Trick or treat!
The Microbiologist is once again celebrating Halloween with our annual collection.
Reading after dark is not advised.
New breakthrough uncovers how to kill ‘zombie’ TB cells resistant to antibiotics
Researchers exposed a library of over 500,000 genetically modified tuberculosis bacteria to two commonly used antibiotics. By analysing the survivors, they pinpointed genes whose disruption significantly reduced the number of surviving persisters.
New fungal species named in honour of Sir David Attenborough making zombies of cave spiders
A study to investigate the identity of a fungus found on a spider during filming of the BBC Winterwatch series in Northern Ireland has confirmed it as a novel species that manipulates its host by compelling it to migrate and die in exposed situations.
Sea zombies: Viruses keep the most common marine bacteria in check
The ocean waters surrounding the German island of Helgoland provide an ideal setting to study spring algae blooms, a focus of research at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology since 2009.
Teen acne treatment can have knock-on impact on gut microbiome and maturing skeleton
Long-term use of systemic antibiotics to treat adolescent acne can perturb the gut microbiome, leading to altered profiles of circulating bile acids that reduce osteoblast function and bone mass accrual, researchers show.
Cytoskeleton septins act as cell defence to block bacteria incursion
Researchers have identified a previously unknown, natural, defense mechanism that protects cells from Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, as revealed in a study published in Cell Reports.
Deadly bacteria show thirst for human blood
Some of the world’s deadliest bacteria seek out and feed on human blood, a newly-discovered phenomenon researchers are calling “bacterial vampirism”.
World’s oldest cheese found with ancient mummies reveals origins of kefir
For the first time, scientists have successfully extracted and analyzed DNA from ancient cheese samples found alongside the Tarim Basin mummies in China, dating back approximately 3,600 years, suggesting a new origin for kefir cheese.
Shining a light on microbes from the past with molecular paleomicrobiology
Is there a way to objectively address the history of microorganisms?
Uncovering the secrets of the mummy
To his great surprise, microbiologist Frank Maixner found himself turning his scientific skills to mummy research. He reveals what the latest techniques are revealing about ancient humans, the history of malaria and the Medici family.
Puppeteer fungus directs ‘summiting’ of zombie flies
Scientists have uncovered the molecular and cellular underpinnings behind the ability of the parasitic fungus Entomophthora muscae’s ability to manipulate the behaviour of fruit flies.
Malaria pathogen found in mummified soft tissue in Medici tomb
The pathogen of the deadliest form of the disease has been identified in mummified soft tissue belonging to members of the Florentine dynasty.
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NewsPlague never disappeared, but modern medicine has changed the risk
Plague may sound like a disease from the history books, but Yersinia pestis still circulates in wildlife around the world. Despite recent concern over a possible laboratory-linked death in Russia, experts stress that human cases remain rare and the infection is usually treatable when diagnosed quickly.
NewsWHO reports latest global trends in cholera, meningitis and plague
Cholera deaths increased by 30% in 2025, despite fewer cases being reported to the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2025, 47 countries reported 451 499 cholera cases and 7870 deaths to WHO, the highest number of annual cholera deaths reported to WHO since 1999.
NewsNew study uncovers the complex history of the plague after the Black Death
A new study sheds fresh light on the long and complex history of the plague by analysing the DNA of the bacterium. Researchers reconstructed 26 genomes of Yersinia pestis from archaeological sites in Estonia, Russia, England, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
NewsWas Nîmes depopulated by the Plague of Cyprian?
Analyses of the carbonate deposits in the aqueduct featuring the famous Pont du Gard shed light on the water supply of the ancient city of Nîmes - and support the theory that the city was depopulated by the plague.
NewsGenetics: Oldest-known evidence of plague outbreaks in prehistoric communities
Plague outbreaks dating back to around 5,500 years ago documented in hunter-gatherer communities from southeast Siberia are described in a paper. The findings, based on an analysis of ancient DNA, may be the oldest known evidence of the plague and could shed light on its origins.
