Microbes Help Hibernating Animals Recycle Nutrients and Maintain Muscle Through Winter
To get through a long winter without food, hibernating animals — like the 13-lined ground squirrel — can slow their metabolism by as much as…
Microbiology News
Surprising Activity Discovered Among Organisms Thriving in Extremely Deep, Hot Subseafloor
Since the discovery of the deep subseafloor biosphere in the mid-1990s, scientists have studied the conditions under which organisms thrive in this isolated and generally…
Bacteria Communicate Using Chemical Signals Comparable to Radio Waves
UCLA-led study could have implications for medical and sustainability research. The thought of bacteria joining together to form a socially organized community capable of cooperation,…
Science Made Simple: What Is Microbiology?
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms that are usually too small to be visible with the human eye without a microscope. Microorganisms (also known as…
Just a Few Common Bacteria Gobble Up Most of the Carbon in Soil
Bacterial Carbon Cycling in Soil Is Not a Shared Effort Scientists can capture valuable demographic data about soil microbes with a tool called quantitative stable…
Shall We Play a Game? Researchers Use AI To Search for the Next COVID/SARS-Like Virus
An international research team led by scientists at Georgetown University have demonstrated the power of artificial intelligence to predict which viruses could infect humans —…
New Robotic Platform Speeds Up Directed Evolution of Molecules in the Lab
Using a new robotic platform, researchers can simultaneously track hundreds of microbial populations as they evolve new proteins or other molecules. Natural evolution is a…
Scientists Discover How Toxoplasma Parasites in the Brain Manipulate Host Cells To Survive
WEHI researchers have discovered how dormant Toxoplasma parasites in the brain manipulate their host cells to ensure their own survival. The researchers showed that the…
Scientists Have Cultivated a “Miracle Microbe” That Converts Oil Into Methane
Scientists have succeeded in cultivating an archaeon that converts oil into methane. They describe how the microbe achieves the transformation and that it prefers to…
Deadliest Period in Earth’s History Was Also the Stinkiest – Toxic Microbe Burps Caused Mass Extinction
Tiny microbes belching toxic gas helped cause — and prolong — the biggest mass extinction in Earth’s history, a new study suggests. Generally, scientists believe…
“Community Genetic Editing” – Using CRISPR To Modify Genes in Multiple Cell Types Simultaneously
Two new methods allow CRISPR editing of genes in multiple cell types simultaneously. To date, CRISPR enzymes have been used to edit the genomes of…
Winter Is Coming and the COVID-19 Pandemic Is About To Get Worse
Protein region on COVID’s viral spike senses temperature, drives seasonal mutation patterns. Not to pile on, but winter is coming and the COVID-19 pandemic is…
MIT Advances Toward “Living Biotherapeutics” To Treat Gastrointestinal Diseases
Chemical engineers created a coating for microbes that could make it easier to deploy the organisms to treat gastrointestinal diseases. The human gut is home…
Infection Plus Vaccination Yields Better Protection Against COVID-19 Variants
Antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein produced by the immune system can help identify and fend off future infections, but not all antibodies are the…
Researchers Attack Menacing “Superbug” That Kills at Least 29,000 People a Year
Biologist Joseph Sorg is leading a team to analyze C. difficile, which kills at least 29,000 people a year. Scientists around the world have been…
Modern-Day Alchemy: Transforming Sugar Into Hydrocarbons To Power Future Cars
In a new study, genetically engineered E. coli eat glucose, then help turn it into molecules found in gasoline. It sounds like modern-day alchemy: Transforming…
Space Biosecurity: Scientists Warn That Alien Organisms on Earth May Become a Reality Stranger Than Fiction
Scientists warn, without good biosecurity measures ‘alien organisms’ on Earth may become a reality stranger than fiction. Published in international journal BioSciences, a team of…
Scientists Warn of “Alien” Invasions and the Need for Planetary Biosecurity
The era of space exploration brings with it a new risk: invasion. The peril comes not from little green men arriving on flying saucers but,…
