Lower antibiotic resistance in intestinal bacteria with forgotten antibiotic
A forgotten antibiotic, temocillin, led to lower selection of resistant bacteria than the standard treatment for febrile urinary tract infection. Thus, temocillin may be useful in treating severe urinary tract infections that give rise to fever, and.....»»
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.....»»
Will this antibiotic work for you? A quick and easy method of testing antimicrobial susceptibility
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) directly causes an estimated 1.3 million deaths around the globe annually, a figure that the World Health Organization has predicted will rise. A leading cause of AMR is the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, which has.....»»
Study shows how AI can detect antibiotic resistance in as little as 30 minutes
To mark World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, researchers supported by the Oxford Martin Program on Antimicrobial Resistance Testing at the University of Oxford have reported advances towards a novel and rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test that can.....»»
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......»»
Feeding dogs raw meat increases the risk of antibiotic-resistant E. coli, finds study
Feeding dogs raw (uncooked) meat increases their risk of excreting E. coli that cannot be killed by a widely used antibiotic—ciprofloxacin—researchers at the University of Bristol have found from a study of 600 healthy pet dogs......»»
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.....»»
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.....»»
Microbes could help reduce the need for chemical fertilizers
Production of chemical fertilizers accounts for about 1.5% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. MIT chemists hope to help reduce that carbon footprint by replacing some chemical fertilizer with a more sustainable source—bacteria......»»
Engineering bacteria to biosynthesize intricate protein complexes
Protein cages found within microbes help its contents weather the harsh intracellular environment—an observation that has many bioengineering applications. Tokyo Tech researchers have recently developed an innovative bioengineering approach that us.....»»
Using bacteria to make lunar soil more fertile
A team of agronomists and biotechnicians at China Agricultural University has found that adding bacteria to simulated lunar regolith increased the amount of phosphate in the soil for use by plants. In their study, published in the journal Communicati.....»»
"Superbugs" with hypervirulence and carbapenem resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae
A new bacterial threat, the carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-hvKP), is rapidly spreading in clinical environments in China, posing a significant public health challenge. This pathogen is simultaneously multidrug-resistant,.....»»
Single gene controls Corn Belt weed"s resistance to soil-applied herbicide, study finds
Waterhemp, the aggressive weed threatening Corn Belt crop production, is throwing curveballs once again, according to researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The weed has famously developed resistance to not one or two, but seven.....»»
How do bacteria actually become resistant to antibiotics?
"What doesn't kill me makes me stronger," originally coined by Friedrich Nietzsche in 1888, is a perfect description of how bacteria develop antibiotic resistance......»»
Study finds bacteria use organic phosphorus and release methane in the process
Off Barbados, researchers from Bremen have investigated how bacteria inadvertently release methane in order to obtain phosphorus—with significant effects on atmospheric greenhouse gases......»»