Bacteria News and Research

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Fluid Dynamics of Stentors Offers New Insight Into Evolution of Multicellular Life

Life emerged on Earth some 3.8 billion years ago. The "primordial soup theory" proposes that chemicals floating in pools of water, in the presence of sunlight and electrical discharge, spontaneously formed organic molecules.

1 Apr 2025

Researchers Unearth Powerful New Antibiotic from Soil

Researchers at McMaster have made a significant discovery that may be the answer to combating antimicrobial resistance, nearly thirty years after the last time a novel class of antibiotics was brought to market.

28 Mar 2025

Lariocidin Peptide Shows Promise as Novel Antibiotic for Fighting Infections

A small molecule shaped like a lasso may be a powerful tool in the fight against infectious diseases, according to a new study in Nature co-authored by University of Illinois Chicago researchers.

27 Mar 2025

New Discovery Sheds Light on C. Diff's Survival Mechanism in the Gut

The pathogen C. diff - the most common cause of health care-associated infectious diarrhea - can use a compound that kills the human gut's resident microbes to survive and grow, giving it a competitive advantage in the infected gut.

26 Mar 2025

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

Non-Active Site Mutations Drive Enzyme Adaptation to Low Temperatures

Enzymes initially developed in high-temperature environments and subsequently adapted to cooler conditions as the Earth underwent a cooling phase.

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

Immune System Peacekeepers Key to Preventing Autoimmunity During Infection

During infections, the immune system needs to distinguish foreign antigens that are expressed by invading bacteria and viruses from self-antigens that are expressed by cells of the body.

24 Mar 2025

Unveiling Bacterial Immune Mechanisms Against Temperate Phages

Like humans, bacteria can be attacked by viruses. In the case of bacteria, these viral attackers are referred to as bacteriophages, a term derived from the Greek word for bacteria-eaters, or simply “phages.”

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

Engineered Yeast Offers Sustainable Way to Produce D-Lactic Acid from Methanol

Great recipes require the perfect combination of ingredients - biotechnology recipes are no exception.

22 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

Researchers Develop RNA "Barcoding" Tool to Track Genetic Exchange in Bacteria

In the microscopic world of bacteria, gene transfer is a powerful mechanism that can alter cellular function, drive antibiotic resistance and even shape entire ecosystems.

19 Mar 2025

Ultrasensitive Pathogen Detection Without Nucleic Acid Amplification

Rashid Bashir, a Bioengineering Professor and Dean of the Grainger College of Engineering oversaw a group of researchers in a project that produced new technology that provides quick, extremely sensitive detection of bacteria and other pathogens at low concentrations that are resistant to multiple drugs.

17 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