Thursday, October 15, 2026

Unexpected discovery of new mechanism which helps deadly fungus Candida auris evade treatment

New research has revealed an unexpected new mechanism through which the killer fungus Candida auris is resisting antifungal drug treatment.

University of Exeter

Plate showing cell growth — image:
Image of the plate showing different rates of cell growth
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Credit: University of Exeter

New research has revealed an unexpected new mechanism through which the killer fungus Candida auris is resisting antifungal drug treatment.

A team led by the University of Exeter and City St George’s, University of London, discovered that the fungus creates multiple versions of its entire genome, including mutating a gene which plays a role in cell wall integrity, called “Crazy-one” (CRZ1).

The study is now published in Nature Communications. The research was primarily funded by the Medical Research Council, with support from the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Exeter.

Study authors say their findings unlock a brand new mechanism that allows Candida auris to adapt to antifungal treatment and survive, which could lead to new ways to tackle the fungus.

Candida auris was only described for the first time in 2008, and its origins remain a mystery. Since it emerged, outbreaks have been reported on every continent, in more than 60 countries in total, including the UK. It has been named a global public health threat, and is on the World Health Organization’s critical priority fungal pathogens list.

Study first author Dr Hugh Gifford, Clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter’s MRC Centre for Medical Mycology, is also an intensive care physician. He said: “Candida auris is rare in the general population, but it’s a deadly threat to patients in intensive care units. It clings to patient skin and surrounding equipment, and can be transmitted from person to person – it’s incredibly hard to eradicate. If infection enters a vulnerable patient’s blood stream, there is a 45 per cent death rate.

“Outbreaks in intensive care units have been costly and highly disruptive. One unit in the UK had to close and undergo complete refurbishment to stop the outbreak, while another outbreak was estimated to cost £1 million to control. “

The research team was initially testing for drug resistance when a researcher accidentally left plates of cells incubating for longer than the required test period. The researcher returned to find that cells had unexpectedly grown during this additional time period. They were surprised to find that further testing showed the deadly fungus had survived antifungal treatment by creating multiple versions of its own genome, thereby increasing its chances of mutating to evade the drug and survive.

Dr Sarah Murphy, former postdoctoral researcher at City St George’s University of London and co-first author said “We initially set out to investigate why antifungal drugs weren’t working to kill Candida auris, despite laboratory tests showing that they were not resistant and that the drugs should have been effective. We were surprised to discover an entirely new mechanism for this fungus to survive – particularly with luck playing a big part of the discovery. We tested the fungus against very high concentrations of antifungal drugs. We were amazed to find there was a tiny population of cells that appeared over several days and continued to grow. Our discovery means we need to now look at new ways of treating people and eradicating this deadly fungus from hospitals.”

Expanding further on the finding, Dr Hugh Gifford said: “This study had a number of surprising elements. Firstly, we did not identify any of the DNA mutations that we might have expected. Antifungal drugs target the enzymes that make cell walls, so that fungi die by shriveling, exploding, or not being able to grow. Somehow, these fungi had survived antifungal drugs, and we needed to find out why. We were surprised to find that surviving cells had made multiple copies of its entire genome. This is a trick that other fungi have used in the past, but not one that is well known in C. auris. In fact, there were two populations, some growing slowly, others growing more rapidly. We call it ‘bet-hedging’ when a bug uses multiple tactics to increases its chances of developing resistance and evading treatment.”

The team found that the more rapidly growing cells contained a wide range of mutations in a gene that has been studied in other organisms for its role in governing cell wall synthesis, called “Crazy-one” (CRZ1). Further tests confirmed the rapid growth of CRZ1 mutants, and that their cell walls appeared to be unaffected by antifungal drugs.

Researchers are now looking at options including the use of antifungal drugs in combination, which is being addressed via the Exeter-led UKRI funded Fungi-CARE programme, also in partnership with colleagues at City St George’s.

