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Lung Organoids Shed Light on Pseudomonas aeruginosa's Invasive Tactics

How do pathogens invade the lungs? Using human lung microtissues, a team at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel has uncovered the strategy used by a dangerous pathogen.

11 Jun 2024

Novel Lipopeptide from Serratia marcescens Shows Promise Against Staphylococcus aureus Infections

A novel antibacterial lipopeptide produced by the bacterium Serratia marcescens has been shown to be highly effective in killing Staphylococcus aureus – one of the most important pathogens occurring in humans.

7 Jun 2024

Plectasin's Velcro-Like Binding Holds Promise for Fighting Antimicrobial Resistance

A small antibiotic called plectasin uses an innovative mechanism to kill bacteria. By assembling into large structures, plectasin latches onto its target on the bacterial cell surface comparable to how both sides of Velcro form a bond.

24 May 2024

Exploring the Evolution of Mitosis: Lessons from Close Relatives of Fungi and Animals

Cell division is one of the most fundamental processes of life. From bacteria to blue whales, every living being on Earth relies on cell division for growth, reproduction, and species survival.

23 May 2024

Phages and Zombie Cells Regulate Abundant Marine Bacteria

The movement of matter and energy required for ocean life is regulated by marine microbes, of these, approximately one-third are members of the bacterial group SAR11.

20 May 2024

Study Reveals How tRNA Modification Influences Malaria Drug Resistance

Researchers from the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) at Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), have discovered a link between malaria parasites’ ability to develop resistance to antimalarial drugs – specifically artemisinin (ART) – through a cellular process called transfer Ribonucleic acid (tRNA) modification.

20 May 2024

Breakthrough in Natural Vanillin Production Using Engineered Enzyme

Vanilla extract is one of the most widely used flavoring compounds in food products and cosmetics.

17 May 2024

Unraveling the Rhizobia-Diatom Relationship in the Ocean

Nitrogen is an essential component of all living organisms. It is also the key element controlling the growth of crops on land, as well as the microscopic oceanic plants that produce half the oxygen on our planet.

10 May 2024

New Insights into E. coli's UTI Survival Strategy

Due to anatomical peculiarities, women are particularly vulnerable to UTIs; nearly 50% of them will experience one at some point in their lives.

6 May 2024

Novel Lantibiotic Unveiled Against Skin Microbiome Rivals

Many bacteria produce substances to gain an advantage over competitors in their highly competitive natural environment.

30 Apr 2024

A New Pathway to Universal Donor Blood

The effort to generate universal donor blood has made a significant step ahead. Researchers at DTU and Lund University identified enzymes that, when combined with red blood cells, could eliminate particular sugars found in the A and B antigens of the human ABO blood types. The findings are reported in the scientific journal Nature Microbiology.

30 Apr 2024

The Evolution of CRISPR Technology in Combatting Antimicrobial Resistance

Assistant Professor Ibrahim Bitar of the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital in Plzen, Charles University in Prague, Plzen, Czech Republic, will provide an overview of the molecular biology of CRISPR technology and highlight its potential applications in combating antimicrobial resistance in the second new research review.

29 Apr 2024