Bacteria News and Research

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Mars Soil May Harm Living Organisms

Tardigrades, also known as water bears, could be better recognized by a new name: Tardiguardians of the Galaxy.

2 Mar 2026

Structural Blueprint of Cellular Biomolecular Condensates Opens New Therapeutic Possibilities

Cells rely on biomolecular condensates to coordinate essential biological processes without surrounding membranes.

26 Feb 2026

Biofilms: The Unseen Factor in Human Space Travel

A global team of scientists has identified an often-overlooked biological system - biofilms - as a critical factor in the future of human space exploration.

26 Feb 2026

5,000-Year-Old Cave Bacterium Resists Antibiotics and Kills Pathogens

Psychrobacter SC65A.3, preserved in cave ice, harbors multidrug resistance genes and exhibits antimicrobial activity, offering insights into ancient resistomes.

26 Feb 2026

Engineering Bacteria for Targeted Cancer Destruction

A University of Waterloo-led research team is creating a unique cancer treatment technique that involves designing hungry bacteria to literally devour tumors from the inside out.

25 Feb 2026

Engineered E. coli Produces Key Plant Compound at Record Levels

Researchers engineered E. coli to produce orsellinic acid-derived meroterpenoids, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional plant extraction methods.

25 Feb 2026

Microplastics Reshape Soil Microbial Genes and Ecosystem Functions

Microplastics are now widely recognized as pollutants in oceans and waterways, but a growing body of research suggests they may pose equally serious risks on land.

24 Feb 2026

Hutton Scientists Develop New Test for Fecal Contamination Which Cuts Time for Results From 24 Hours to Four

Scientists at The James Hutton Institute, Scotland’s pre-eminent interdisciplinary scientific research institute for the sustainable management of land, crop and nature resources, have developed a new test that reduces the time required to analyze water samples for indicators of fecal contamination from 24 hours to four.

24 Feb 2026

New Insights Into Antibody Glycans may Advance Tuberculosis Prevention

Certain antibodies inhibit Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the cause of tuberculosis (TB), the infectious disease that claims the most lives worldwide, a study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers found.

23 Feb 2026

Ancient Ice Cave Bacteria Show Modern Antibiotic Resistance

Bacteria have evolved to adapt to all of Earth's most extreme conditions, from scorching heat to temperatures well below zero.

18 Feb 2026

Microbial Engineering Breakthrough Improves Supply of Promising Pharmaceuticals

Bioengineered E. coli bacteria can now produce a group of compounds with anticancer, anti-HIV, antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory activities.

18 Feb 2026

Chemical Tweaks Boost Peptide Stability and Antimicrobial Power

Antibiotic treatments are losing effectiveness against a range of common bacterial pathogens, including E. coli, K. pneumoniae, Salmonella and Acinetobacter, according to a warning issued by the World Health Organization last October.

16 Feb 2026

Two-Step Fermentation Eliminates Unpleasant Plant Protein Odors

Off-putting smells can make even the healthiest of foods unpalatable.

16 Feb 2026

Eleven Genetic Regions Shape the Human Gut Microbiome

In two new studies on 28,000 individuals, researchers are able to show that genetic variants in 11 regions of the human genome have a clear influence on which bacteria are in the gut and what they do there.

16 Feb 2026

Molecular Hitchhikers Boost Bacterial Resistance Without Genes

A Dartmouth study finds that molecular hitchhikers living within bacteria can make their hosts extra resistant to medical treatment by corralling them into tightly packed groups.

11 Feb 2026

The Genetic Mechanics of Bacterial Circadian Clocks

Circadian clocks play an important role in our health and well-being by synchronizing the 24-hour biological cycles with light and dark exposure. Disruptions in the rhythms of these clocks, such as jet lag and daylight saving time, might put their everyday operations out of sync.

11 Feb 2026

Study Reveals Planet-Wide Network of Interconnected Microbiomes

In a new study published in Cell, scientists in the Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg reveal that microbes living in similar habitats are more alike than those simply inhabiting the same geographical region.

10 Feb 2026

Tool Enables Accurate Detection of Microbes in Cancer Genomes

When scientists sequence tumor DNA, they typically find small amounts of genetic code from bacteria, viruses and fungi – microorganisms that, if actually present in tumor tissues, could influence how they grow, evade immunity or respond to treatment.

10 Feb 2026

New CRISPR Tool Actively Reverses Antibiotic Resistance Spread

Antibiotic resistance (AR) has steadily accelerated in recent years to become a global health crisis. As deadly bacteria evolve new ways to elude drug treatments for a variety of illnesses, a growing number of "superbugs" have emerged, ramping up estimates of more than 10 million worldwide deaths per year by 2050.

9 Feb 2026

MIT Study Pushes Back Origins of Aerobic Respiration

Oxygen is a vital and constant presence on Earth today. But that hasn't always been the case. It wasn't until around 2.3 billion years ago that oxygen became a permanent fixture in the atmosphere, during a pivotal period known as the Great Oxidation Event (GOE), which set the evolutionary course for oxygen-breathing life as we know it today.

9 Feb 2026