A lot of the time when speaking of pathogens, the conversation stays on just the pathogenic organism itself and the host it exploits. But there are many other interactions that are possible and that complicate the scenario, especially those that involve an intermediate vector needed to spread the pathogen to the eventual host. It has […]
When it comes to dealing with viruses, often no single countermeasure will do. The scientific community has long since found that, in many cases, any one solution will quickly end up useless once the target virus mutates to get around the blockade, no matter what form it initially takes. That’s why in the medical community […]
Whether through natural selection or human artificial selection from breeding, developing resistances to pests and other plant-damaging organisms isn’t always a straightforward path. There won’t always be a simple single gene and trait that can be manifested that will fix all the problems. For many traits, there is a required tradeoff where the organisms may […]
There are, always, too many pathogens in the world. Often too many to catalog and keep track of and they are constantly changing, whether bacterial, viral, fungal, or even other options. When it comes to plants and agricultural output, the worst kinds of pathogens are those that can infect a variety of important crops grown […]
Plants never cease to reveal their unique and astonishing methods of protecting themselves from pathogens. Here on Bioscription we’ve previously discussed the topic of the pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) system and how it allows plants to uptake and conserve important foreign molecules for future immune system response. It is, in many ways, similar to the […]
When dealing with pathogens of plants, it is those of the viral kind in conjunction with their vector pests that can prove to be the biggest threats. Aphids, especially, are known for transmitting dozens of dangerous viral diseases while also themselves managing to kill a host plant outright through sucking up too much sap. Therefore, […]
When your body is in danger, your cells need to react fast to let everyone else know. If you stick your hand in a fire, your brain and your muscle cells have to be notified as soon as possible in order to force the subconscious pullback from the pain and damage, before you’ve even realized […]
Pathogens are a broad field of research. To many, different species and even kingdoms of pathogens must be treated with separate hands, while others feel they are similar enough as to be dealt with together. Bacteria and viruses make up the bulk of this argument and, as with many things, the true answer appears to […]
