All Bacteria articles
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NewsScientists develop microbially produced adhesive materials from glucose instead of petroleum
Researchers have demonstrated the potential of using microorganisms to produce a bio-based alternative to petroleum-derived materials for hot-melt adhesives.Using Escherichia coli, the team produced a new polymer from glucose and demonstrated performance and properties that support its potential use as a hot-melt adhesive.
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NewsNew test could dramatically speed diagnosis of hard-to-detect lung infections
Nontuberculous mycobacteria can cause chronic, tuberculosis-like lung infections. Researchers have developed a new diagnostic platform that can identify the precise species of bacteria causing a patient’s infection in just a few hours — a dramatic improvement over the current standard, which can take four to six weeks.
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NewsYour gut makes a molecule that fights a leading cause of food poisoning
Researchers have discovered that a molecule called indole can inhibit the growth of Campylobacter jejuni, a leading cause of food poisoning worldwide. Their study builds on years of research aimed at understanding how C. jejuni manages to thrive in the gut and cause disease.
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NewsHow a pathogen turns flowers into leaves
Scientists have found how a protein produced by bacteria disrupts the mechanism that controls flower development in plants, turning reproductive organs into leaf-like structures. These findings shed light on a plant disease that is expected to spread as climate change expands the range of its insect vectors in northern latitudes.
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NewsAn IBEC device simulates natural conditions to grow biofilms and test their antibiotic susceptibility more accurately
Researchers have developed XpertBiofilm, a simple and accessible device that allows biofilms to be grown under continuous, controlled liquid flow, similar to what bacteria encounter in the human body — for example, in lung mucus, blood or urine.
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NewsFirst-of-its-kind preventative phage therapy provides promising results
The mammalian gut microbiome is teeming with a delicate balance of bacteria and the phages that keep them in check. What if the phages in the gut could prepare for an orally ingested pathogen and strike it down as it enters the gut, negating the need for a battle?
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CareersMeet the Global Ambassadors: our Q&A with Sanjib Bhakta
The Microbiologist gets to know our Global Ambassador for the UK, Professor Sanjib Bhakta who is Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Biochemistry at Birkbeck, University of London.
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NewsHow disease-causing E. coli quickly finds a new way to grip human cells—revealing a possible target for future treatments
A new study shows how a type of disease-causing E. coli can quickly adapt when it loses one of its main ways of attaching to the intestine. The bacteria either change shape or make small changes to a protein that strengthens their grip on human cells.
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NewsLab tackles antibiotic resistance across multiple fronts in new trio of studies
To defeat multidrug-resistant superbugs, bacterial defenses must be confronted wherever they may emerge, from basic genetic mutations in a laboratory, to complex real-world transmission in hospital rooms. A new trio of studies demonstrates how an integrated approach might yet expose and overcome these diverse survival mechanisms.
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NewsKey regulator helps seafood-associated bacterium balance iron and oxidative stress
Bacteria need iron, but bioavailable iron is often scarce, and too much can fuel chemical reactions that damage cells. Many Gram-negative bacteria balance iron through ferric uptake regulator (Fur), a metal-responsive protein that controls iron-related genes. Fur’s role in V. parahaemolyticus, however, had not been clearly defined.
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NewsCan AI find drugs to fight infection?
Researchers have used artificial intelligence (AI) to identify approved drugs that may be effective against Streptococcus pneumoniae. Using a dataset of molecules shown to be active against S. pneumoniae and a larger dataset of molecules inactive against another drug-resistant bacterium, the scientists trained three different learning algorithms.
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NewsBreakthrough optimization of chlamydospore fermentation for Cladophialophora guangxiense HX2
The dark septate endophyte Cladophialophora guangxiense HX2 exhibits excellent control efficacy against tomato bacterial wilt but industrial production of its chlamydospores has been challenging. Researchers have optimized the liquid fermentation process using chlamydospore yield of strain HX2 as the key response indicator.
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NewsCan probiotics help T cells fight solid tumors more effectively?
Transferred T cells often have difficulty reaching tumors and overcoming the strongly immunosuppressive environment surrounding cancer cells. Researchers have combined therapeutic T cells with engineered probiotics, physically attaching the bacteria to the surface of T cells to create a hybrid system called T-FOLactis.
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NewsBacteria in airway shape air pollution health risk
A study suggests that the subtype of the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae, together with air pollution exposure impacts the rate and timing of invasive disease — with some strains linked to immediate infection after air pollution exposure, and some taking several weeks.
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NewsGut bacterial enzyme worsens colitis by switching off a protective intestinal signal
Microbiome research often focuses on which microbes are present in the gut and what small molecules they produce. But gut bacteria also make enzymes that can act directly on molecules produced by the host. Researchers report that one such bacterial enzyme can weaken a protective intestinal signal and aggravate colitis in a preclinical model.
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NewsDogs and cats carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria also found in people, study finds
Pets may carry strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae — a potentially serious bacterium that can cause infections that are also found in humans. The study is the first to map the global genetic makeup of K.pneumoniae carried by domestic dogs and cats, and to compare it on a large scale with the same bacteria in people.
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NewsShapeshifting plant roots rely on a balance of anatomy, metabolism, and microbes to maximize survival
Scientists have identified the mechanisms that allow plants to change their root anatomy to maximise survival when nutrients are scarce. The findings could pave the way for developing new ways to improve beneficial plant-microbe interactions in agriculture.
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NewsScientists break down shoe foam by genetically tweaking a microbe found in compost
Researchers have developed a new kind of enzyme based on a bacterium found in compost that can degrade the polyurethane material in shoe foams. The results could one day help recycle plastic waste from shoes, mattresses, kitchen sponges, and more.
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NewsResearchers find plastic-degrading enzymes in nature
Danish researchers have found 12 new polyurethane- and nylon-degrading enzymes by bioprospecting bacteria at the largest scale and broadest range of environments so far: in a compost heap, in a landfill in Kenya, a tropical zoo and in guts of larvae.
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NewsUnder pressure: How a deep-sea protein adapts to an extreme environment
Researchers have uncovered a molecular strategy that enables a deep-sea protein to remain stable under extreme pressure. As pressure increases, the protein assembles into groups of three, called a trimeric structure, and stabilizes itself through a process known as oligomerization-mediated structural stabilization.