NewsWhy antibiotics may soon fail to curb the plague bacterium - and where we can find new strategies
A new review shows that while most infections caused by the Yersinia plague bacterium can currently be treated with antibiotics, concerns about rising antimicrobial resistance mean that we need to come up with new ways to disarm the bacteria instead of killing them.
NewsHow did Bronze Age plague spread? Ancient sheep might solve the mystery
Researchers have found the first evidence of a Bronze Age plague infection in a non-human host. The scientists discovered Y. pestis DNA in a 4,000-year-old domesticated sheep from Arkaim, a fortified settlement located in the Southern Ural Mountains of present-day Russia.
NewsVolcanic eruptions set off a chain of events that brought the Black Death to Europe
Researchers have used a combination of climate data and documentary evidence to paint the most complete picture to date of the ‘perfect storm’ that led to the deaths of tens of millions of people, as well as profound demographic, economic, political, cultural and religious change.
NewsMyths about rapid spread of the Black Death influenced by single ‘literary tale’, experts show
Modern portrayals of the Black Death quickly moving across Asia, ravaging Silk Route communities, following the course of traders, have been incorrect because of centuries of misinterpretation of a rhyming fourteenth-century literary tale, experts have found.
NewsNew research rewrites origins of world’s first recorded pandemic - the Plague of Justinian
For the first time, researchers have uncovered direct genomic evidence of the bacterium behind the Plague of Justinian — the world’s first recorded pandemic — in the Eastern Mediterranean, where the outbreak was first described nearly 1,500 years ago.
News4,000-year-old sheep reveals that livestock played a role in prehistoric plague infections
An ancient Yersinia pestis genome recovered from sheep sheds new light on a mysterious infectious disease that plagued prehistoric Eurasia for over 2000 years.
NewsResearchers develop mRNA-based vaccine against a deadly plague-causing bacterium
Researchers have used the platform developed for COVID-19 vaccines to create the world’s first mRNA-based vaccine against the deadly, antibiotic-resistant bacterium behind pneumonic plague.
NewsPrairie dogs carry genes linked to surviving plague
A study of the genetic basis of plague immunity in prairie dogs has broad implications for conservation. By comparing whole-genome sequences, the authors identified genetic variants associated with survivorship.
NewsHow the plague bacillus became less virulent, prolonging the duration of two major pandemics
Scientists have discovered that the evolution of a gene in the bacterium that causes bubonic plague, Yersinia pestis, may have prolonged the duration of two major pandemics. Modifying the copy number of a specific virulence gene increases the length of infection.
NewsPlague transmission may have begun a century before the Black Death, study shows
Evidence from 13th-century chroniclers and physicians indicates plague may have been involved in epidemics a century before the Black Death, a new study shows.
NewsResearchers scour more than 600 genome sequences in quest for origins of Black Death
Researchers seeking to better understand the origins and movement of bubonic plague have completed a painstaking granular examination of hundreds of modern and ancient genome sequences, the largest analysis of its kind.
NewsThe plague may have caused the downfall of the Stone Age farmers
Ancient DNA from bones and teeth hints at a role of the plague in Stone Age population collapse. Contrary to previous beliefs, the plague may have diminished Europe’s populations long before the major plague outbreaks of the Middle Ages.
NewsResearchers unmask an old foe’s tricks to thwart new diseases
Researchers are studying Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes bubonic and pneumonic plague, to better understand its ability to evade the immune system and apply that understanding to control other pathogens.
News4,000-year-old plague DNA found – the oldest cases to date in Britain
Researchers have identified three 4,000-year-old British cases of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria causing the plague – the oldest evidence of the plague in Britain to date.
NewsStudy reveals how plague spreads through wild rodent populations
Mathematical modeling reveals how fleas with early-stage Yersinia pestis infections are insufficient to drive epizootic outbreaks but can help promote a low level of enzootic plague.
FeaturesLondon's hidden plague pits
Bunhill Fields cemetery in the City Road is a quiet haven on the edge of the City of London, mainly attracting office workers seeking lunchtime tranquility or possibly a shortcut to the Artillery Arms pub in Bunhill Row.
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