Подтвердите e-mail

Для публикаций, комментариев, реакций и сообщений подтвердите адрес.

Профиль

Gerry Wright

Профиль Vively
G
373 подписчиков551 подписок8 публикаций
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
crcurrie

Very excited that our new paper is out, showing that the massive expansions in the chemical arsenals of bacteria and fungi are associated with the emergence of multicellularity. This was an amazing collaboration with @raufs.bsky.social and @lkalan.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Complex multicellularity is linked with expanded specialized metabolite production in microorganisms - Nature MicrobiologyThe evolutionary emergence of complex multicellularity in bacteria and fungi, such as the ability for mycelial growth, is strongly associated with increased genomic carriage of biosynthetic machinery ...www.nature.com
082
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
Nature Microbiology

#NatMicroPicks Hidden in plain sight! 💊🦠 Assessing overlooked minor compounds uncovered a new antibiotic, manikomycin, from well-studied Streptomyces species that kills bacteria by uniquely targeting the ribosomal E-site #MicroSky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A natural depsipeptide antibiotic binds the E-site of the bacterial ribosome - NatureImproved fractionation strategies can identify antibiotics with previously unseen scaffolds and mechanisms, exemplified by manikomycin from Streptomyces rimosus, which acts by targeting the E-site of ...www.nature.com
0158
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
Nature Portfolio

A technology feature in Nature describes a suite of artificial intelligence tools that is helping to speed up the process of discovering new antibiotics. #medsky #AI 🧪

AI is taking on antibiotic resistance — here’s howA suite of artificial-intelligence tools is helping to speed up the process of discovering new antibiotics.go.nature.com
2175
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
University of Guelph

#UofG researchers have identified a natural compound that can disarm drug-resistant bacteria by preventing them from sticking to and spreading within our bodies. Learn more: uoguel.ph/zltj7 @uofgcbs.bsky.social @uofgresearch.bsky.social

175
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
Justin Nodwell

Very pleased to announce that Dr. Kirsten Meyer has taken up a faculty position at the University of Waterloo. A very creative scientist with a fascinating diversity of interests ranging from specialized metabolism to drug formulation. uwaterloo.ca/chemistry/ou...

Kirsten Meyer | Chemistry | University of WaterlooAssistant professor, arriving March 2026. Learn more about her research group and graduate student opportunities.uwaterloo.ca
101
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
Lori L. Burrows

Happy International Day for Women and Girls in Science! @mcmasteriidr.bsky.social @mcmasternexus.bsky.social @mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social

0344
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
American Chemical Society

They reveal the answer in ACS Infectious Diseases: a single enzyme. Read more about the enzyme and how this information could lead to a new antibiotic drug candidate for preclinical development: buff.ly/ByYWWe6 @gdwantibiotics.bsky.social  [2/2]

buff.ly
051
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
Jonathan Dushoff

This is a really cool project, I was lucky to have the opportunity to participate. news.mcmaster.ca/mcmaster-res...

McMaster research team digitizes more than 100 years of Canadian infectious disease dataThe new, publicly accessible database contains more than a million infectious disease incidence counts dating back to 1903.news.mcmaster.ca
44214
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
Nature

By studying the process through which a soil bacterium naturally produces a well-known drug, scientists have discovered a powerful antibiotic that could help to fight drug-resistant infections go.nature.com/4oyN3wc

Powerful new antibiotic that can kill superbugs discovered in soil bacteriaNature - Surprise discovery could pave the way for new treatments against drug-resistant infections.go.nature.com
29216
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
Lori L. Burrows

New paper alert! We used our fav technique, genetic suppression, to understand how FimX controls function of the T4P PilB motor ATPase in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Great collab with the Ellison lab at U Georgia who helped with some fancy microscopy to capture pilus dynamics! doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Twitching motility suppressors reveal a role for FimX in type IV pilus extension dynamicsAuthor summary Type IV pili enable Pseudomonas aeruginosa to attach to surfaces, move (twitch), and form biofilms. Pilus extension is powered by the motor protein PilB, which is regulated by other fac...doi.org
12615
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
Allen Tien, MD, MHS mdlogix.com 94,698 田一彦

