http://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. Several naturally occurring antibiotics can control disease and promote crop health, offering an alternative to chemicals currently used in farming. http://phys.org/news280378155.html Biology Mon, 18 Feb 2013 02:49:59 EST news280378155 (Phys.org)—Three Simon Fraser University scientists are among six researchers who've made a discovery that could help revolutionize antibiotic treatment of deadly bacteria. http://phys.org/news269868124.html Biology Fri, 19 Oct 2012 12:22:36 EST news269868124 (Phys.org)—Infectious bacteria received a taste of their own medicine from University of Missouri researchers who used viruses to infect and kill colonies of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, common disease-causing bacteria. The viruses, known as bacteriophages, could be used to efficiently sanitize water treatment facilities and may aid in the fight against deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria. http://phys.org/news267723735.html Biology Mon, 24 Sep 2012 16:42:43 EST news267723735 (Phys.org)—It's a battleground down there—in the soil where plants and bacteria dwell. http://phys.org/news267446757.html Biology Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:46:03 EST news267446757 Heavy metals and other toxins frequently contaminate food and water. The culprits read like a litany of bad actors—lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, chromium—but their numbers run into the thousands. Microbes have long been enlisted for bioremediation, but they also have the potential to protect us from toxins, according to a minireview in the September Applied and Environmental Microbiology. "Beneficial bacteria are indeed capable of degrading pesticides and sequestering toxic chemicals," says coauthor Gregor Reid of the Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario.  http://phys.org/news267347932.html Biology Thu, 20 Sep 2012 08:50:01 EST news267347932 (Phys.org)—If you spot a honeybee in the UW-Madison's Allen Centennial Gardens and are wondering where it came from, look up. http://phys.org/news266048596.html Biology Wed, 05 Sep 2012 07:40:02 EST news266048596 (Phys.org)—With the help of beneficial bacteria, plants can slam the door when disease pathogens come knocking, University of Delaware researchers have discovered. http://phys.org/news265295014.html Biology Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:03:51 EST news265295014 Having healthy gut bacteria could have as much to do with a strategy that insurance companies use to uncover risk as with eating the right foods, according to researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA). http://phys.org/news264874917.html Biology Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:00:02 EST news264874917 Scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have discovered that maize crops emit chemical signals which attract growth-promoting microbes to live amongst their roots. This is the first chemical signal that has been shown to attract beneficial bacteria to the maize root environment. http://phys.org/news254505350.html Biology Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:00:02 EST news254505350 (PhysOrg.com) -- Bacteria that could potentially help corals resist the devastating disease white pox have been found by researchers at the University of Florida and Mote Marine Laboratory. http://phys.org/news237623468.html Space & Earth Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:31:16 EST news237623468 In the zeal to eliminate dangerous bacteria, it is possible that we are also permanently killing off beneficial bacteria as well, posits Martin Blaser, MD, Frederick H. King Professor of Medicine, professor of Microbiology and chair of the Department of Medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center. His commentary is published in the August 25 edition of the journal Nature. http://phys.org/news233410985.html Biology Wed, 24 Aug 2011 13:24:13 EST news233410985 An enzyme that keeps intestinal bacteria out of the bloodstream may also play an important role in maintaining the normal microbial population of the gastrointestinal system. Since the loss of beneficial bacteria that usually results from antibiotic therapy can sometimes lead to serious health problems, a treatment that maintains microbial levels could have significant benefits. http://phys.org/news206623349.html Medicine & Health Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:23:05 EST news206623349 The human body contains more bacteria than it does cells. These bacterial communities can have a positive effect on our health, by training our immune systems and helping to metabolize the foods we eat. But they can also set us up to develop digestive disorders, skin diseases, and obesity. http://phys.org/news196430107.html Medicine & Health Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:55:35 EST news196430107 (PhysOrg.com) -- Cornell University researchers have found a new tool to help marine biologists better grasp the processes under the sea: They have created mathematical models to unveil the bacterial community dynamics behind afflictions that bleach and kill coral. http://phys.org/news189151394.html Biology Tue, 30 Mar 2010 07:03:33 EST news189151394 Plants that live in the soil don't live alone -- a mere teaspoon of soil teems with an estimated billion microscopic organisms. http://phys.org/news171634295.html Biology Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:12:05 EST news171634295 A new study shows that the DNA of so-called "good bacteria" that normally live in the intestines may help defend the body against infection. http://phys.org/news142181538.html Medicine & Health Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:52:18 EST news142181538