Bacteria News

December 5, 2023

Top Headlines

Bacteria's Mucus Maneuvers: Study Reveals How Snot Facilitates Infection

Dec. 5, 2023 — Sniffles, snorts and blows of runny noses are the hallmarks of cold and flu season -- and that increase in mucus is exactly what bacteria use to mount a coordinated attack on the immune system, according to a new study. The team found that the ...

From Infamy to Ingenuity: Bacterial Hijack Mechanisms as Advanced Genetic Tools

Dec. 5, 2023 — Researchers have uncovered the intricate molecular mechanism used by parasitic phytoplasma bacteria, known for inducing 'zombie-like' effects in ...

Armed to the Hilt: Study Solves Mystery Behind Bacteria's Extensive Weaponry

Nov. 30, 2023 — A new study tackles the mystery of why bacteria often carry diverse ranges of weapons. The findings show that different weapons are best suited to different competition scenarios. Short-range weapons ...

This 'Gross' Mixture Has Big Benefits for the Study of Bacteria

Nov. 30, 2023 — Researchers have discovered that growing bacteria on agar mixed with organs is an efficient and effective way to study infectious ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:08pm EST

A New Bacterial Species from a Hydrothermal Vent Throws Light on Their Evolution

Nov. 29, 2023 — A new bacterial species discovered at the deep-sea hydrothermal vent site 'Crab Spa' provides a deeper understanding of bacterial ...

Researchers Decipher Enzyme Scissors of Intestinal Microbes

Nov. 29, 2023 — Fruit and vegetables contain a variety of plant natural products such as flavonoids, which give fruits their colour and are said to have health-promoting properties. Most plant natural products occur ...

Newborn Babies at Risk from Bacteria Commonly Carried by Mothers

Nov. 29, 2023 — One in 200 newborns is admitted to a neonatal unit with sepsis caused by a bacteria commonly carried by their mothers -- much greater than the previous estimate, say researchers. The team has ...

Study of Ancient British Oral Microbiomes Reveals Shift Following Black Death

Nov. 29, 2023 — The Second Plague Pandemic of the mid-14th century, also known as the Black Death, killed 30-60 percent of the European population and profoundly ...

New Material Reduces Bacterial Infection and Speeds Up Bone Healing

Nov. 28, 2023 — Researchers have developed a new surgical implant that has the potential to transform the treatment of complex bone infections. When implanted on an injured or infected bone, the material can not ...

A Spectrum of Possibilities: Insights Into the Evolution of Far-Red Light Photosynthesis

Nov. 28, 2023 — Scientists have unraveled the evolutionary journey of a unique type of photosynthesis that allows some bacteria to harness far-red light, a region ...

Scientists Harness Flower 'Super Power' to Pave the Way for New Drug Treatments

Nov. 28, 2023 — Researchers have developed a way of joining up the head and tail of a protein, making it more stable and easier to get into ...

Scientists Find Both Potential Threats and Promising Resources in the Thriving Colonies of Bacteria and Fungi on Ocean Plastic Trash

Nov. 27, 2023 — Scientists have found both potential threats and promising resources in the thriving colonies of bacteria and fungi on plastic trash washed up on ...

Study Provides Fresh Insights Into Antibiotic Resistance, Fitness Landscapes

Nov. 23, 2023 — A new study suggests that E. coli bacteria may have a higher capability to evolve antibiotic resistance than previously believed. Researchers ...

Team Discovers Rules for Breaking Into Pseudomonas

Nov. 22, 2023 — Researchers report that they have found a way to get antibacterial drugs through the nearly impenetrable outer membrane of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that -- once it infects a person -- is ...

Earlier Headlines

Summaries
Headlines

New Clues Into the Head-Scratching Mystery of Itch

Nov. 22, 2023 — Scientists show for the first time that bacteria can cause itch by activating nerve cells in the skin. The findings can inform new therapies to treat itch that occurs in inflammatory skin conditions ...

Sophisticated Swarming: Bacteria Support Each Other Across Generations

Nov. 21, 2023 — When bacteria build communities, they cooperate and share nutrients across generations. Researchers have been able to demonstrate this for the first time using a newly developed method. This ...

Looking for 'LUCA' and the Timing of Cellular Evolution

Nov. 21, 2023 — LUCA, the 'last universal common ancestor' of all living organisms, lived 4.32 to at most 4.52 billion years ago. What LUCA looked like is unknown, but it must have been a cell with among ...

