Microbiology News and Research

RSS

Novel Synthetic Antibiotics Against Drug-Resistant Pathogens

Frogs have flourished for hundreds of millions of years, occupying nearly every habitat on Earth, from tropical rainforests to subarctic woodlands.

26 Mar 2025

How Drug-Resistant Bacteria Use Antimicrobial Tools to Outcompete Others

A drug-resistant type of bacteria that has adapted to health care settings evolved in the past several years to weaponize an antimicrobial genetic tool, eliminating its cousins and replacing them as the dominate strain.

24 Mar 2025

Unraveling the Evolutionary Link to Eukaryotic Cells

A decade ago, the existence of Asgard archaea was unknown. However, in 2015, researchers analyzing deep-sea sediments uncovered gene fragments that suggested the presence of a new, previously unidentified group of microbes.

24 Mar 2025

Research Unveils Mechanism Behind Evolution of Organelles from Bacteria

Organelles in cells were originally often independent cells, which were incorporated by host cells and lost their independence in the course of evolution.

20 Mar 2025

Study Reveals How Tuberculosis Bacteria Survive Airborne Journey

Tuberculosis bacteria rely on a family of genes that help them survive the challenging journey from one person's lungs to another person's during coughing, sneezing or talking, according to researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

12 Mar 2025

Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria Play Key Role in Global Carbon Breakdown

Sulfate-reducing bacteria break down a large proportion of the organic carbon in oxygen-free zones of the Earth, and in the seabed in particular.

10 Mar 2025

$30 Million Grant Supports AI-Powered Antibody Therapy Development

An ambitious project led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators aims to use artificial intelligence technologies to generate antibody therapies against any antigen target of interest.

10 Mar 2025

Study Shows How Transposons Exploit Telomeres in Bacteria

Transposons, or "jumping genes" – DNA segments that can move from one part of the genome to another – are key to bacterial evolution and the development of antibiotic resistance.

8 Mar 2025

New CRISPR Method Enhances Surveillance of Antibiotic Resistance in Wastewater

Antibiotic resistance is a global concern that threatens our ability to prevent and treat bacterial infections in humans and animals.

4 Mar 2025

Mapping Bacterial Responses to Reactive Nitrogen and Oxygen Species

A study in Microbiological Research explored the impact of varying ratios of Reactive Nitrogen Species (RNS) and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) on pathogenic bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

28 Feb 2025

Study Unveils Phage-Bacteria Dynamics in the Early Life Gut Microbiome

A world of microbes resides within the gut of every human being. This vast microbial community, the microbiome, which includes bacteria and viruses, has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to actively contribute to both health and disease.

26 Feb 2025

Researchers Develop Mycobacteria Strains with Kill Switches for Safer TB Vaccines

Working toward more effective tuberculosis (TB) vaccines, researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed two strains of mycobacteria with "kill switches" that can be triggered to stop the bacteria after they activate an immune response.

26 Feb 2025

Dysfunctional Memory B Cells Identified as Key Cancer Therapy Target

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center scientists have discovered a novel subset of cancer-fighting immune cells that reside outside of their normal neighborhood – known as the tertiary lymphoid structure – where they become frustratingly dysfunctional when in close contact with tumors.

20 Feb 2025

Hospital Sink Drains: A Hidden Bacteria Hotspot Despite Cleaning

Researchers from Spain conducted a study on sink drains across various wards in a contemporary university hospital that follows advanced cleaning protocols.

17 Feb 2025

Infant Cystic Fibrosis Linked to Stunted Microbiome Development

Findings from a new Dartmouth-led study, published in the journal mBio, highlight key differences in the gut microbiome (communities of bacteria) of infants with cystic fibrosis (CF) compared to that of healthy infants, and how these alterations may adversely affect their health.

14 Feb 2025

Symbiotic Bacteria Accompany Single-Celled Protists in the Ocean's Upper Layer

Just as the human body serves as a habitat for bacteria and other microbes, diverse, tiny organisms known as protists host their own microbiomes.

13 Feb 2025

Researchers Cultivate an Ultrasmall Bacterial Strain Parasitizing Archaea

AIST researchers, in collaboration with JAMSTEC, Hokkaido University and Tohoku University, have succeeded in cultivating an ultrasmall bacterial strain parasitizing archaea and classified the strain PMX.108T as new species and genus of Minisyncoccus archaeiphilus.

11 Feb 2025

Novel Biorecycling Method Transforms Nylon Waste into Bioplastics

A group of researchers from the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences – Biotechnology at Forschungszentrum Jülich, in collaboration with the company Novonesis, has successfully engineered a bacterium capable of “eating” individual building blocks of various types of nylon and converting them into value-added products.

11 Feb 2025

New Study Explains Why Flu Virus Forms Filaments

Influenza A virus particles strategically modify their shape becoming either spheres or larger filaments to enhance their ability to infect cells based on environmental conditions, according to a new study conducted by scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

11 Feb 2025

The Antibiotic Arms Race: Can Science Stay Ahead of Rapidly Evolving Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria?

A study reveals alarming rates of antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria, highlighting the urgent need for innovative strategies to combat this crisis.

10 Feb 2025