Microorganism News and Research

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New Microbe with Potential to Revolutionize Biomanufacturing and Carbon Capture

A unique strain of cyanobacteria, or algae, isolated from volcanic ocean vents has been found by an international team of researchers from the United States and Italy.

30 Oct 2024

New Gene Editing Tool Shows Promise for Treating Diseases

Bacterial and archaeal CRISPR-Cas systems, comprising protein and RNA components, were initially developed as a natural defense mechanism against invading viruses.

24 Sep 2024

Discovery of Largest Protein Sheds Light on Toxin Production in Marine Algae

While seeking to unravel how marine algae create their chemically complex toxins, scientists at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography have discovered the largest protein yet identified in biology.

12 Aug 2024

ETH Zurich Researchers Accelerate Bacterial Evolution for Enhanced Cellulose Production

Bacteria produce materials that are of interest to humans, such as cellulose, silk and minerals. The advantage of producing bacteria in this way is that it is sustainable, takes place at room temperature and in water.

1 Aug 2024

Rice University Develops AI-Powered Tools for Unraveling Microbial Genomes

Since the first microbial genome was sequenced in 1995, scientists have reconstructed the genomic makeup of hundreds of thousands of microorganisms and have even devised methods to take a census of bacterial communities on the skin, in the gut, or in soil, water and elsewhere based on bulk samples, leading to the emergence of a relatively new field of study known as metagenomics.

8 May 2024

Researchers Identify Protein Regulating Gas Vesicle Patterning in Bacteria

Gas vesicles are hollow structures made of protein found in the cells of certain microorganisms, and researchers at Rice University believe they can be programmed for use in biomedical applications.

30 Mar 2024

Protein Fragments Uncover New Extremophiles, Aiding Alien Life Search

Microorganisms with perfect adaptations can survive in harsh settings, such as deep-sea tunnels and mountain peaks.

18 Mar 2024

New Therapeutic Devices for Diseases with ‘Internet of Life’

Although an electronic gadget and E. coli bacteria might not seem to have much in common, University of Maryland researchers recently connected them to create the first closed-loop system capable of communication across the technological and biological divide.

6 Mar 2024

CSIRO Study Shows Marine Heatwaves Have Significant Impact on Microorganisms

A new study led by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, shows that marine heatwaves (MHWs) are altering the microorganism communities that form the base of the marine food chain, disrupting coastal ecosystems.

6 Feb 2024

How Next-Gen Sequencing is Revolutionizing Infection Diagnosis

Scientists from Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital (AP-HP), the Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Inserm, Université Paris-Est Créteil and the Alfort National Veterinary School, coordinated by Professor Marc Eloit and Dr. Anne Jamet in collaboration with Dr. Jacques Fourgeaud and Beatrice Regnault, studied the role of global genetic characterization of samples (or non-targeted metagenomics) using next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in diagnosing infections.

19 Dec 2023

A Glimpse Into the World of Bacterial Metabolism Within Hosts

Researchers from Kiel University (CAU) and the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen are shedding light on the enigmatic world of bacteria that coexist or parasitize animal hosts.

9 Nov 2023

Mathematical Recipe for Sperm Tail Motion Discovered

Patterns of chemical interactions are thought to create patterns in nature such as stripes and spots. This new study shows that the mathematical basis of these patterns also governs how the sperm tail moves.

27 Sep 2023

Experts Receive Grant to Boost UK’s Burgeoning Green Industry

Investigators are using artificial intelligence to start developing microorganism-led mechanisms that effectively “eat” products like food waste, wastewater, and animal manure to enhance the UK’s emerging green industry.

15 Jun 2023

Using Synthetic Biology to Reprogram the Cellular Aging Process in Yeast

Engineering a synthetic oscillator that cycles between the two deterioration pathways that lead to cell death can slow aging in yeast cells, increasing their longevity by more than 80%, a new study reports.

28 Apr 2023

Exceptional Number of Unknown Viruses Found in the Infants' Feces

Viruses are usually associated with illness. But our bodies are full of both bacteria and viruses that constantly proliferate and interact with each other in our gastrointestinal tract.

12 Apr 2023

Lung immunity in neonates is influenced by the mother’s microbiota

A recent study led by Bruno Silva Santos, Group Leader and Vice-Director at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, found that a specific subset of white blood cells called γδ T cells affects the transfer of the mother’s microbiota during childbirth and breastfeeding and affects the infants’ lung immune response.

15 Feb 2023

Collaboration across European countries accelerates the characterization of an emergent plant virus

In the 21st century, "collaboration" has become a popular buzzword, but effectively working together across disciplines and countries is easier said than done.

27 Jan 2023

Analyzing the success rate of cell-cell metabolite exchange

It is said that when there is an exchange of metabolic products of the cells with other cells, their lifespan gets longer. This discovery has been given by a research group at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, which made the breakthrough in a study with the help of yeast cells.

11 Jan 2023

Researchers discover murderous survival strategy of yeast

Yeast is not the simple single-celled microorganism we once thought, but a competitive killer. When starved of glucose, yeast releases a toxin that will poison other microorganisms that have entered its surrounding habitat, even its own clones.

8 Nov 2022

“Screen-first” approach mines microbes directly from the environment

The best method now available for researchers to isolate a specific microorganism with a given metabolic function from an environment is to collect a sample of cells, culture them, and then test them for the desired cell functions.

4 Nov 2022