https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Gas vesicles are among the largest known protein nanostructures produced and assembled inside microbial cells. These hollow, air-filled cylindrical nanostructures found in certain aquatic microbes have drawn increasing interest from scientists due to their potential for practical applications, including as part of novel diagnostic and therapeutic tools. However, producing gas vesicles is a difficult task for cells in the lab, hindering the development of applications. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-approach-sustainable-protein-nanostructures-advanced.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 02 Feb 2026 16:04:23 EST news689270642 Human health risks from direct consumption of toxic nanoplastics are already scary, but researchers have confirmed that nanoplastics in water give rise to an additional threat: They strengthen bacteria. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-nanoplastics-bacteria-stronger-disinfectant-resistant.html Ecology Mon, 26 Jan 2026 17:12:50 EST news688669922 Microbes across Earth's coldest regions are becoming more active as glaciers, permafrost and sea ice thaw, accelerating carbon release and potentially amplifying climate change, according to a new international review from McGill University. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-polar-regions-microbes-climate-frozen.html Ecology Mon, 26 Jan 2026 16:22:40 EST news688666922 Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have completed a spaceflight biology investigation aboard the International Space Station (ISS) that reveals how microgravity fundamentally alters microbial metabolism, limiting the efficiency of biological manufacturing processes critical to future long-duration space missions. The findings were recently published in the journal npj Microgravity. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-microgravity-rewires-microbial-metabolism-limiting.html Space Exploration Mon, 26 Jan 2026 15:56:32 EST news688665361 A study of wild African herbivores offers new insight into how environmental conditions—not just diet and anatomy—can influence the evolution of gut microbes that play a critical role in animal health and well-being. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-environmental-conditions-evolution-gut-microbiomes.html Evolution Mon, 26 Jan 2026 14:34:00 EST news688660372 People have long said that "bread is life." Now, researchers at Tufts University are using the bubbling mixtures of flour and water known as sourdough starters to explore what shapes life at the microscopic level. Their findings, published in Ecology, demonstrate a simple way to predict how microbial species will live together, providing insights that could inform baking, food safety, and human health. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-sourdough-starters-reveal-recipe-microbial.html Ecology Thu, 22 Jan 2026 12:49:46 EST news688308541 Microorganisms live in biofilms—the equivalent of microbial "cities"—everywhere on Earth. These city-like structures protect and house microbial communities and play essential roles in enabling human and plant health on our planet. Now, a new Perspective article published in npj Biofilms and Microbiomes sets out a path to uncover the role of biofilms in health during long-duration spaceflight, and how spaceflight research can reshape our understanding of these microbial communities on Earth. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-hidden-microbial-communities-health-space.html Space Exploration Thu, 22 Jan 2026 05:00:01 EST news688212776 Much like humans, microbial organisms can be fickle in their productivity. One moment they're cranking out useful chemicals in vast fermentation tanks, metabolizing feed to make products from pharmaceuticals and supplements to biodegradable plastics or fuels, and the next, they inexplicably go on strike. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-exploring-metabolic-noise-paths-biomanufacturing.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 15 Jan 2026 15:50:33 EST news687714601 Dr. Rowan Martindale, a paleoecologist and geobiologist at the University of Texas at Austin, was walking through the Dadès Valley in the Central High Atlas Mountains of Morocco when she saw something that literally stopped her in her tracks. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-ancient-life-unexpected.html Earth Sciences Tue, 13 Jan 2026 16:55:24 EST news687545701 A new technique which slashes the time taken to diagnose microbial infections from days to minutes could help save lives and open up a new front in the battle against antibiotic resistance, researchers say. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-infections-minutes-aiding-drug-resistance.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 09 Jan 2026 11:05:39 EST news687179102 Coral reefs are often described as biodiversity hotspots, but new research shows they also act as powerful regulators of the microscopic life in the surrounding ocean. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-coral-reef-daily-pulse-reshapes.html Plants & Animals Thu, 01 Jan 2026 13:00:04 EST news686307045 South Africa is home to some of the oldest evidence of life on Earth, contained in rocky, often layered outcroppings called microbialites. Like coral reefs, these complex "living rocks" are built up by microbes absorbing and precipitating dissolved minerals into solid formations. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-south-africa-rapidly-absorb-carbon.html Ecology Tue, 16 Dec 2025 06:41:36 EST news685089658 The microscopic organisms that fill our bodies, soils, oceans and atmosphere play essential roles in human health and the planet's ecosystems. Yet even with modern DNA sequencing, figuring out what these microbes are and how they are related to one another remains extremely difficult. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-smarter-tools-peering-microscopic-world.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 12 Dec 2025 13:32:20 EST news684768721 Termite pellets can linger long after the insects that dropped them have disappeared. By testing for microbes in the excrement, researchers can distinguish old droppings from fresh, and whether a colony is actively chewing its way through a home. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-termite-pellet-microbes-timeline-home.html Ecology Wed, 10 Dec 2025 10:33:45 EST news684585212 Countless bacterial species share cramped environments where competition for space and resources is fierce. Some rely on a molecular speargun to outcompete their opponents. One of them is Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It is widespread in nature but also notorious as a difficult-to-treat hospital pathogen. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-bacterium-molecular-speargun-defense-exposed.