Senior author Professor Tihana Bicanic, Professor of Infectious Diseases and Mycology at the School of Health & Medical Sciences at City St George’s, University of London, said: “We now believe that fungal infections are more complicated than previously thought. Multiple populations may exist during infection. New and emerging human fungal infections, like Candida auris, essentially have a Swiss Army Knife of innovation with their own genome, leading to stepwise adaptation and drug resistance. The implication of these results are that we now know a new mechanism of evolution that weakens our antifungal drug arsenal. So, we are sounding the alarm for the need to make better antifungal drugs and urgently address our ability to prevent fungal deaths.”

The study is titled ‘FKS1/2-variant independent mechanisms underlying the 1 emergence of resistance in echinocandin-refractory 2 Candida auris infections’ and is published in Nature Communications.

Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-026-76954-x

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Cells

Article Title

FKS1/2-variant independent mechanisms underlying the emergence of resistance in echinocandin-refractory Candida auris infections

Article Publication Date

15-Oct-2026

Aston University research finds vegan honey could be made with similar antimicrobial properties to mānuka honey

Aston University

Dr Jonathan Cox, senior lecturer in biosciences, led the research to test specially made formulations of vegan honey against bacteria
There is much research interest in mānuka honey as an alternative to antibiotics as bacteria develop resistance but honeybees are declining
The work helps identify which honey-associated antimicrobial factors contribute most strongly to activity.

Vegan honey alternatives could be engineered to have similar antimicrobial properties to prized mānuka honey from New Zealand, according to research at Aston University.

Vegan honey alternatives, based on sugar syrup, mimic the natural consistency, carbohydrate structure (sugar and inulin) and taste of honey while containing no bee-derived components. They are gaining popularity with the rise of veganism, and the decline of honeybee populations, which is impacting honey supplies.

Mānuka honey, from New Zealand, is made by bees that pollinate the mānuka bush and it is known for its unique antibacterial properties. It is expensive and as a natural product, can vary between batches. Dr Jonathan Cox, senior lecturer in biosciences at Aston University, wanted to investigate whether the key antimicrobial components of medical honey could be recreated in a fully vegan, synthetic formulation. The broader aim was to understand which components are responsible for the antibacterial activity and whether a sustainable, reproducible alternative to natural honey could be developed.

Previous research from Dr Cox’s group showed that mānuka honey is active against Mycobacterium abscessus, a highly drug-resistant bacterium that can cause difficult-to-treat lung, skin and soft tissue infections. New treatment options are urgently needed. They tested their vegan honey formulations against a culture of this bacterium, both for their ability to stop bacterial growth, and to kill bacteria outright.

Two components of mānuka honey proved to be particularly effective when added to the vegan honey formulations - methylglyoxal (MGO) and hydrogen peroxide. The most effective vegan honey formulations against M. abscessus were those containing combinations of MGO and enzyme-based systems that generate hydrogen peroxide within the honey. The best formulations could kill M. abscessus.

The findings suggest that some of the beneficial antimicrobial properties of medical honey can potentially be reproduced without using bee-derived products.

Dr Cox says that the next steps in the research will be to optimise the formulations and better understand how the different antimicrobial components work together. He also suggests that future work could test the efficacy of the vegan honey formulations against other clinically important disease-causing bacteria.

Dr Cox adds:

“Longer term, this research could help support the development of sustainable honey-inspired antimicrobial products for wound care or other topical applications, without relying on bee-derived ingredients.

“The work also provides insight into how natural honey functions, which may help guide the design of next-generation antimicrobial therapies.”

To read the full paper, ‘Modifications to a vegan artificial honey result in inhibitory activity against Mycobacterium abscessus’ in PLOS One, visit journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0356687.

Journal

PLOS One

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0356687

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Cells

Article Title

Modifications to a vegan artificial honey result in inhibitory activity against Mycobacterium abscessus

Research institutions are converging on what they study

Complexity Science Hub

Scatter plot of the topic alignments of new hires and outgoers — image:
Each dot is a research institution. The further right and up, the more closely new hires and departing researchers match the institution's research topics. The gray lines mark the median values. Colors show citation impact: gray dots are institutions below the global average, while orange, blue and yellow indicate increasingly high impact. Highly cited institutions cluster in the top right, with one notable exception: the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.
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Credit: © Ferreira et al., Scientometrics (2026), adapted

Over the past two decades, research organizations worldwide have tended to become more alike in their research topics. At top institutions, new hires also fit particularly well into the existing research profile, a recent study by the Complexity Science Hub (CSH) finds.

