Evaluating a novel fungal strain’s pathogenicity to important pests and their involved immune responses may give crucial data on a broad scale for future use in pest management strategies. Date palms are mostly destroyed by invading populations of red palm weevils; thus, developing natural biopesticides for them requires a comprehensive screening program of plant secondary metabolites. In this research, we examined the pathogenicity of a new strain of Beauveria bassiana on an important agricultural pest, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, by measuring the relative activity of defensive enzymes and detoxifying enzymes in certain larval instars. Our findings reveal that the B. bassiana strain may infect the instars of R. ferrugineus, and its pathogenicity to the larvae steadily increases as the spore concentration increases. Seven days after inoculation, the LC₅₀ (the median lethal concentration) of B. bassiana was 490.42 × 10⁵ and 2974.47 × 10⁸ spores/mL for the second and fourth instar R. ferrugineus, respectively, and the LC₅₀ of B. bassiana for each R. ferrugineus instar decreased with infection time, indicating a significant dose effect. Infected R. ferrugineus larvae of the second instars showed considerable changes in the activity of both protecting and detoxifying enzymes (peroxidase, catalase, superoxide dismutase, Cytochrome P450, glutathione S transferase (GST), and esterase) as infection time progressed. In addition, R. ferrugineus larvae that were infected with B. bassiana had enzyme activity that persisted from 24 to 48 h, which was much longer than in the control group. Lethality of B. bassiana resulted in elevated expressions of GST, Esterase, and Cytochrome P450 responsive genes. In conclusion, the results of this research indicate that B. bassiana may be utilized as a bio-insecticide to suppress young larvae of R. ferrugineus in an integrated pest management program.

The absence of calcium decreases the production of peanuts compared to any other element. To investigate the influence of calcium (Ca) applications on the production and seed quality of four diverse peanut cultivars from different regions—USA (NC-7), Egypt (Giza-6) and Nigeria (Samnut-23 and Samnut-24)—under clay soil conditions, two experiments were carried out at the Agricultural Experimental and Research Station, Cairo University, Egypt, during the two seasons of 2016 and 2017. The experimental design was a randomized complete block in a spilt-plot arrangement with three replications. The main plots were allocated to four peanut cultivars (Giza-6, Samnut-23, Samnut-24 and NC-7), and the sub-plots were devoted to calcium applications (soil application in the form of calcium sulfate dihydrate, foliar application in the form of calcium oxide and the control treatment of distilled water). Results indicated that all four peanut cultivars responded differently to the application of calcium fertilizers. The calcium application significantly enhanced peanut growth, yield components, biological, pod, seed, oil yields, seed oil, free fatty acids and seed calcium percentages in different cultivars. Soil calcium application significantly improved peanut production compared to foliar calcium application. NC-7 cultivar treated with the soil Ca application resulted in the maximum values of biological yield (92.9-ton ha⁻¹), pod yield (6.8-ton ha⁻¹), seed yield (4.4-ton ha⁻¹), oil yield (2247.0 kg ha⁻¹), pod index (203.2 g) and seed index (84.1 g). The interaction between the NC-7 cultivar and soil calcium applications is recommended to attain the best combination, leading to the highest yield and seed quality of peanuts.

This study evaluated the insecticidal activity of green-synthesized metallic nanoparticles (Ag, CuO, and ZnO) and the ethanolic extract of Metarhizium anisopliae against the red palm weevil ( Rhynchophorus ferrugineus ). Physicochemical characterization confirmed the successful synthesis and stability of the nanoparticles. Among the tested materials, AgNPs exhibited the greatest larvicidal activity (LC₅₀ = 568.0 ppm), outperforming both the fungal extract and the reference insecticide abamectin under the experimental conditions. GC–MS analysis of the M. anisopliae extract identified several bioactive metabolites, including 1,2,4-benzenetriol, oleic acid, and naphthalene derivatives. Enzymatic assays demonstrated that AgNPs markedly inhibited digestive enzymes, particularly amylase and protease, indicating disruption of nutrient metabolism. Gene expression analysis revealed treatment- and time-dependent modulation of inflammatory (IL6 and TNF) and detoxification (CYP450) genes. Molecular docking further suggested that fatty acid derivatives, particularly oleic acid, exhibited favorable binding affinities toward multiple insect protein targets, supporting their potential contribution to the observed insecticidal activity. Overall, these findings provide mechanistic insights into the insecticidal effects of green-synthesized metallic nanoparticles and M. anisopliae metabolites and support their potential as promising candidates for red palm weevil management. However, further field-based studies are required to validate their practical efficacy under natural conditions.

