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Genomic Tool TRACS Improves Tracking of Microbial Transmission Patterns

The research, published today (24 April) in Nature Microbiology, describes how the new tool, called TRAnsmision Clustering of Strains (TRACS), uses genomics to distinguish between closely related bacterial strains.

4 May 2026

How the Microbiome Shapes Cancer Immunity and Therapy Response

This review examines how the human microbiome regulates anti-tumor immunity through DNA damage, inflammation, immune-cell activity, microbial metabolites, and tumor microenvironment remodeling. It highlights emerging microbiome-based strategies, including FMT, probiotics, prebiotics, engineered bacteria, and live biotherapeutics, while stressing the need for rigorous validation and clinical trials.

29 Apr 2026

Key Protein Switch Activates Leptospira Virulence and Disease Spread

During infection, pathogens must adapt quickly to the conditions to thrive inside the body. A research team at the University of Basel, Switzerland, has uncovered how a key protein switches on the machinery that enables Leptospira pathogens to survive and cause disease.

28 Apr 2026

Generative AI Model Accelerates Drug Discovery With New Antibiotic Candidate

Researchers at McMaster University have developed a new generative artificial intelligence (AI) model capable of drastically speeding up drug discovery - and, in early tests, it has already designed a brand-new antibiotic.

24 Apr 2026

Structural Insight Into Vibrio Bacteria Opens Way for New Treatment Strategies

Scientists have mapped in unprecedented detail the structure of Vibrio bacteria, which can cause life-threatening infections linked to antibiotic resistance.

24 Apr 2026

New Methods Increase Understanding of How Bacteria Manage DNA

New analytical methods developed at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions have increased our understanding of how bacteria manage DNA.

23 Apr 2026

New MIND Tool Enables Precise Control of Complex Microbiomes

University of California San Diego researchers have developed a new tool for understanding and modifying any microbiome, including the human microbiome.

22 Apr 2026

Phages Communicate Across Species to Control Infection Decisions

Recent research reveals that bacteriophages can communicate across species, influencing infection dynamics and microbial ecosystems through arbitrium peptides.

22 Apr 2026

Is Fast Food Harming the Gut Health of Seagulls? We Could be About to Find Out

A brand new study looking at the impact of fast food on the gut health of seagulls has just won funding from the Royal Society.

22 Apr 2026

Study Reveals How Neurons Sense Bacterial Signals in Nematodes

Neural interaction with bacteria, e.g. in the gut microbiome, has important effects on brains of animals from worms to people.

21 Apr 2026

Single-Molecule Imaging Reveals How Anabaena Maintains Its Rectangular Shape

Photosynthetic bacteria helped shape Planet Earth. Among them are cyanobacteria that produced the oxygen in our atmosphere and made complex life possible, captivating scientists for decades. Now, researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) report a surprising new discovery-a system thought to separate DNA has developed to sculpt the shape of the cell in cyanobacteria instead. The results, published in Science, shed light on how protein systems evolve and how multicellularity emerged in this type of ecologically essential bacteria.

17 Apr 2026

Researchers Uncover How the Immune System Teaches the Brain to Avoid Toxins

Researchers from the University of Bonn and University Hospital Bonn uncover vital mechanism for survival.

17 Apr 2026

How Microbes Use Opposing Signals To Catch Moving Nutrients

Microbial chemotaxis is reshaped by integrating fast and slow nutrient signals, allowing for improved interception of moving sources in complex environments.

15 Apr 2026

Living Together May Drive Exchange of Gut Microbes

Living with friends may quietly be altering your gut bacteria - according to a new study from the University of East Anglia.

13 Apr 2026

Early Epigenetic Changes and Gut Microbiome Interact to Shape Neurodevelopment

The gut microbiome and epigenetics-molecular switches that turn genes on or off-are intertwined, and both contribute to neurodevelopment, finds a study publishing April 10 in the Cell Press journal Cell Press Blue.

13 Apr 2026

Natural Skincare Hero Madecassic Acid Found to Combat Antibiotic Resistance

Fans of Korean skincare may be familiar with 'hero ingredient' Madecassic acid for its skin-soothing properties, but researchers at the University of Kent have revealed its greater potential for use in the battle against antibiotic resistance.

11 Apr 2026

Chemical Strategy Unlocks Pollutant Degradation Potential in Native Soil Bacteria

Aromatic compounds, such as dioxins and benzene, are major soil pollutants. Their high chemical stability makes them resistant to microbial and chemical degradation, leading to toxic accumulation in the soil.

10 Apr 2026

Vibrio cholerae Captures External DNA to Boost Its Antiviral Defenses

Like most bacteria, Vibrio cholerae lives under constant attack from viruses. To survive, bacteria equip themselves with antiviral immune systems.

10 Apr 2026

Study Reveals How Bacteria Protect Themselves During Cell Cleavage

Bacteria reproduce by dividing into two: they form a wall, or septum, between the two future cells while remodeling the old cell walls so the so-called "daughter" cells can separate without bursting.

10 Apr 2026

Study Reveals Microbiota Control of Intestinal Cell Plasticity

A research team led by scientists from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in São Paulo, Brazil, has made significant progress in understanding the relationship between gut microbiota and intestinal cells.

8 Apr 2026