IN SHORT:

The study traces the careers of 9.3 million researchers at 3,965 institutions worldwide between 2000 and 2020.
Growing similarity: Over two decades, research institutions have become more alike in their research topics.
Close fit: New hires usually work on topics that closely match their institution's existing research, down to very specific niches. The median score is 0.84 (on a scale from 0 to 1).
Prestige matters: The more prestigious an institution, the more closely new hires' topics match its existing research.
Every hire is a choice: The method can help universities, funders, and policymakers assess whether hiring strategies fit the research profiles they aim for.

Where researchers go, their knowledge goes. And that shapes where innovation happens. “Recruiting researchers is one way institutions gain new knowledge and steer their research in particular directions,” explains Vito D. P. Servedio, senior scientist at CSH.

To learn more about whom institutions hire, how many new research topics those hires bring, and how institutions develop thematically over time, a team from CSH, in collaboration with Leiden University, reconstructed the career paths of 9.3 million researchers across 3,965 institutions worldwide. To do so, they analyzed 25 million scientific publications and traced the publication histories of their authors between 2000 and 2020. The study has been published in the journal Scientometrics.

INSTITUTIONS ARE BECOMING MORE ALIKE

Compared with one another, research institutions grew more similar in their research topics, the team found.

Servedio found this surprising. “I expected institutions to develop more distinct profiles,” he says. “Diversity in research can be valuable, because we often don't know what knowledge we'll need next.”

NEW HIRES FIT IN

Within institutions, new hires generally fit well with the existing research profile. “The research topics of newcomers closely match those of the scientists already there,” Servedio says. On a scale from 0 (no overlap) to 1 (identical topics), the median topic alignment is 0.84. In other words, at half of the institutions studied, alignment is even higher than 0.84. At the other half, it is lower.

“We're not talking about broad fields like molecular biology or quantum physics,” study author and CSH president Stefan Thurner notes. “We're talking about very narrow, specific research topics.” The team used an established classification distinguishing between 4,163 of them.

Journal

Scientometrics

DOI

10.1007/s11192-026-05815-7

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Scientific mobility, prestige and topic alignment in research institutions

Many older US adults make Medicare decisions quickly and most don’t change plans, poll finds

As 69 million enter Open Enrollment for 2027, data from 2026 enrollees suggests a need for more people to review all options & seek reliable information

Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

Women using Medicare Plan Finder — image:
A photo illustration of two women looking at a laptop where the Medicare Plan Finder website's front page is shown.
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Credit: Emily Smith - University of Michigan

It’s one of the biggest decisions they might make all year, affecting their wallets and their healthcare for the full year to come.

They may have many options to choose from, depending on where they live.

But 60% of older adults spend less than an hour choosing their Medicare coverage during Open Enrollment, a new poll finds.

That includes 27% who said they didn’t take any time to review their options, and 33% who reviewed them but spent less than an hour doing so, according to new findings from the National Poll on Healthy Aging based at the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.

In all, 80% stuck with their Medicare coverage from the previous year, the poll finds.

The U-M team gathered the data just after last year’s Medicare Open Enrollment by surveying Medicare enrollees aged 65 and older who were drawn from a nationally representative sample of older adults.

Of those who did take time to review what’s available in their area, 25% said the most important source they consulted was one offered by Medicare itself, either the plan-finding tool on the Medicare website or the Medicare hotline.

Only 5% said their most important source was a free local counselor, such as one from the federally funded State Health Insurance Assistance Program that’s available in every state and called SHIP for short.

Meanwhile, 26% said the most important source of information they used in their Medicare decision was an insurance broker, and 21% said it was a health plan website.

Even so, virtually all those surveyed (92%) say they’re somewhat confident or very confident about making decisions about their Medicare coverage.

