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. The sensory proteins that control the motion of bacteria constantly fluctuate. AMOLF researchers, together with international collaborators from ETH Zurich and University of Utah, found out that these proteins can jointly switch on and off at the same time. The researchers discovered that this protein network operates at the boundary between order and disorder. The findings are published in Nature Physics on January 29. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-bacterial-brains-brink-disorder.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 29 Jan 2026 15:02:24 EST news688921321 Gut bacteria evolve rapidly in response to different diets, UCLA evolutionary biologists report in a new study. The researchers found that gene variants that help microbes digest starches found in ultra-processed foods have "swept" the genomes of some species of gut bacteria in industrialized parts of the world. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-gut-bacteria-rapidly-digest-starches.html Evolution Wed, 17 Dec 2025 11:00:27 EST news685179421 In natural environments, bacteria rarely live as free-swimming cells but are attached to surfaces as biofilms in medical devices, mobile phones or human tissue. The bacterial behavior, how they attach and grow, group together or excrete compounds that glue the biofilm, is influenced by their mechanical interaction with the surface. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-bacteria-surfaces-fluorescent-probe-visualizes.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 18 Nov 2025 15:02:02 EST news682700521 Leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease prevalent across 90 countries, affects approximately 12 million people worldwide, with 350 million more at risk of infection. Caused by unicellular parasites known as Leishmania protozoa, the disease commonly manifests as skin sores that can develop into deep ulcers. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-treatment-leishmaniasis-disease-okinawan-marine.html Biotechnology Wed, 24 Sep 2025 10:01:05 EDT news677926862 Most bacteria cannot be cultured in the lab—and that's been bad news for medicine. Many of our frontline antibiotics originated from microbes, yet as antibiotic resistance spreads and drug pipelines run dry, the soil beneath our feet has a vast hidden reservoir of untapped lifesaving compounds. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-hundreds-bacteria-potential-antibiotics-soil.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 12 Sep 2025 05:00:04 EDT news676740283 When people take antibiotics, some of the dose is excreted with urine and feces and ends up in our wastewater. The presence of this low dose of antibiotic creates an opportunity for resistant bacteria to evolve. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-chemicals-turmeric-rhubarb-antibiotic-resistant.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 10 Jul 2025 00:00:01 EDT news671270771 An interdisciplinary research team led by the Leibniz-HKI in Jena has discovered a new group of bioactive natural compounds in pathogenic bacteria of the genus Pandoraea: pandorabactins. They enable the bacteria to extract vital iron from other microorganisms and can thus influence the microbial balance in the human lung. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-iron-pandoraea-bacteria-deploy-unique.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 19 Jun 2025 14:56:04 EDT news669563761 When a new species is introduced into an ecosystem, it may succeed in establishing itself, or it may fail to gain a foothold and die out. Physicists at MIT have now devised a formula that can predict which of those outcomes is most likely. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-species-successfully-invade-ecosystem-human.html Ecology Mon, 06 Jan 2025 11:34:05 EST news655385641 Microorganisms produce a wide variety of natural products that can be used as active ingredients to treat diseases such as infections or cancer. The blueprints for these molecules can be found in the microbes' genes, but often remain inactive under laboratory conditions. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-genetic-method-leverages-bacterial-mechanism.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 13 Dec 2024 12:55:04 EST news653316901 A group of researchers has published new findings in Science Policy Forum on potential risks from the development of mirror bacteria—synthetic organisms in which all molecules have reversed chirality (i.e., are "mirrored"). https://phys.org/news/2024-12-mirror-bacteria-pose-global-health.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 12 Dec 2024 14:00:02 EST news653219075 Efforts to combat the increasing threat of drug-resistant bacteria are being assisted by a new approach for streamlining the search for antimicrobial drug candidates, pioneered by researchers at Hokkaido University, led by Assistant Professor Kazuki Yamamoto and Professor Satoshi Ichikawa of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-comprehensive-derivative-synthesis-method-antimicrobial.html Biochemistry Fri, 12 Jul 2024 09:56:30 EDT news639996987 A collaborative study between researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research and the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology has shown how a single metabolite can render bacteria toxic to plants under high salt conditions. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-salty-soil-sensitizes-unconventional-mode.html Ecology Tue, 28 May 2024 11:19:04 EDT news636113941 An EPFL scientist along with colleagues from universities across Europe have completed the first-ever quantitative study of the changes that soil organic matter from forests can cause in high-altitude and high-latitude lakes once it's dissolved in the water. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-treelines-affect-alpine-lakes.html Environment Wed, 08 May 2024 09:52:04 EDT news634380721 A research team has found that microorganisms in the human gut utilize beta-elimination to break down plant natural products and thus make them available to humans. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-decipher-enzyme-scissors-intestinal-microbes.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 29 Nov 2023 10:05:03 EST news620474701 New research fueled in part by citizen scientists reveals that the meadow spittlebug—known for the foamy, spit-like urine released by its nymphs—can feed on at least 1,300 species of host plants, more than twice the number of any other insect. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-meadow-spittlebug-record-breaking-diet-disease.html Plants & Animals Wed, 04 Oct 2023 14:40:03 EDT news615649201 Scientists from Skoltech and research centers in Sweden and Switzerland have presented results that explain the mechanism of interaction between bacteria and phages—viruses that infect bacterial cells. The discovery is an important step on the way to developing new ways to fight infections. The study is published in the journalCell Reports. