Bacteria do not colonize the gut before birth
Researchers examined prenatal stool (meconium) samples collected from 20 babies during breech Cesarean delivery. By including only breech caesarean deliveries in healthy pregnant women they were able to avoid the transmission of bacteria that occurs.....»»
Climate shapes life-history traits of abundant bacteria in Qinghai-Tibet plateau
Microorganisms are essential to grassland soil ecosystems and play a critical role in biogeochemical cycles. Microbial communities can be classified into distinct ecological groups based on common life-history traits, which reveals the processes in h.....»»
Researchers untangle the relationships between bacterial languages
A combination of machine learning and lab experiments has given researchers a peek into the different languages bacteria use to communicate. Understanding how bacteria communicate—and when they can't—has implications for treating drug-resistant b.....»»
Study provides fresh insights into antibiotic resistance, fitness landscapes
E. coli bacteria may be far more capable of evolving antibiotic resistance than scientists previously thought, according to a new study published in Science on November 24......»»
The electronic noses designed to prevent food poisoning
Tech firms have developed AI-powered sensors that can detect bacteria in food......»»
Researchers identify "unicorn" defense mechanism that protects bacteria from antibiotics
Researchers at McMaster University have discovered unique characteristics of a mechanism used by bacteria to resist an important class of antibiotics. The new research, published in Nature Chemical Biology, shows that resistance to aminoglycoside dru.....»»
Bacteria found to contribute to the modulation of animal behavior
An increasingly important field of work in modern life sciences is the study of the symbiotic coexistence of animals, plants, and humans with their specific microbial populations. In recent years, researchers have gathered growing evidence that the c.....»»
Researchers discover novel bacteriocin in common skin bacterium
Infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a growing global problem. Part of the solution may lie in copying the bacteria's own weapons. Researchers in Tromsø have found a new bacteriocin, in a very common skin bacterium. Bacteriocin inhibits.....»»
Bacteria store "memories" and pass them on for generations, study finds
Scientists have discovered that bacteria can create something like memories about when to form strategies that can cause dangerous infections in people, such as resistance to antibiotics and bacterial swarms when millions of bacteria come together on.....»»
Caught in living cells: How bacteria regulate their genes to defend themselves
For the first time, it was shown in living cells how the bacterium E. coli regulates genes that help it survive in a new environment. Biochemist Fatema Zahra Rashid managed to do this using a technique she fine-tuned. Her research into changes in 3-d.....»»
Sophisticated swarming: Bacteria support each other across generations
When bacteria build communities, they cooperate and share nutrients across generations. Researchers at the University of Basel have been able to demonstrate this for the first time using a newly developed method. This innovative technique enables the.....»»
Study sheds new light on mechanism of robust motility of flagellated bacteria
Flagellated bacteria are propelled by the rotation of helical flagellar filaments, each with a flagellar motor at its base. Taking Escherichia coli (E. coli) as an example, each cell has 3–7 flagella whose rotation as a helical bundle enables the c.....»»
Researchers predict climate change-driven reduction in beneficial plant microbes
Bacteria that benefit plants are thought to be a critical contributor to crops and other ecosystems, but climate change may reduce their numbers, according to a new study by an international team of researchers. They have published their findings in.....»»
Q&A: To save the planet"s glaciers, human actions still matter, says scientist
Climate change is melting glaciers around the world. Vanishing ice means less water for the millions of people relying on it and threatens the habitats of species—from bacteria to plants and fish—that live in glacier-fed ecosystems......»»
Microbiome development: Bacteria lay the foundations for their descendants
The microbiome (the symbiotic community of microbial organisms of a host) is of existential importance for the functioning of every plant and animal, including human beings. A research team from Düsseldorf and Kiel headed by Heinrich Heine Universit.....»»
New method combines synthetic biology with AI in the cell-free quest for new antibiotics
The rising resistance of bacteria to antibiotics presents an escalating global health risk. Now, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg, Germany, have combined synthetic biology and artificial intelligence (AI.....»»
SpaceX poised for second launch of mega Starship rocket
SpaceX is poised Saturday for the second test launch of Starship, the largest rocket ever built that Elon Musk hopes will one day colonize Mars, while NASA awaits a modified version to land humans on the moon......»»
Barefoot workers, bacteria found at factory that made big-brand eye drops
Around 30 eye drop brands are recalled; FDA inspection report shows why. Enlarge / Eye drop over woman's eye. (credit: Getty | AGF) The Indian manufacturing facility that made generic eye drops sold under CVS, Target, R.....»»
Enhancing the antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles against pathogens by using tea extracts
Researchers at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IPC PAS) have demonstrated that green tea–silver nanoparticles as a powerful tool against pathogens such as bacteria and yeast. Their work is published in Nanosca.....»»
More than meows: How bacteria help cats communicate
Many mammals, from domestic cats and dogs to giant pandas, use scent to communicate with each other. A new study from the University of California, Davis shows how domestic cats send signals to each other using odors derived from families of bacteria.....»»
How bacteria recognize viral invasion and activate immune defenses
There's no organism on Earth that lives free of threat—including bacteria. Predatory viruses known as phages are among their most dire foes, infiltrating their cells to replicate and take over. Bacteria have evolved an array of strategies to counte.....»»