes for all known Laverania species, providing insights into the emergence of Plasmodium falciparum as a major human pathogen.

Silencing Staphylococcus aureus with probiotics

This study reports that the consumption of probiotic Bacillus bacteria abolishes Staphylococcus aureus gut colonization by interfering with S. aureus quorum-sensing.

Surf’s up!

This study reports that surfing motility is a conserved yet diverse form of motility in bacteria.