Clean water
UNICEF estimates that over 2.2 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean drinking water. Micro-organisms are responsible for a host of waterborne diseases, but simultaneously offer solutions in purifying water and improving sanitation. Biofertilizers offer promising solutions for reduced nutrient runoff and wastewater recycling. As well as applying microbes to combat the problem, applied microbiologists can use their knowledge of health and disease to reduce cases of waterborne disease.
News
Researchers uncover hidden toxin risks during nutrient-starved algal blooms
Researchers have shown that extended nutrient deprivation can significantly increase toxin content per cell in the benthic dinoflagellate Prorocentrum lima, even when cell numbers remain relatively stable. Toxin risk may increase quietly under nutrient-poor conditions without obvious bloom expansion.
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NewsMachine learning reveals how to maximize biochar yield from algae
Researchers have developed a powerful machine learning framework that can accurately predict and optimize biochar production from algae, offering a faster and more sustainable path toward carbon rich materials for climate mitigation, soil improvement, and environmental applications.
News£2.8 million research project to combat one of the world’s most urgent health threats
An ambitious new £2.8 million international programme will aim to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across East Africa. It will examine how environmental, social and economic factors influence the spread of drug-resistant infections in East African communities.
NewsStudent focused on pathogens says new award has opened a door to span aquaculture and ecology
A University of Stirling student who is the latest recipient of the Nikos Steiropoulos Aquaculture Scholarship from MSD Animal Health UK says the award has helped to “open a door she could only have dreamed of”.
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Methane eating microbes turn a powerful greenhouse gas into green plastics, feed, and fuel
Methane eating microbes could help turn a powerful greenhouse gas into everyday products like animal feed, green plastics, and cleaner fuels, according to a new scientific review of fast moving research on these unusual bacteria.
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NewsPine bark removes pharmaceutical residues from wastewater – an affordable way to keep antibiotics out of nature
Researchers have developed a pine‑bark–based water‑treatment medium that efficiently removes antibiotics as well as residues of blood‑pressure and antidepressant medicines from wastewater treatment plant effluent.
NewsFrom small experiments to big production: how constant impeller tip speed helps scale-up
Rhamnolipids (RL) are widely used in areas such as oil recovery and bioremediation, but their industrial production has long faced key challenges in the scale-up stage, including poor scalability and reproducibility.
NewsBacterial energy model reveals how antimicrobial resistance (AMR) spreads in environment
Researchers analyzed how bacteria in aquatic environments distribute energy across diverse functions such as growth, biofilm formation, conjugative transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes and heavy‑metal tolerance, to clarify bacterial energy investment strategies.
NewsEarly intervention of cyanobacterial risks starting from the genome?
A new study proposes using “~3 Mbp” as a threshold to establish a genome size-oriented proxy indicator for cyanobacterial risk early warning.
NewsCommercial water dispenser machines may contain more contamination than tap water
Water dispenser machines in commercial spaces may contain higher levels of microbial contamination if they aren’t cleaned regularly compared to the tap water sources supplying them that contain residual chlorine, according to a new study.
NewsA new study reveals how cholera virulence is activated
A new study provides a long-sought structural explanation of the regulatory cascade that allows Vibrio cholerae to colonize the human gut and produce the cholera toxin that causes life-threatening diarrhea.
NewsBiodegradable and conventional plastics shape very different antibiotic resistance risks in river microbiomes
Biodegradable plastics are not always safer for rivers and oceans, according to a new study that tracked how different plastics change the risk of antibiotic resistant bacteria over time in a real river.
NewsMelting glaciers may release hidden antibiotic resistance into vital water sources
Researchers report that glaciers act as long-term reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes. Once released by glacier melt, these genes can enter rivers, lakes, and ecosystems that supply drinking water and support wildlife in polar and high-altitude regions.
NewsNew research uncovers mechanics behind the skillful movement of shelled amoeba
Researchers have characterized the unique mechanics that enable Arcella, a shelled, single-celled amoeba, to move skillfully across different surfaces. Their findings have shed light on how this tiny microorganism maintains mechanical balance during movement.
NewsA high-protein diet can defeat cholera infection
A new study has found that diets high in casein, the main protein in milk and cheese, as well as wheat gluten, could make a dramatic difference in the amount of cholera bacteria able to infect the gut.
NewsRising temperatures reshape microbial carbon cycling during animal carcass decomposition in water
Using metagenomic sequencing across a realistic temperature gradient, researchers show that carcass decay triggers a surge in carbon-degradation genes, while warming selectively favors pathways that rapidly consume easily degradable carbon.
NewsUshikuvirus: A newly discovered giant virus may offer clues to the origin of life
Researchers have reported the discovery of a giant DNA virus that infects amoeba. Named ushikuvirus after Lake Ushiku in the Ibaraki Prefecture of Japan, where it was isolated. This discovery offers further support for the nuclear virus origin hypothesis.
NewsCholera vaccine completes phase 1 trial
A clinical trial shows promising results for PanChol, a single-dose oral vaccine aimed at the up to 4 million annual cholera cases worldwide.
NewsSub-lethal water disinfection may accelerate the spread of antibiotic resistance
A new study reveals that environmental stressors do not merely kill bacteria; they can also prime surviving cells to take up resistance genes more efficiently, raising concerns about how antibiotic-resistant bacteria may spread in aquatic environments.
NewsFrom sediment to surface: How invisible plumes trigger harmful algal blooms
A new study shows that algal blooms can begin days earlier than previously recognized, originating from chlorophyll-rich plumes rising from lake sediments before any surface discoloration appears.
NewsViruses in wastewater: Silent drivers of pollution removal and antibiotic resistance
New findings suggest that current monitoring strategies, which rely heavily on bacterial indicators alone, may miss critical viral-driven risks and opportunities for safer wastewater reuse.
NewsHow the parasite that ‘gave up sex’ found more hosts – and why its victory won’t last
A study has revealed a genetic shortcut that may help Giardia duodenalis and many other parasites jump to new hosts at the cost of long-term survival. The findings may also help explain how parasites evolve drug resistance.
NewsMicrobes that break down antibiotics help protect ecosystems under drug pollution
A new study shows that certain microbes can act as community protectors by breaking down antibiotics and stabilizing entire microbial ecosystems, offering a new way to rethink environmental risk assessment and pollution management.