Microbiology

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AI Genomes Create Synthetic Bacteriophages to Conquer Drug Resistant Superbugs

Using AI, researchers have designed complete, functional bacteriophage genomes from scratch and tested them against bacteria that had evolved resistance to a natural bacteriophage.

7 Aug 2026

Living Organisms Depend on Bacterial Production of Critical Vitamin B12

All living organisms need a little bit of it to form red blood cells and DNA, as well as to build and support brain and nerve cells. But it's hard to come by: Humans don't make it. Animals don't make it. Plants don't make it.

7 Aug 2026

Uncovering Novel Biomechanical Bacterial Defenses to Optimize Future Antibiotics

A group of Cornell College students and their professor have discovered surprising results in their research on antimicrobial peptides, which are being studied as a method of combating antibiotic resistance.

6 Aug 2026

Dynamic Structural Flexibility of Human Norovirus Evade the Immune System

Human norovirus is the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis worldwide and is estimated to infect 600–700 million people each year. Despite its enormous public health impact, no effective antiviral drugs are currently available.

5 Aug 2026

New Analytical Framework Captures Coordinated Host and Microbial Disease Responses

The trillions of microorganisms living in our intestine influence our health, from digestion and metabolism to immunity.

5 Aug 2026

Scientists Identify Lethal Columnaris Fish Disease in Brazil for the First Time

For the first time in Brazil, scientists have identified the presence of bacteria that cause columnaris disease, a serious disease in farmed fish intended for human consumption.

3 Aug 2026

Study Shows How Spatial Structure Leaves a Measurable Fingerprint on Bacterial Fitness

A study published in the Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment (JSTAT), inspired by the behavior of bacterial colonies observed in previous experiments, uses mathematical models to describe the expansion of competing populations.

3 Aug 2026

Study Provides New Insights for the Development of Novel Antifungal Drug Targets

This study was conducted by the research group of Professor Liao Guojian from the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southwest University. Candidate genes potentially involved in lysine synthesis in C. neoformans were identified and knocked out.

29 Jul 2026

Dengue Virus Replicates Inside Memory B Cells to Evade Immunity

Researchers at the University of Vermont Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine and Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY, have discovered that dengue virus can infect and replicate inside memory B cells, immune cells traditionally understood to help protect the body from infection.

28 Jul 2026

Research Decodes How Gut Microbes Process Plant-Based Nutrients

Plant-based diets are good for you. They promote gut, immune, metabolic and cardiovascular health, in part by cultivating a diverse community of intestinal bacteria.

28 Jul 2026

Uncovering Plant Discrimination and Dose Responses to Beneficial Soil Microbes

For years, beneficial Bacillus bacteria have been used to promote plant growth and protect crops, yet most studies treat these microbes as functionally interchangeable.

28 Jul 2026

Fluctuating Environments Stabilize a Self-Destructive Survival Strategy in Yeast

A research group led by Tetsuhiro Hatakeyama from the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Institute of Science Tokyo have revealed how a seemingly self-destructive survival strategy could persist in yeast for hundreds of millions of years.

27 Jul 2026

Type I CRISPR Systems Regulate Embedded Innate Immunity Genes in Neisseria

The main function of CRISPR-Cas systems, the revolutionary tool scientists now employ to edit genes, is to defend bacteria against threats such as viruses called bacteriophages. Researchers have continued to study all flavors of CRISPR-Cas systems (to date, 2 classes, 7 types and 46 subtypes have been identified) to understand all their capabilities.

27 Jul 2026

Engineered Probiotic Bacteria Deliver Immune Therapy Directly Into Pancreatic Tumors

Cancer immunotherapies have transformed treatment for many cancers, but pancreatic cancer remains especially difficult to treat. One major reason is that pancreatic tumors often create a "cold" tumor microenvironment, where the tumor prevents immune cells from mounting a strong attack.

27 Jul 2026

Scientists Uncover Unexpected Mechanism Behind Extreme Antibiotic Resistance

A patient with a severe infection is prescribed a potent antibiotic. Hopes for improvement are high, but just after treatment is given, resistance to the drug increases thousands of times. How could this happen?

24 Jul 2026

Researchers Find New Bacterial Mechanism for Evading Antibiotic Exposure

Antibiotics are a medical marvel, but many microbes are gaining the ability to resist and tolerate these therapeutics.

24 Jul 2026

Bacterial TGT Enzyme Engages Two tRNAs to Control Protein Production

The enzyme tRNA-guanine transglycosylase (TGT) chemically modifies transfer RNA (tRNA) and plays a key role in how disease-causing bacteria control the production of proteins needed to cause infection. E. coli TGT is nearly identical to the one found in Shigella, which causes the intestinal infection shigellosis.

23 Jul 2026

Changes in RNA Regulation Enable Bacteria to Enter Antibiotic Tolerance

Antibiotics are a medical marvel, but many microbes are gaining the ability to resist and tolerate these therapeutics. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have uncovered how S. pneumoniae adapts to antibiotic exposure and immune pressures.

23 Jul 2026

Bacteria Use CRISPR-Cas to Control Diverse Innate Defense Systems

All cellular life-from humans to bacteria-possesses two layers of immunity: innate and adaptive. Scientists have long understood how these two types of immunity work together in higher organisms but not in the microbial world.

23 Jul 2026

New Research Explains How Toxoplasma Parasite Bookmarks Its Genes

A parasite carried by billions of people worldwide often causes harmful infections during pregnancy, in immunocompromised individuals, and is the cause of a leading infectious blindness in South America.

22 Jul 2026