Certain Skin Bacteria Can Inhibit Growth of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

Nov. 21, 2023 — Researchers have found a bacteriocin that can help inhibit the growth of antibiotic-resistant ...

Bacteria Store Memories and Pass Them on for Generations

Nov. 21, 2023 — 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 ...

Microbiome Development: Bacteria Lay the Foundations for Their Descendants

Nov. 20, 2023 — 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 has now ...

Feeding Dogs Raw Meat Increases the Risk of Antibiotic-Resistant E. Coli

Nov. 20, 2023 — Feeding dogs raw (uncooked) meat increases their risk of excreting E. coli that cannot be killed by a widely used antibiotic -- ciprofloxacin -- researchers have found from a study of 600 healthy pet ...

Study Reveals Surprising Link Between Malnutrition and Rising Antibiotic Resistance

Nov. 17, 2023 — Researchers have uncovered startling connections between micronutrient deficiencies and the composition of gut microbiomes in early life that could help explain why resistance to antibiotics has been ...

Plants That Survived Dinosaur Extinction Pulled Nitrogen from Air

Nov. 16, 2023 — Ancient cycad lineages that survived the extinction of the dinosaurs may have done so by relying on symbiotic bacteria in their roots to fix atmospheric nitrogen. The finding came from an effort to ...

More Than Meows: How Bacteria Help Cats Communicate

Nov. 16, 2023 — Many mammals, from domestic cats and dogs to giant pandas, use scent to communicate with each other. A new study shows how domestic cats send signals to each other using odors derived from families ...

How Bacteria Recognize Viral Invasion and Activate Immune Defenses

Nov. 15, 2023 — Bacteria have an array of strategies to counter viral invasion, but how they first spot a stranger in their midst has long been a ...

Microbes Could Help Reduce the Need for Chemical Fertilizers

Nov. 15, 2023 — A new metal-organic coating protects bacterial cells from damage without impeding their growth or function. The coated bacteria, which produce ammonia, could make it much easier for farmers to deploy ...

Novel C. Diff Structures Are Required for Infection, Offer New Therapeutic Targets

Nov. 15, 2023 — Newly discovered iron storage 'ferrosomes' inside the bacterium C. diff -- the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections -- are important for infection in an animal model and could ...

Forming Ice: There's a Fungal Protein for That

Nov. 13, 2023 — New research explores how proteins produced by a common fungus trigger ice nucleation at warm temperatures. The study holds potential implications for improving our understanding of how life affects ...

The Mystery of Phosphite -- A Scientific Detective Story

Nov. 10, 2023 — Biologists have discovered a phosphorus-based bacterial metabolism that is both new and ancient. In a special role: a calculation from the 1980s, a sewage plant, a new bacterial organism, and a ...

New Way to Count Microbes Speeds Research, Cuts Waste, Could Lead to New Antibiotics

Nov. 9, 2023 — Researchers have developed a new way of counting microorganisms that works as much as 36 times faster than conventional methods, cuts plastic use more than 15-fold and substantially decreases the ...

Scientists Use Quantum Biology, AI to Sharpen Genome Editing Tool

Nov. 9, 2023 — Scientists used their expertise in quantum biology, artificial intelligence and bioengineering to improve how CRISPR Cas9 genome editing tools work on organisms like microbes that can be modified to ...

Bacteria-Virus Arms Race Provides Rare Window Into Rapid and Complex Evolution

Nov. 9, 2023 — Rather than a slow, gradual process as Darwin envisioned, biologists can now see how evolutionary changes unfold on much more accelerated timescales. Using an accelerated arms race between bacteria ...

Zen and the Art of Mitochondrial Maintenance: The Machinery of Death Makes a Healthier Life

Nov. 8, 2023 — While we all aspire for a long lifespan, what is most coveted is a long period of vigor and health, or 'healthspan,' that precedes the inevitable decline of advancing age. Researchers have ...

Artificial Bladders Shine Light on Bugs That Cause Urinary Tract Infections

Nov. 8, 2023 — A new study reveals that numerous bacterial strains are capable of hiding in the human bladder wall, suggesting why urinary tract infections often persist after ...

Wednesday, November 22, 2023