Owing to the drawbacks and adverse effects associated with conventional cancer therapies, there is growing interest in identifying effective natural alternatives. In this study, the anticancer potential of honeybee and scorpion venoms was evaluated using three human cancer cell lines: lung adenocarcinoma (A549), colon carcinoma (HCT-116), and breast adenocarcinoma (MDA-MB-231). The chemical composition, biological activity, and molecular interactions of both venoms with key cancer-related targets were investigated through gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), cytotoxicity assays, gene expression analysis, and molecular docking. GC-MS analysis revealed that scorpion venom was predominantly composed of methyl isocyanide, 3-butyn-1-ol, and allene, whereas honeybee venom was characterized by caprylic anhydride, 1,3,5-triazine derivatives, and palmitin as major bioactive constituents. Functional analyses demonstrated that both venoms modulated the expression of genes associated with apoptosis and other cancer-related pathways rather than inducing apoptosis directly. Notably, scorpion venom significantly downregulated the anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-2 , whereas honeybee venom upregulated its expression, indicating distinct mechanisms of action. Scorpion venom exerted pronounced pro-apoptotic effects, while honeybee venom appeared to act primarily through immunomodulatory and anti-angiogenic pathways. Molecular docking analyses confirmed favorable interactions between venom-derived compounds and key molecular targets, including Bcl-2, Bax, p53, and VEGF, supporting their potential as multi-target anticancer agents. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that honeybee and scorpion venoms possess promising anticancer properties via distinct yet complementary mechanisms, with particular efficacy against lung and breast adenocarcinoma cell lines. The results highlight the potential of these venoms as natural candidates for the development of alternative anticancer therapeutics.

The International Telecommunication Union reported more than 7 billion cellphone subscriptions worldwide. Therefore, the net result is the production of a number of biological effects on the whole biomolecules, cells, and organisms. Such effects induced changes in the intracellular ion concentrations, the rate of the composition of different biomolecules, cell reproduction rates, and animal reproductive capacity. Biologically, The emitted electromagnetic field (EMF) impacted the exposed insect populations. Both the larval instars and the pupal lifespan were significantly depressed due to exposure to mobile radiation. Additionally, the failure of adult emergence increased significantly. Moreover, the sex ratio of Cx. (Cx.) univitattus was significantly affected by exposure to mobile radiation. The duration of the first larval instar declined from 1.36 ± 0.13 days, compared to 0.90 ± 0.34 (P< 0.01) days for both the control and the exposed larvae, respectively. Meanwhile, the durations of the second larval instar decreased from 2.53 ± 0.27 to 1.2 ± 0.09 days for both the control and the exposed larvae (P< 0.05), respectively. Moreover, the duration of the third larval instar was declined from 3.78 ± 0.40, compared to 1.09 ± 0.05 days for both the control larvae and the exposed larvae group (P< 0.05), respectively. Additionally, the duration of the fourth larval instar decreased (5.27 ± 0.9 days) for the exposed larvae group compared to the control (8.33 ± 2.18 days; P < 0.001). The total larval duration was 16.00 ± 2.98 days compared to 8.46 ± 1.38 days for both the control and the exposed larvae (P< 0.001), respectively. Meanwhile, the pupal lifespan was significantly affected by the exposure to mobile radiation (2.2 ± 0.1 days, and 2.5 ± 0.9 days; P< 0.05) for the control and the exposed pupae, respectively. The adult emergency was significantly affected by the exposure to mobile radiation (4:3, and 16:1; P< 0.001) for the control and the exposed groups, respectively. The same pattern was true for the males and females emergency, which was significantly affected (1:1.8) for males, and (1:2.7) females of both the control group and the exposed groups, respectively.