Potentilla anserina, a traditional Tibetan plant, can be grown as animal feed on salty, unused land. Researchers found that when the plant is fermented as silage, it becomes more nutritious and develops beneficial microbes that help it resist salt and drought. This makes it a promising sustainable feed option for livestock raised in areas with saline soils.
Researchers discovered that the medicinal fungus Poria cocos creates its own specialized microbial environment in its underground structure that is closely linked to the production of pachymic acid, a compound with anti-cancer and immune-boosting properties. By comparing the microbes living in the fungus versus surrounding soil, they found specific beneficial bacteria and fungi that thrive in the fungus but are rare in soil. This discovery could help improve cultivation techniques to produce higher quality medicinal fungi with more therapeutic compounds.
This study examined how two common antifungal creams (ketoconazole and miconazole) affect the complex community of bacteria and fungi living on the skin of people with athlete’s foot. Both treatments effectively reduced the harmful fungus causing the infection and improved symptoms, with ketoconazole working slightly faster. However, the researchers found that while these treatments reduced the disease-causing fungus, the skin’s normal microbial community did not fully recover to a healthy state, particularly in the spaces between the toes.