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.
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Study reveals the microbial battlegrounds within estuaries - and the part played by microplastics
Estuaries are known hotspots for biodiversity and are turbulent mixing zones where freshwater and seawater microbes confront one another. Source: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of the Baltic Sea ...
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NewsEnvironmental antibiotic resistance unevenly addressed despite growing global risk, study finds
Antibiotic resistance in the environment is a growing and largely overlooked crisis receiving inconsistent attention, according to a new study. Worryingly few studies have explored how antibiotic resistance spreads in the air, oceans or green spaces.
NewsDancing against the current: Microbial survival strategy
In scalding hot water rushing through narrow channels, some bacteria have evolved a surprising survival technique: they cling to surfaces, stand upright, and sway rhythmically—like tiny street dancers fighting the flow.
NewsImperfect underground processes help filter wastewater in Florida Keys
Researchers find that microbial and other processes do not completely clear wastewater shallowly injected into groundwater of potentially harmful contaminants.
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New study: Powerboats can impact lakes below the surface, stimulating algaL growth
Large surface waves produced by powerboats are a mainstay for recreational watersports. A new study shows that beneath the surface, factors such as propeller thrust and other types of waves can impact delicate lakebed ecosystems.
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NewsBacterial signaling molecule that choreographs flip between biofilm and motility could transform biotechnology and medical applications
A bacterial signaling molecule involved in flipping the switch between sessile and motile forms could offer huge potential in improving probiotics, boosting wastewater treatment and producing therapeutic compounds.
NewsEconomic evaluation of wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 testing in long-term care settings
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed enormous pressure on healthcare systems and economies around the world, with particularly severe impacts on vulnerable groups like residents of long-term care facilities (LTCFs). One key lesson from the pandemic is that early detection and treatment can lower hospitalization and death rates while also cutting ...
News‘Major leap in bioelectronic sensing’: researchers turn bacteria into tiny pollution detectors
Researchers have engineered E. coli to act as living multiplexed sensors, allowing these genetically modified cells to detect and respond to multiple environmental toxins simultaneously by converting their biological responses into readable electrical signals.
NewsRisk of deadly diarrheal diseases in children set to worsen as climate changes
Diarrhoea remains one of the most serious health threats to young children in the Global South, and new research shows that climate change is set to worsen the risk substantially.
NewsTiny artificial cells can keep time, study finds
A team of researchers has shown that tiny artificial cells can accurately keep time, mimicking the daily rhythms found in living organisms like cyanobacteria. Their findings shed light on how biological clocks stay on schedule despite the inherent molecular noise inside cells.
NewsDecoding the blue: Advanced technology realizes potential in harmful algal bloom monitoring
Researchers have developed a powerful new method to detect harmful blue-green algae in freshwater lakes. Their method can identify toxin producing blue-green algae before they become damaging in recreational waters and pose threat to public health.
NewsStudy of water bodies frequented by wild birds reveals presence of antimicrobial resistance genes in nine in 10 samples
The first UK study to monitor antimicrobial resistance and influenza viruses in water bodies has revealed that 92% of samples contained genes for resistance to colistin, an antibiotic of last resort.
NewsTiny soil microbes turn detective to uncover the timeline of oil spill contamination
Scientists in Belfast and Nigeria have developed a diagnostic tool that deploys microbes to uncover the timeline of crude oil contamination in soils.
NewsHarmful algae blooms have secret to success over other algaes
An alga that threatens freshwater ecosystems and is toxic to vertebrates has a sneaky way of ensuring its success: It suppresses the growth of algal competitors by releasing chemicals that deprive them of a vital vitamin.
NewsSimple rules govern soil microbiome responses to environmental change
New research shows that a deceptively simple mathematical model can describe how the soil responds to environmental change. Using just two variables, the model shows that changes in pH levels consistently result in three distinct metabolic states of the community.
NewsMichael Danquah named Fellow of Royal Society of Biology
Michael Danquah, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the associate dean for academic and student affairs at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology.
NewsTheory for aerosol droplets from contaminated bubbles bursting gives insight into spread of pollution and infectious disease
Researchers have conducted a systematic study to investigate bubble bursting jets – aerosol particles sprayed when bubble surfaces rupture – when surface contaminants are present.
Long ReadsTiny helpers: how our gut bacteria could protect us from forever chemicals
We are constantly exposed to things in our environment from the medicines we take and contaminants in the food we eat, to particles in the air we breathe. Figuring out which chemicals are harmful and how they affect us, is essential to make our surroundings safer.
NewsWarning: increased risk of Vibrio infections throughout the summer season
As sea surface temperatures increase with summer, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is highlighting the increased risk posed by Vibrio bacteria, with a higher number of infections reported in Northern countries in recent years
NewsRain showers can dramatically impact fungal communities in urban lakes
Rainfall can have dramatic effects on the microbial communities living in urban lakes, a new paper published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology reveals.