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:45:38 EST news684427501 Billions of alkaline-loving microbes could offer a new way to protect nuclear waste buried deep underground. This approach overcomes the limitations of current cement barriers, which can crack or break down over time. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-alkaline-microbes-safeguard-nuclear-deep.html Environment Fri, 05 Dec 2025 14:16:46 EST news684166583 Up to 30% of life, by weight, is underground. Seismic activity may renew the energy supply for subterranean ecosystems. Published in PNAS Nexus, Eric Boyd and colleagues chronicled the ecological changes in subsurface microbial communities that took place after a swarm of small earthquakes rattled the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field in 2021. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-earthquakes-yellowstone-subterranean-ecosystems.html Earth Sciences Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:31:32 EST news683289088 A new study shows that microplastics in the natural environment are colonized by pathogenic and antimicrobial resistant bacteria. The study team calls for urgent action for waste management and strongly recommends wearing gloves when taking part in beach cleans. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-microplastics-pose-human-health-ways.html Environment Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:00:01 EST news683286905 Florida State University oceanographers have discovered a significant connection between small-scale microbial processes and ecosystem-wide dynamics, offering new insights into the mechanisms driving marine carbon storage. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-oceanographers-framework-carbon-ocean.html Earth Sciences Mon, 24 Nov 2025 16:19:26 EST news683223541 An estimated 1 trillion species of microorganisms reside on Earth, yet scientists have been able to study less than two percent of them. Because many microorganisms cannot be cultivated in laboratories, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are creating technology to cultivate them in the field. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-magnetic-nanocultures-tiny-lens-vast.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 19 Nov 2025 15:18:03 EST news682787881 A new study uncovered fresh chemical evidence of life in rocks more than 3.3 billion years old, along with molecular traces showing that oxygen-producing photosynthesis emerged nearly a billion years earlier than previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-earth-earliest-life-billion-years.html Astrobiology Mon, 17 Nov 2025 15:00:04 EST news682598221 Each year, a single cow can belch about 200 pounds of methane. The powerful greenhouse gas is 27 times more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. For decades, scientists and farmers have tried to find ways to reduce methane without stunting the animal's growth or productivity. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-microbial-blueprint-climate-smart-cows.html Biotechnology Mon, 17 Nov 2025 11:38:03 EST news682601881 Soils release approximately 40–60 petagrams (Pg) of carbon annually into the atmosphere through microbial metabolism. Climate warming is projected to further enhance soil microbial respiration, intensifying positive carbon–climate feedback loops. However, it remains unclear whether this feedback might weaken over several years. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-microbial-network-mitigates-term-soil.html Earth Sciences Thu, 13 Nov 2025 08:58:03 EST news682246681 QUT researchers have recovered the genomes of more than 24,000 previously unknown microbial species—some from entirely new branches of life that likely evolved before plants and animals. The microbes are detailed in two studies published in Nature Biotechnology and Nature Methods. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-genomes-previously-unknown-microbes-revealed.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 13 Nov 2025 08:48:04 EST news682246081 Grassland degradation fundamentally reshapes how biodiversity supports ecosystem multifunctionality, shifting it from being plant-dominated to being mediated by soil microbes, according to a new study led by Prof. Yang Yuanhe from the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IBCAS). https://phys.org/news/2025-11-grassland-degradation-shifts-biodiversity-role.html Plants & Animals Tue, 11 Nov 2025 11:17:03 EST news682082221 Diverse life forms exist on and within the ocean floor. These primarily consist of microbes, tiny organisms that can cope with extreme environmental conditions. These include high pressures and salinities, as well as extreme pH values and a limited supply of nutrients. A team of researchers has now been able to detect microbial life in two newly discovered mud volcanoes with very high pH values. Their findings have been published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-fats-clues-life-limits-deep.html Ecology Thu, 30 Oct 2025 12:05:03 EDT news681044702 A study appearing in Nature Microbiology analyzes soils sampled across the state of Kansas to determine the importance of "legacy effects"—or how soils from a specific location are influenced by microbes that have evolved in response to the specific climate at that site for many years. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-microbial-memory-kansas-soils-legacy.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 30 Oct 2025 12:00:02 EDT news680950381 A research team from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) has made progress in studying the Shibantan biota in Yichang, Hubei Province, uncovering the oldest known complex three-dimensional burrow systems to date. Preserved in approximately 550-million-year-old strata, these trace fossils show that complex animal behaviors were modifying the seafloor environment nearly 10 million years earlier than previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-oldest-3d-burrow-uncovered-hubei.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 29 Oct 2025 14:00:23 EDT news680800802 DNA within dried feces dating from more than 1,000 years ago provides valuable insights into the pathogens that plagued ancient Mexican peoples, according to a study published in PLOS One by Drew Capone of Indiana University, U.S., and colleagues. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-ancient-dna-clues-intestinal-parasites.html Archaeology Wed, 22 Oct 2025 14:00:07 EDT news680282041 A study led by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Professor Alexandre Rosado has revealed an unusual microbial world in the Hatiba Mons hydrothermal vent fields of the central Red Sea, a site first discovered by one of his co-authors and colleagues, Assistant Professor Froukje M. van der Zwan. The research delivers the first "genome-resolved" analysis of these hydrothermal systems, providing an unprecedented view into both the types of microbes present and the metabolic functions that sustain them. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-microbes-red-sea-vents-life.html Ecology Mon, 20 Oct 2025 17:15:03 EDT news680199302