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-uncover-ways-combat-pathogenic-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 18 Aug 2023 10:04:55 EDT news611571892 A research team led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley has engineered bacteria to produce new-to-nature carbon products that could provide a powerful route to sustainable biochemicals. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-tiny-microbes-brew-big-benefits.html Biochemistry Mon, 08 May 2023 11:50:03 EDT news602765401 Viruses are the most abundant and diverse biological entities on Earth, living in every type of habitat. In the ocean alone viruses are ten times more abundant than microbes. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-microbes-benefit-immunological-memory.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 06 Apr 2023 11:00:01 EDT news599977640 Researchers with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History have discovered the first effective bacterial probiotic for treating and preventing stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), a mysterious ailment that has devastated Florida's coral reefs since 2014 and is rapidly spreading throughout the Caribbean. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-newly-probiotic-caribbean-corals-threatened.html Ecology Thu, 06 Apr 2023 05:00:02 EDT news599974074 In recent years, the microbiota—communities of microorganisms composed primarily of bacteria and fungi that are found in all eukaryotic organisms, including humans, animals and plants—has come into focus due to their contributions to the health and growth of their eukaryotic hosts. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-competitors-colonization-success-microbiota.html Plants & Animals Wed, 05 Apr 2023 09:55:02 EDT news599907299 A team of chemists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Chemistry has developed a process for dramatically improving the efficiency of bacterial production of a commercial polypeptide. Their paper is published in the journal Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-adding-copolymer-efficiency-bacterial-production.html Biochemistry Tue, 04 Apr 2023 12:30:01 EDT news599828170 Baby kangaroo feces might help provide an unlikely solution to the environmental problem of cow-produced methane. A microbial culture developed from the kangaroo feces inhibited methane production in a cow stomach simulator in a Washington State University study. https://phys.org/news/2023-02-kangaroo-fecal-microbes-methane-cows.html Biotechnology Tue, 14 Feb 2023 07:14:10 EST news595581244 Systematically attenuating DNA targeting activity can achieve CRISPR-driven editing in bacteria, greatly boosting colony counts and even increasing the frequency of precise genome editing. This was shown in a study of the Helmholtz Institute Würzburg (HIRI) in collaboration with the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig. The findings were published today in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2023-02-bacteria-crispr.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 09 Feb 2023 10:16:55 EST news595160212 Efforts to fight disease-causing bacteria by harnessing their natural predators could be undermined when multiple species occupy the same space, according to a study by Dartmouth College researchers. https://phys.org/news/2023-02-bacteria-elude-predators-colonies.html Ecology Thu, 02 Feb 2023 16:26:03 EST news594577561 Methanotrophs—organisms that grow by consuming methane—seem to be perfect for alleviating global warming, since methane accounts for about 30% of this effect. However, drilling sites, where the natural gas is mostly composed of methane, also contains hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which inhibits the growth of methanotrophs. In a new study, researchers have discovered that the methanotroph Methylococcus capsulatus Bath has an enzyme that helps it grow in the presence of small amounts of H2S. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-methanotrophs-toxic-effects-hydrogen-sulfide.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 10 Jan 2023 16:19:02 EST news592589939 Many existing antibiotics were derived from soil bacteria, which naturally produce these toxins to ward off competitors. But efforts to draw more therapeutics from the ground have hit a snag. Most species cannot be grown in the lab, and even soil bacteria that can be cultured tend to keep their most promising toxins within the black box of a biosynthetic gene cluster—genes that function as a unit to collectively code for production of a molecule. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-crucial-bottleneck-drug-discovery.html Biotechnology Thu, 05 Jan 2023 07:52:21 EST news592127539 Lipstick can be a confidence booster, enhance a costume and keep lips from chapping. But sharing a tube with a friend or family member can also spread infections. To develop a version with antimicrobial properties, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have added cranberry extract to the formulation. Their deep red cream quickly inactivates disease-causing viruses, bacteria and a fungus that come in contact with it. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-deep-red-cranberry-tinted-lipstick-antimicrobial.html Biochemistry Fri, 16 Dec 2022 13:56:02 EST news590421361 Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P.a.) are resistant to most antibiotics and cause life-threatening infections of wounds or the lungs. The P.a. bacteria species has an entire arsenal of strategies for evading the immune system and infecting tissue. https://phys.org/news/2022-10-cytoskeleton-cells-bouncer-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 20 Oct 2022 10:16:40 EDT news585479795 In labs, bacterial colonies usually grow in streaks in petri dishes, but until now no one has known how the colonies organize themselves in more realistic three-dimensional (3D) environments, such as tissues and gels in our bodies, or soils and sediments in the environment. This knowledge could be critical for advancing medical and environmental research. https://phys.org/news/2022-10-years-bacterial-growth.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 19 Oct 2022 15:11:33 EDT news585411083 The natural world possesses its own intrinsic electrical grid composed of a global web of tiny bacteria-generated nanowires in the soil and oceans that "breathe" by exhaling excess electrons. https://phys.org/news/2022-09-nature-electric-grid.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 07 Sep 2022 05:00:02 EDT news581744618