'Magic pools' approach can hurry studies of novel bacteria

To characterize the genes of newly identified bacteria, microbiologists often introduce mutations within the bacteria using mobile DNA segments called transposons to study the impact of these mutations.

Battling white-nose syndrome in bats

Millions of bats in North America have been wiped out by the disease white-nose syndrome caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, and scientists worry that a catastrophic reduction in the bat population will have ...

New tool could help maintain quality during cheese production

Dutch type cheeses, notably edam and gouda, are made using complex starter cultures, that have been employed for centuries. Due to changes in strain composition within a culture, the quality frequently fluctuates. A team ...

The microbiological art of making a better sausage

Fermented sausages can vary in taste quality depending on whether the fermentations begin "spontaneously", or using a commercial starter culture. A team of Italian investigators found that commercial starter culture produced ...

Whole genome sequencing identifies cause of zoonotic epidemic

For the first time, researchers have used whole genome sequencing to identify the cause of a zoonotic infection that sparked a national epidemic. In a study published this week in mBio, an open-access journal of the American ...

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