Bacteria
Bacteria organize according to "rich-get-richer" principle
May 10, 2013 11:16 am | News | CommentsBacteria on a surface wander around and often organize into highly resilient communities known as biofilms. It turns out that they organize in a rich-get-richer pattern similar to the distribution of wealth in the U.S. economy, according to a new study.
Bacteria adapt, evade nanosilver's sting
May 8, 2013 8:22 am | News | CommentsResearchers have cautioned that more work is needed to understand how microorganisms respond to the disinfecting properties of silver nanoparticles, increasingly used in consumer goods and for medical and environmental applications. Although nanosilver has effective antimicrobial properties against certain pathogens, overexposure to silver nanoparticles can cause other potentially harmful organisms to rapidly adapt and flourish.
Solar-powered nanofilters pump in antibiotics to clean contaminated water
May 1, 2013 12:39 pm | News | CommentsUsing the same devious mechanism that enables some bacteria to shrug off powerful antibiotics, scientists have developed solar-powered nanofilters that remove antibiotics from the water in lakes and rivers twice as efficiently as the best existing technology.
Genetic circuit allows both individual freedom, collective good
April 22, 2013 7:42 am | News | CommentsIndividual freedom and social responsibility may sound like humanistic concepts, but an investigation of the genetic circuitry of bacteria suggests that even the simplest creatures can make difficult choices that strike a balance between selflessness and selfishness.
Random walks on DNA
April 19, 2013 10:19 am | News | CommentsScientists have revealed how a bacterial enzyme has evolved an energy-efficient method to move long distances along DNA. The findings present further insight into the coupling of chemical and mechanical energy by a class of enzymes called helicases, a widely distributed group of proteins, which in human cells are implicated in some cancers.
How waterborne bacteria colonizes on rough surfaces
April 12, 2013 8:34 am | News | CommentsNew research from Harvard University helps to explain how waterborne bacteria can colonize rough surfaces—even those that have been designed to resist water. A team studied the gut bacterium Escherichia coli, which has many flagella that stick out in all directions. The researchers found that these tails can act as biological grappling hooks, reaching far into nanoscale crevices and latching the bacteria in place.
Researchers find surprising similarities between genetic, computer codes
March 29, 2013 8:00 am | News | CommentsThe term "survival of the fittest" refers to natural selection in biological systems, but Darwin's theory may apply more broadly than that. New research from Brookhaven National Laboratory shows that this evolutionary theory also applies to technological systems. The team worked to compare that frequency with which components "survive" in two complex systems: bacterial genomes and operating systems on Linux computers.
A solution to antibiotic-resistant bacteria
March 28, 2013 8:35 am | News | CommentsThrough the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, several types of bacteria have become resistant to drugs that were designed to kill them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that some of these "superbugs" are linked to tens of thousands of deaths in the United States annually, including 14,000 for C. difficile and 19,000 for MRSA. Technology developed by Purdue University researchers and commercialized through a Purdue Research Park-based firm could be effective against the increased number of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria in the world.
Fake Shewanella reveals how bacteria breathe iron
March 26, 2013 8:13 am | News | CommentsCertain bacteria can breathe iron like we breathe oxygen. Understanding how they do so will help researchers use the microbes for cleaning up soil contaminants, for trapping carbon dioxide, or for making batteries out of bacteria. Now, a team of researchers report that proteins on the surface of bacteria produce an electric current by simply touching a mineral surface, allowing them to breathe the iron in the rock.
Bacterial byproduct offers route to avoiding antibiotic resistance
March 22, 2013 8:43 am | News | CommentsAs public health officials sound the alarm about the global spread of drug-resistant bacteria, researchers are working to develop more effective antibiotics to counter this dangerous trend. Now, results from a team including a Princeton University scientist offer a possible solution that uses the bacteria's own byproducts to destroy them.
Cryo-electron microscopy unlocks biochemical methane production
March 20, 2013 2:17 pm | News | CommentsThe biological sources of methane are wide-ranging. However, the conditions have to be always oxygen-free and the exact mechanism has been unclear. A team of researchers in Germany has gained insight into microbiological methane production by explaining the structure of a hydrogenase used by archaebacteria to split hydrogen to produce methane
Researchers divide enzyme to conquer genetic puzzle
March 14, 2013 1:38 pm | News | CommentsRice University researchers have found a way to divide and modify enzymes to create what amounts to a genetic logic gate. The researchers have created a library of AND gates by mutating a protein from a bacterial virus. The well-understood protein known as T7 RNA polymerase (RNAP) is a strong driver of transcription in cells.
Researchers trick bacteria to deliver a safer vaccine
March 13, 2013 10:25 am | News | CommentsVaccines that employ weakened but live pathogens to trigger immune responses have inherent safety issues but Yale University researchers have developed a new trick to circumvent the problem—using bacteria’s own cellular mistakes to deliver a safe vaccine. The findings suggest new ways to create novel vaccines that effectively combat disease but can be tolerated by children, the elderly, and the immune-compromised who might be harmed by live vaccines.
