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.....»»
Silver nanoparticles show promise in fighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria
In a new study, scientists with the University of Florida have found that a combination of silver nanoparticles and antibiotics is effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria......»»
Warmer climate may drive fungi to be more dangerous to our health
The world is filled with tiny creatures that find us delicious. Bacteria and viruses are the obvious bad guys, drivers of deadly global pandemics and annoying infections. But the pathogens we haven't had to reckon with as much—yet—are the fungi......»»
UV lamps used for disinfection may impair indoor air quality
Using ultraviolet germicidal radiation (UVGI) to disinfect indoor spaces is a demonstrably effective way of deactivating various pathogens (including the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus). It deactivates bacteria and viruses by exposing them to high-energy UV.....»»
Movements in proteins reveal information about antibiotic resistance spreading
Researchers at Umeå University have discovered how a certain type of protein moves for DNA to be copied. The discovery could have implications for understanding how antibiotic resistance genes spread between bacteria......»»
Best file compression apps for macOS and iOS
File compression on the Mac has been around since nearly as long has the line itself has. Here are our top picks for squeezing files down as small as they can go on macOS and iOS.In 1987 - just a few years after the birth of GUI computing and the fir.....»»
Antibiotic resistance induced by the widespread use of… antidepressants?
Bacteria evolve drug resistance more readily when antidepressants are around. Enlarge (credit: Larry Washburn) Jianhua Guo is a professor at the Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology. His research f.....»»
Long, dense spikes on red algae-derived metal-polysaccharide show promise for anti-microbial applications
Antibiotic resistant bacteria are becoming more and more of a concern as traditional sources of anti-microbial treatments become less effective. Therefore, researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev are looking farther afield for promising com.....»»
Chatterboxes: Researchers develop new model that shows how bacteria communicate
When bacteria interact, they give off cellular signals that can trigger a response in their neighbors, causing them to behave in different ways or produce different substances. For example, they can communicate to coordinate movement away from danger.....»»
How antidepressants promote bacterial resistance to antibacterial drugs
A team of researchers at the University of Queensland has discovered some of the mechanisms involved when bacteria become more resistant to antibacterial drugs after exposure to antidepressant drugs. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Nat.....»»
New transporter for recycling of bacterial cell wall found
A transporter which some bacteria use to recycle fragments of their cell wall has been discovered by researchers at Umeå university, Sweden. They found that the transporter controls resistance to certain kinds of cell-wall targeting antibiotics......»»
Thermal fluctuations and oscillation modes found to determine the uptake of bacteria in cells
How and with what effort does a bacterium—or a virus—enter a cell and cause an infection? Researchers from Freiburg have now made an important contribution to answering this question......»»
"Friend or foe" bacteria kill their algal hosts when coexisting is no longer beneficial
Scientists have detailed a lifestyle switch that occurs in marine bacteria, in which they change from coexisting with algae hosts in a mutually beneficial interaction to suddenly killing them. The results are published today in eLife......»»
Testing their mettle: How bacteria in deep-sea vents deal with toxic metal environments
When imagining the deep sea, we often think of a cold, dark and empty wasteland, sparsely populated by monstrous-looking creatures of the deep. But in fissures along the seabed, ocean water superheated by the Earth's magma and enriched with minerals.....»»
Microbes could be used by farmers as natural fertilizer for poor soil
A study published in The ISME Journal identified 522 genomes of archaea and bacteria associated with the roots and soil of two plant species native to the Brazilian montane savanna ecoregion known as campos rupestres ("rocky meadows"). Hundreds of mi.....»»
How a sugar cane pathogen is gearing up a new era of antibiotic discovery
A potent plant toxin with a unique way of killing harmful bacteria has emerged as one of the strongest new antibiotic candidates in decades......»»
Gonorrhea is becoming unstoppable; highly resistant cases found in US
It has resistance or reduced susceptibility to all drugs recommended for treatment. Colorized scanning electron micrograph of Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria, which causes gonorrhea. (credit: NIAID) The most highly drug-r.....»»
Soil organisms are essential for the maintenance of city parks and gardens, study shows
City parks and gardens support a rich and diverse community of soil organisms including bacteria, fungi, protists and invertebrates, which often go unnoticed compared with eye-catching plants and animals......»»
"Living medicine" created to tackle drug-resistant lung infections
Researchers have designed the first "living medicine" to treat lung infections. The treatment targets Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a type of bacteria that is naturally resistant to many types of antibiotics and is a common source of infections in hospital.....»»
Electrical properties of bacteria: How membrane potential influences antibiotic tolerance
The electrical potential across the bacterial cell envelope indicates when bacteria no longer operate as individual cells but as a collective. Researchers at the University of Cologne's Institute for Biological Physics have discovered this connection.....»»
Wearable, printable, shapeable sensors detect pathogens and toxins in the environment
Researchers at Tufts University School of Engineering have developed a way to detect bacteria, toxins, and dangerous chemicals in our environment using a biopolymer sensor that can be printed like ink on a wide range of materials, including wearable.....»»