#GoodPolicy based on #SharedFacts from #HealthScience

Angie Rasmussen

Terrific new review of flu & COVID vaccine recommendations in Vaccine from Jessica Breznik, Matt Miller, & @msmacrophage.bsky.social! They make a compelling data-driven case for expanding COVID vaccines & optimizing timing for COVID waves, as we do for flu.👇 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

0124
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
Nature Communications

Researchers discover a new antifungal drug candidate in their university's greenhouse @gdwantibiotics.bsky.social #AntifungalResistance #NaturalProducts #DrugDiscovery #CandidaAuris

Researchers discover all-new antifungal drug candidate in McMaster’s greenhouseA research team at McMaster University has discovered a new drug class that could someday lead to breakthrough treatments for dangerous fungal infections. The new molecules, dubbed coniotins, were isolated from a plant-dwelling fungus called Coniochaeta hoffmannii — the samples of which were collected from the McMaster greenhouse, located on the university’s campus. Detailed recently in the journal Nature Communications, the discovery responds to a critical need for new antifungal medicines. “There is a huge, growing clinical need for new drugs that target fungal infections,” says Gerry Wright, a professor of biochemistry and biomedical sciences at McMaster and principal investigator on the new study. “Unlike antibiotics, of which there are dozens of different classes approved for use in clinics, there are really only three classes of antifungals on the market right now.” The reason for such a limited arsenal, Wright says, is two-fold. First, although disease-causing fungi are microscopic like bacteria and viruses, they’re actually more closely related to humans than they are to other microbes — “so things that kill fungi tend to kill us too,” he says. This makes finding antifungals that are safe for human consumption a real challenge. And then there’s the historical lack of urgency. Wright says that most fungi cannot withstand our internal body temperature, and usually die off before they can cause serious infection. It’s why fungal infections typically occur on us instead of in us — think athlete’s foot, for example. Because our bodies can generally handle these pathogens naturally, Wright says there’s been little incentive for pharmaceutical companies to invest in antifungal R&D — until recently. “Discovery remains a challenge today, but the level of urgency has changed dramatically over the past 15 years or so,” he says. “In 2009, a novel fungal pathogen called Candida auris emerged all over the world, and this fungus thrives at higher temperatures — and it can be extremely drug-resistant, too.” C. auris is particularly problematic for individuals with compromised immune systems, like cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. It can infect the lungs, the bloodstream, and the nervous system, and can be fatal. For these reasons, C. auris sits atop the World Health Organization’s list of priority fungal pathogens. It’s a good thing then that the Wright Lab’s new molecule exhibits potent activity against C. auris. Indeed, the research team showed that coniotins not only attack C. auris and several other fungal pathogens, but do so without harming human cells. The new molecules function unlike any other antifungal on the market. Where most target proteins and membranes, coniotins instead bind to the fungal cell wall. Wright, a member of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster, likens the cell wall to the candy coating on an M&M — a protective shell that provides structural integrity for what’s inside. Disturbing this structure, as coniotins do, fundamentally changes how well the organism can survive. Xufei Chen, a postdoctoral fellow in Wright’s lab and first-author on the new paper, identified the new drug class through a process called prefractionation, which allows scientists to tease specific molecules out from complex chemical mixtures. “Since the golden age of antibiotic discovery, progress has slowed, due primarily to the frequent rediscovery of known compounds,” she says. “To address this, we implemented a prefractionation screening approach to target overlooked or masked metabolites. By integrating mass spectrometry, metabolomics, and computational analysis, I was able to discover this previously hidden molecule.” Using this same process, Wright’s lab recently discovered a new class of antibiotics. They have also used prefractionation to identify several other new drug candidates, which remain under study. “What’s really amazing is that we’ve only screened about five percent of the chemical library that we’ve built here at McMaster,” Wright says. “We have an immense, largely unexplored chemical space at our fingertips, and a cost-effective way to reduce the rediscovery of known compounds. Who knows what else is in there?” Wright’s team is eager to move coniotins along the development pathway. The next steps, he says, include producing it at scale through fermentation, and formulating the new drug class so that it may eventually be suitable intravenous (IV) delivery. Research Generative AI and the future of research writing: 2025 Hooker Distinguished Visiting Professor Lecturebit.ly
074
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
Council of Canadian Academies/Conseil des académies canadiennes