Implications for 2027 Open Enrollment

This year, the Open Enrollment period for all forms of 2027 Medicare coverage runs from October 15 to December 7.

The new findings suggest a strong need for older adults – particularly those who are dissatisfied with their current coverage, but also others – to take more time to thoroughly review their options, says Geoffrey Hoffman, Ph.D., an Associate Professor at the U-M School of Nursing and IHPI member who studies Medicare and worked with the poll team.

“It’s easy to ‘set it and forget it’ with Medicare, especially if you have coverage that you like and assume is the best that’s out there,” he said. “The number of choices, and the tools for navigating them, can also be confusing, but there may be coverage that better suits your needs and wallet. It’s important to ask for help if you need it, including the SHIP counselors in your area who many people don’t realize are available and do not have a financial stake in what you choose.”

Hoffman and Lianlian Lei, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor in the U-M Medical School who also worked on the poll, have done multiple studies on Medicare enrollees’ decision-making about plan choices and switching Medicare Advantage plans.

Lei notes that just as someone would take time before buying a car or a major appliance, it’s important to do the same for Medicare options. The best choice will depend on the health conditions or goals that a person has, the doctors they want to see, the hospitals they prefer to go to, and the medications their doctors have prescribed them. She also notes that the best plan for one member of a couple may not be the best one for their partner.

Awareness of policy changes affecting Medicare enrollees

The poll also gauged how many Medicare enrollees had heard about major changes that federal lawmakers, and the agency that runs Medicare, had made for 2026.

The one generating the most awareness was lower prices for 10 high-cost drugs, a change which resulted from Medicare’s new ability to negotiate what it pays drugmakers for some prescription medications . But just 38% of all poll respondents had heard of it.

The impact of this change on individual enrollees depends on the Part D prescription drug plan in which they enroll. Fifteen more drugs added to the list for 2027 will be included in the drug coverage on the Medicare Plan Finder.

Another key change for 2026 that will continue into 2027 relates to the total amounts that Medicare enrollees pay out of pocket for drugs covered by their plan.

Just 29% were aware of two changes that could increase their exposure to prescription drug costs: first, an increase in the total amount that they could be asked to pay for prescription drugs before Medicare or their Medicare Advantage plan would start paying (called a deductible); and, second, an increase in the maximum total drug costs (the cap) that Medicare enrollees will have to pay for all their prescription drugs in a year.

Only 15% had heard of another change added during the Open Enrollment for 2026: the ability to use the Plan Finder to see which doctors and other health care professionals would be considered “in network” by a chosen Medicare Advantage plan. This information had been hard to find in previous years, even though going to an out-of-network provider or hospital can be very costly.

Poll director Jeffrey Kullgren, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., has studied how out-of-pocket costs influence how people make health decisions, especially if they have chronic conditions.

“When we asked our poll respondents to choose from a list of factors that mattered most to them when making their Medicare choices, the top choice was out-of-pocket costs, chosen by 69%, followed closely by medication coverage at 63%, and network coverage of their healthcare providers at 62%,” said Kullgren.

Just because a plan was available one year doesn’t mean it will be available for 2027, he added.

“We know that Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plan options are changing across the country as insurance companies make business decisions about what they offer and where they offer it,” he said. “That makes it especially important to check all options carefully every year.”

Michigan-specific findings

The poll team also analyzed data from a sample of Michigan adults enrolled in Medicare, using funding from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund as part of the Michigan Poll on Healthy Aging.

In general, there were no major differences between the Michigan and national samples. The Michigan poll also gauged awareness of the MI Options call center, which includes Medicare counseling and launched in summer 2025.

A summary of all Michigan findings and an interactive data dashboard is available at https://michmed.org/GY97B.

What options do people with Medicare coverage have?

Depending on where someone lives, their Medicare plan options always include traditional Medicare that’s accepted by nearly all doctors and hospitals, and might include one or more (or as many as 80) Medicare Advantage plans, each with their own networks of doctors and hospitals.

In some areas, a program called PACE may be available to Medicare-eligible people who need nursing home-level care but want to remain in their home.

