"Last resort" antibiotic pops bacteria like balloons
Scientists have revealed how an antibiotic of 'last resort' kills bacteria......»»
Urban Birds Are Harboring Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
Exposure to bacteria in landfill sites and polluted rivers may explain prevalence among city-dwelling birds......»»
New research shows agricultural impacts on soil microbiome and fungal communities
New research from Smithsonian's Bird Friendly Coffee program highlights a type of biodiversity that often gets overlooked: soil bacteria and fungal communities. For over twenty years, Smithsonian research has shown that coffee farms with shade trees.....»»
Soundscape study shows how underground acoustics can amplify soil health
Barely audible to human ears, healthy soils produce a cacophony of sounds in many forms—a bit like an underground rave concert of bubble pops and clicks......»»
New genetic analysis of Lyme disease-causing bacteria could improve diagnosis and treatment
A genetic analysis of Lyme disease bacteria may pave the way for improved diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the tick-borne ailment......»»
Surprise finding in study of environmental bacteria could advance search for better antibiotics
In what they labeled a "surprising" finding, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers studying bacteria from freshwater lakes and soil say they have determined a protein's essential role in maintaining the germ's shape. Because the integrity of a bacterial.....»»
Could manure and compost act like probiotics, reducing antibiotic resistance in urban soils?
Urban soils often contain chemical contaminants, such as heavy metals or trace amounts of antibiotics, along with higher levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. New research from the University of Maryland suggests that, in some cases, boosting urba.....»»
City birds found to be carriers of antimicrobial resistant bacteria
Research led by scientists at the Ineos Oxford Institute for antimicrobial research at Oxford University has found that wild birds such as ducks and crows living close to humans, for example in cities, are likely to carry bacteria with antimicrobial.....»»
Newly discovered ability of comammox bacteria could help reduce nitrous oxide emissions in agriculture
An international research team led by the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS) at the University of Vienna has discovered that comammox bacteria, first identified by them in 2015, can grow using guanidine, a nitrogen-ric.....»»
Bacteria encode hidden genes outside their genome; do we?
Since the genetic code was first deciphered in the 1960s, our genes have seemed like an open book. By reading and decoding our chromosomes as linear strings of letters, like sentences in a novel, we can identify the genes in our genome and learn why.....»»
Biocides are a useful tool to combat antibiotic resistance but appropriate use is vital, scientists suggest
A recent review in the journal Sustainable Microbiology discusses how the use of biocides can promote well-being—but must only be used when there are clear benefits......»»
Predicting metabolic potential in bacteria from limited genome data
How bacteria eat food, and what kinds of products they can make from that food, is dictated by the metabolic network of enzyme patterns encoded in their genomes. Using computational methods to learn these patterns across a large number of known bacte.....»»
Smells may prime our gut to fight off infection
Many organisms react to the smell of deadly pathogens by reflexively avoiding them. But a recent study from the University of California, Berkeley, shows that the nematode C. elegans also reacts to the odor of pathogenic bacteria by preparing its int.....»»
Researchers create new device for on-the-spot water testing
Researchers at University of Galway have developed a new, portable technology for on-the-spot testing of water quality to detect one of the most dangerous types of bacteria......»»
New nasal microbiome: Depriving multi-resistant bugs of iron
A research team led by Simon Heilbronner, Professor of Microbiology at LMU's Biocenter, has investigated how various bacteria that colonize the nasal cavity deal with the lack of iron there and interact with one another......»»
Bacterial gut diversity improves the athletic performance of racehorses
The composition of gut bacteria of thoroughbred racehorses at one month old can predict their future athletic performance, according to a new study from the University of Surrey. In the study, foals with lower bacterial diversity at 28 days old also.....»»
Double whammy antibiotic makes antibiotic resistance much harder—new study
Most antibiotics are natural products of bacteria and other microorganisms from the environment. They are part of a silent chemical warfare among microorganisms in soils, rivers and seas right now. The fact that they are natural products that have be.....»»
Coinfecting viruses obstruct each other"s cell invasion
The process by which phages—viruses that infect and replicate within bacteria—enter cells has been studied for over 50 years. In a new study, researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Texas A&M University have used cutting-.....»»
Why SpaceX is delivering a penny, a hexnut, and two balloons to the ISS on Saturday
This Saturday, NASA, SpaceX, and Northrop Grumman are launching a resupply mission to the International Space Station loaded up with scientific experiments......»»
New compound found to be effective against "flesh-eating" bacteria
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a novel compound that effectively clears bacterial infections in mice, including those that can result in rare but potentially fatal "flesh-eating" illnesses. The com.....»»
Engineered microbes found to repel mosquitoes
Genetically-engineered human skin bacteria can make mice less attractive to mosquitoes for 11 days. Mosquitoes transmit a host of deadly diseases, including malaria, West Nile, dengue, yellow fever, and Zika. Female mosquitoes on the hunt for a blood.....»»