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Microbiology

All articles tagged with #microbiology

Pencil-Sized Plasma Gun Aims to Sanitize Spacewear
space-and-spaceflight2 hours ago

Pencil-Sized Plasma Gun Aims to Sanitize Spacewear

A University of Alabama in Huntsville team has developed a pencil-sized cold-plasma “laundry gun” that blasts fabrics with a plasma jet to kill bacteria and odors, potentially keeping astronauts’ clothes cleaner in space. While proof-of-concept and small-scale, the technology could one day sterilize spacesuits and tools for long missions; researchers plan to increase the device size and add filters to reduce ozone byproducts as they work toward practical use in space.

via Gizmodo|
#astronaut-health#microbiology#plasma-physics
Archaea Decode UAG as Dual Roles, Expanding the Genetic Code
science2 months ago

Archaea Decode UAG as Dual Roles, Expanding the Genetic Code

UC Berkeley researchers report that the methane-producing archaeon Methanosarcina acetivorans can interpret the UAG stop codon as either a termination signal or as the amino acid pyrrolysine, producing two protein forms from the same gene. The availability of pyrrolysine appears to influence the outcome, and about 200–300 genes may be affected, suggesting that genetic decoding can be context-dependent. This challenges the view of a single fixed genetic code and could inform new strategies for treating diseases caused by premature stop codons and expanding microbial biochemistry.

via ScienceDaily|
#archaea#codons#genetics
Antarctica’s Blood Falls Finally Explained: Pressure-Driven Brine and Iron From Ancient Microbes
science3 months ago

Antarctica’s Blood Falls Finally Explained: Pressure-Driven Brine and Iron From Ancient Microbes

New research published in Antarctic Science explains Blood Falls: the red water is iron oxide formed by ancient subterranean bacteria, while the liquid is a hypersaline brine kept unfrozen at -20°C; eruptions occur when pressure builds in subglacial channels beneath Taylor Glacier, forcing brine out in bursts and briefly slowing the glacier, with warming's future effects still unknown.

via WIRED|
#antarctica#brine#geoscience
Engineered Microbes Target Tumors by Colonizing Oxygen-Starved Cores
health-and-medicine3 months ago

Engineered Microbes Target Tumors by Colonizing Oxygen-Starved Cores

Researchers at the University of Waterloo are engineering Clostridium sporogenes bacteria to invade oxygen-poor tumor cores and consume nutrients from inside, potentially destroying tumors. They added an oxygen-tolerance gene and use quorum sensing to activate it only after enough bacteria accumulate, limiting safety risks. Next steps combine both features in a single strain and test in preclinical trials, showcasing interdisciplinary synthetic-biology cancer research.

via ScienceDaily|
#biotechnology#cancer-therapy#health-and-medicine
science3 months ago

Ancient Romanian Ice Cave Bacterium Carries 100+ Resistance Genes, Defies 10 Antibiotics

A Frontiers in Microbiology study details Psychrobacter SC65A.3 isolated from a 5,000-year-old ice core in Romania’s Scărișoara Ice Cave. Genomic analysis reveals over 100 antibiotic-resistance genes (and ~600 genes of unknown function) and resistance to ten modern antibiotics, including ciprofloxacin. While thawing ice due to climate change could release resistance genes into contemporary bacteria, the enzymes and compounds from this ancient microbe also offer potential biotechnological applications; the finding underscores the need for monitoring ancient genomes as glaciers and caves thaw and consider implications for antimicrobial resistance.

via Ground News|
#ancient-bacteria#antibiotic-resistance#biotech-potential
Ancient Ice Reveals a 5,000-Year-Old Drug-Resistant Bacterium
science3 months ago

Ancient Ice Reveals a 5,000-Year-Old Drug-Resistant Bacterium

A 5,000-year-old Psychrobacter bacterium retrieved from the Scarisoara Ice Cave in Romania is resistant to 10 antibiotics and carries more than 100 resistance genes, showing that antibiotic resistance evolved naturally long before modern antibiotics and highlighting the dual risks and opportunities of melting ice for public health and drug discovery.

via Gizmodo|
#ancientbacteria#antibioticresistance#climatechange
Space Mutations Boost Phages in the Battle Against Superbugs
science3 months ago

Space Mutations Boost Phages in the Battle Against Superbugs

A UW–Madison-led study compared a E. coli–T7 phage clash on Earth and in microgravity aboard the ISS. In space, phages infect more slowly but still acquire mutations that improve their ability to bind bacterial receptors, while the bacteria develop space-specific defenses—demonstrating space-driven evolutionary paths that could inform phage-based strategies against drug‑resistant pathogens on Earth.

via Yahoo|
#antimicrobial-resistance#bacteriophage#evolution
Microbiome Dynamics: Ecological Competition and Strain Displacement
microbiology6 months ago

Microbiome Dynamics: Ecological Competition and Strain Displacement

The article explores how ecological competition, including nutrient and interference competition via bacterial toxins, influences strain displacement in microbiomes, supported by mathematical modeling and experiments with engineered and natural E. coli strains, highlighting the importance of private nutrients and interference mechanisms for successful invasion and displacement within diverse bacterial communities.

via Nature|
#bacterial-toxins#e-coli#ecological-competition