Then there are optional “Medigap” plans to supplement traditional Medicare coverage. However, Hoffman notes, states vary in their laws about whether enrollees with major health issues can be charged more or denied completely if they want to buy a Medigap plan after moving from Medicare Advantage coverage to traditional Medicare.

Medicare Advantage plans can offer benefits that traditional Medicare cannot, such as transportation, food programs, and caregiver support. Some plans have reduced these offerings in recent years.

And then there are multiple Part D prescription plans to choose from for those with traditional Medicare. There are also varying prescription drug benefits that are part of Medicare Advantage plans.

Each of these plans has its own list of drugs it will cover, called a formulary, as well as a deductible amount, and the co-pay due each time a prescription is filled. In 2027, Part D plans can set a deductible as high as $700, or as low as $0.

Since 2025, there is a cap on the total amount any Medicare enrollee must pay out of pocket for all prescriptions covered by Part D or Medicare Advantage in a year, no matter what type of coverage they have. The cap will rise to $2,400 in 2027, up from $2,100 in 2026 and $2,000 in 2025. The cap closed the “donut hole” in prescription coverage that formerly caused some Medicare enrollees to pay thousands more in drug costs.

With so many choices for Medicare coverage, particularly among Medicare Advantage plans, older adults face a barrage of marketing mail, phone calls, advertisements, and even offers of free dinners with information sessions every fall. These come from insurance companies and from brokers who earn commissions from insurance companies based on how many people they sign up.

The federal Medicare website offers a wealth of information for free, and Medicare staff can be reached through a toll-free phone number. Information is available in different languages and interpreters and services for the deaf and hard of hearing are available.

The Medicare Plan Finder lets users compare costs and coverage lists of Medicare Advantage, Part D prescription drug plans and Medigap plans in their area, down to the specific drugs they take and the doctors they see. There is also a separate tool for finding PACE plans in the states where they are offered.

Free state-run SHIPs and programs such as Michigan’s MI Options offer staff and trained volunteers who can help individuals go over their options over the phone and at in-person sessions such as those held at public libraries and senior centers. These sources have no financial interest in what plan a person chooses.

NPHA data from 2024 showed that only 25% of people over 50 were familiar with SHIPs.

If someone chooses a Medicare Advantage plan during Open Enrollment and then decides it is not right for them, there is a second chance to switch after their coverage begins January 1. They can switch to another Medicare Advantage plan, or to traditional Medicare, if they do it before March 31. There are also other special enrollment periods.

About the poll

The poll findings come from a nationally representative survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for IHPI and administered online and via phone in December 2025 and January 2026. The survey questions on Medicare went to 1,796 community-dwelling U.S. adults age 65 to 98 from the AmeriSpeak panel. The Michigan-focused analysis includes 608 community-dwelling Michigan adults age 65 to 93, including a non-probability oversample. Results are weighted to reflect each respective population.

Read past National Poll on Healthy Aging reports and Michigan findings, and learn about the poll methodology.

Data from adults over 65 who answered questions soon after enrolling in Medicare for 2026. The top bar shows satisfaction with the coverage they had had in 2025, the bottom bar shows whether they had taken any time to review their options for coverage in 2026 and if so, how long.

Data from the National Poll on Healthy Aging, University of Michigan

Credit

Emily Smith, University of Michigan

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

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Thursday, October 15, 2026

Unexpected discovery of new mechanism which helps deadly fungus Candida auris evade treatment

Journal

DOI

Method of Research

Subject of Research

Article Title

Article Publication Date

Aston University research finds vegan honey could be made with similar antimicrobial properties to mānuka honey

Journal

DOI

Method of Research

Subject of Research

Article Title

Research institutions are converging on what they study

Journal

DOI

Method of Research

Subject of Research

Article Title

Many older US adults make Medicare decisions quickly and most don’t change plans, poll finds

Data from adults over 65 who answered questions soon after enrolling in Medicare for 2026. The top bar shows satisfaction with the coverage they had had in 2025, the bottom bar shows whether they had taken any time to review their options for coverage in 2026 and if so, how long.

Credit

Method of Research

Subject of Research

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