Novel antibacterial agents are being developed, with 57 traditional antibacterial agents and 40 nontraditional agents listed in the clinical antibacterial pipeline in 2023. However, the current pipeline is insufficient to keep up with the emergence and spread of AMR journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Global antimicrobial resistance—The ostrich’s head is in the sandAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing problem, ignored at our peril. This Perspective outlines the technical difficulties and challenges raised by the lack of market incentives for new diagnosti...journals.plos.org
121
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
ASM

Julian Davies was a renowned scientist who made crucial strides in the study of antibiotics & antibiotic resistance. Honor his legacy at the Julian Davies Memorial Symposium on Oct. 10, hosted by the University of British Columbia. Register by Sept. 15 to attend via Zoom or in person! asm.social/2Af

13417
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
Nadine Ziemert

⏰ Just 7 days left for our Glycopeptide Renaming Challenge! 💡 Share your best name idea and win 500€ 👉 More info and submission here: docs.google.com/forms/d/1ym9... #secmet #NaturalProducts #Antibiotics #NamingChallenge #Glycopeptides @gdwantibiotics.bsky.social @marghesosio.bsky.social

Naming Challenge: Help Redefine the Glycopeptide Family!We are excited to launch a naming competition inspired by the recent preprint "Phylogenetic distance and structural diversity directing a reclassification of glycopeptide antibiotics" (https://www.bio...docs.google.com
01010
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
Sara N. Andres

Congratulations Dr. Dana J. Sowa, our second PhD of the lab, and again, I'm so proud of all she has accomplished. A problem-solver and leader, wherever she lands next is going to be very lucky to have her! Thanks to her committee @gdwantibiotics.bsky.social @freudlab.bsky.social and Dr. Zhu.

061
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
Kai Blin

Happy to contribute to a C&EN article on genome mining for antimicrobials cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic... Great article by Max Barnhart, who’s not on BlueSky for all I can tell.

Bioprospectors mine microbial genomes for antibiotic goldBut turning what they find into drugs isn’t so easycen.acs.org
0113
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
The Rundown

Why aren't more kids vaccinated against measles? @namshine.bsky.social asks @msmacrophage.bsky.social (@mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social), @jillpromoli.bsky.social, @picardonhealth.bsky.social (@theglobeandmail.com), and Jeffrey Pernica (@hhsfoundation.bsky.social) tonight at 8/11pm

2185
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research

In a new op-ed for @theconversationca.bsky.social, IIDR Director Matthew Miller writes that as "we stand on the brink of an avian influenza pandemic," lessons learned from COVID-19 can help us avert disaster — but only if we act on them. #IDSKy #H5N1 #BirdFlu theconversation.com/heeding-the-...

Heeding the lessons of COVID-19 in the face of avian influenzaCOVID-19 exposed the many ways in which we were ill-prepared to prevent and respond to pandemics. Are we applying those lessons to prevent a bird flu pandemic?theconversation.com
073
⟳ Репост от Gerry Wright
André Picard @picardonhealth

The chaos in America’s scientific community could be Canada’s gain if we play our cards right, by John Bergeron, Kathleen Dickson and @stankutcher.sencanada.ca www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti... via @theglobeandmail.com #BrainGain

Opinion: The chaos in America’s scientific community could be Canada’s gainOttawa should not fumble the opportunity to attract some of the best and brightest health researcherswww.theglobeandmail.com