Mysterious bacterium found in Antarctic lake
March 13, 2013 9:57 am | by Vladimir Isachenkov, Associated Press | News | CommentsA new form of microbial life has been found in water samples taken from a giant freshwater lake hidden under kilometers of Antarctic ice, Russian scientists said Monday. In a prepared statement, the researchers said that the "unidentified and unclassified" bacterium has no relation to any of the existing bacterial types. They touched the lake water Sunday at a depth of 12,366 feet (3,769 m), about 800 miles (1,300 km) east of the South Pole in the central part of the continent.
How to thrive in battery acid and among toxic metals
March 8, 2013 9:50 am | News | CommentsLike the extraterrestrial creature in the movie Alien, the "extremophile" red alga Galdieria sulphuraria can survive brutal heat and resist the effects of toxins. Scientists were previously unsure of how a one-celled alga acquired such flexibility and resilience. But recently they made an unexpected discovery: Galdieria's genome shows clear signs of borrowing genes from its neighbors.
New hypothesis formulated to explain bacteria’s increasing toughness
March 7, 2013 10:38 am | News | CommentsA researcher has recently attempted to answer to an enigma in medical science: How are bacteria becoming more resistant to antibiotics? According to his theory, bacteria that are non-resistant to antibiotics acquire this resistance accidentally. This occurs because they take up the DNA of other bacteria that are resistant because of their exposure to stress.
How do bacteria clog medical devices? Very quickly.
March 1, 2013 2:46 pm | News | CommentsA new study has examined how bacteria clog medical devices, and the result isn’t pretty. The microbes join to create slimey ribbons that tangle and trap other passing bacteria, creating a full blockage in a startlingly short period of time. The finding could help shape strategies for preventing clogging of devices such as stents and water filters
Yeast study yields potential for new drugs
February 25, 2013 1:20 pm | News | CommentsWhile studying a mutant strain of yeast, Purdue University researchers may have found a new target for drugs to combat cholesterol and fungal diseases.
Scientists unveil secrets of important natural antibiotic
February 21, 2013 1:38 pm | News | CommentsAn international team of scientists has discovered how an important natural antibiotic called dermcidin, produced by our skin when we sweat, is a highly efficient tool to fight tuberculosis germs and other dangerous bugs. Their results could contribute to the development of new antibiotics that control multi-resistant bacteria.
Antibacterial protein's molecular workings revealed
February 21, 2013 11:05 am | News | CommentsOn the front lines of our defenses against bacteria is the protein calprotectin, which "starves" invading pathogens of metal nutrients. Vanderbilt University investigators now report new insights to the workings of calprotectin—including a detailed structural view of how it binds the metal manganese. Their findings could guide efforts to develop novel antibacterials that limit a microbe's access to metals.
Odd biochemistry yields lethal bacterial protein
January 22, 2013 10:22 am | News | CommentsWhile working out the structure of a cell-killing protein produced by some strains of the bacterium Enterococcus faecalis, researchers stumbled on a bit of unusual biochemistry. They found that a single enzyme helps form distinctly different, 3D ring structures in the protein, one of which had never been observed before.
Eavesdropping on the hidden lives of microbes
January 22, 2013 7:41 am | by Denise Brehm, Civil and Environmental Engineering | News | CommentsMicrobiologists who study wild marine microbes, as opposed to the laboratory-grown variety, face enormous challenges in getting a clear picture of the daily activities of their subjects. But a team of scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute recently figured out how to make the equivalent of a nature film, showing the simultaneous activities of many coexisting species in their native habitat over time.
Breath test identifies bacteria's fingerprint
January 14, 2013 11:51 am | News | CommentsScientists have identified the chemical "fingerprints" given off by specific bacteria when present in the lungs, potentially allowing for a quick and simple breath test to diagnose infections such as tuberculosis. The researchers have successfully distinguished between different types of bacteria, as well as different strains of the same bacteria, in the lungs of mice by analyzing the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in exhaled breath.
Study quantifies the size of holes antibacterials create in cell walls to kill bacteria
January 10, 2013 2:08 pm | News | CommentsResearch has shown that alternative antimicrobials such as PlyC can effectively kill bacteria. However, fundamental questions remain about how bacteria respond to the holes that these therapeutics make in their cell wall and what size holes bacteria can withstand before breaking apart. Answering those questions could improve the effectiveness of current antibacterial drugs and initiate the development of new ones. Researchers recently conducted a study to try to answer those questions.
Engineered bacteria make fuel from sunlight
January 7, 2013 4:23 pm | News | CommentsChemists at the University of California, Davis have engineered blue-green algae to grow chemical precursors for fuels and plastics—the first step in replacing fossil fuels as raw materials for the chemical industry.
