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. An international team of researchers led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has deciphered the genome of a tropical marine organism known to produce substances potentially useful against human diseases. http://phys.org/news224179703.html Biology Mon, 09 May 2011 17:09:07 EST news224179703 (PhysOrg.com) -- Purdue University scientists have improved a strain of yeast that can produce more biofuel from cellulosic plant material by fermenting all five types of the plant's sugars. http://phys.org/news195146436.html Biology Mon, 07 Jun 2010 16:21:05 EST news195146436 Potatoes offering elevated levels of phytonutrients thought to promote health could add a new dimension to the consumer diet. But the journey from farm to fork can be a perilous one fraught with sundry microorganisms ready to attack the spuds, either while they're still in the ground or during storage. http://phys.org/news194784554.html Biology Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:51:14 EST news194784554 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are improving strains of microorganisms used to convert cellulosic biomass into ethanol, including a recent modification that could improve the efficiency of the conversion process. http://phys.org/news193577460.html Biology Thu, 20 May 2010 12:31:22 EST news193577460 A new study finds that microbes on spacecraft might be able to survive on Mars longer than previously thought. The key to their survival? Dust. http://phys.org/news193505425.html Space & Earth Wed, 19 May 2010 17:00:09 EST news193505425 A team of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will send an army of microorganisms into space this week, to investigate new ways of preventing the formation and spread of biofilms, or clusters of bacteria, that could pose a threat to the health of astronauts. http://phys.org/news192715014.html Space & Earth Mon, 10 May 2010 13:30:16 EST news192715014 (PhysOrg.com) -- A scientist at Macquarie University is working with a Sydney hospital to develop a device, known as the Gated Auto-synchronous Luminescence Detector (GALD), which could radically improve the means of detection for infection-causing bacteria. http://phys.org/news191588953.html Chemistry Tue, 27 Apr 2010 12:20:01 EST news191588953 No one wants a mixed salad tossed with extra bacteria, mold and yeast, but those are just what you might find when you try to eat a healthier diet in poorer neighborhoods. A new study shows that the level of bacteria found on the fresh produce can vary according to the income level of the neighborhoods where it is for sale. http://phys.org/news189788981.html Medicine & Health Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:30:01 EST news189788981 The number of waste treatment facilities using biological processes to biodegrade waste has been increasing over the years. These installations receive municipal and industrial organic wastes with the common main goal of reducing their biodegradable organic matter content. Composting, anaerobic digestion, and mechanical-biological treatment plants contribute to organic matter recycling and energy recovery, and avoid landfilling. http://phys.org/news189059740.html Space & Earth Mon, 29 Mar 2010 06:40:01 EST news189059740 Microorganisms are everywhere and most of them are harmless, but they can do a lot of damage in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals or in tissue transplants. With the aid of a new device, germs can be detected in artificial cartilage within a few hours. http://phys.org/news188210577.html Chemistry Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:00:01 EST news188210577 Digger wasps of the genus Philanthus, so-called beewolves, house beneficial bacteria on their cocoons that guarantee protection against harmful microorganisms. Scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena teamed up with researchers at the University of Regensburg and the Jena Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research - Hans-Knoell-Institute - and discovered that bacteria of the genus Streptomyces produce a cocktail of nine different antibiotics and thereby fend off invading pathogens. http://phys.org/news186583458.html Chemistry Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:00:05 EST news186583458 (PhysOrg.com) -- Acting as a microscope for sound, a new device called a micro-ear could make objects on the micro-scale audible. The device could enable scientists to listen to the sounds that cells and bacteria make as they move about, as well as listen to micro-scale events such as how drugs interact with microorganisms. http://phys.org/news186426510.html Technology Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:08:54 EST news186426510 A study by University of Michigan researchers offers new insight into what happens to mercury deposited onto Arctic snow from the atmosphere. http://phys.org/news185043019.html Space & Earth Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:20:01 EST news185043019 One-third of samples of milk and dairy products analysed in various restaurants exceed the microbe contamination limits set by the European Union, according to a study carried out by researchers from the University of Valencia (UV). The experts advise against keeping milk in jugs and suggest that these foodstuffs need to be better handled. http://phys.org/news183987743.html Medicine & Health Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:00:18 EST news183987743 (PhysOrg.com) -- Heat-loving bacteria found in the Arctic seabed have their origins in oil springs and the depths of the Earth's crust. This is the finding of a project supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, which used molecular biology to study "misplaced" bacteria such as these. The possibility that molecular biology could also help track down oil fields gives the project an interesting economic twist. http://phys.org/news183053788.html Biology Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:18:33 EST news183053788 (PhysOrg.com) -- On the marine microbial stage, there appears to be a vast, varied group of understudies only too ready to step in when "star" microbes falter. http://phys.org/news182442996.html Biology Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:00:01 EST news182442996 (PhysOrg.com) -- By the time Curiosity, the next Mars Rover, launches in 2011, scientists on Earth will know more about the potential for life on Mars because of microorganisms that live in Australian lakes. http://phys.org/news181899108.html Space & Earth Tue, 05 Jan 2010 07:32:21 EST news181899108 Researchers have uncovered the complete genetic make-up of the cavity-causing bacterium Bifidobacterium dentium Bd1, revealing the genetic adaptations that allow this microorganism to live and cause decay in the human oral cavity. The study, led by Marco Ventura's Probiogenomics laboratory at the University of Parma, and Prof. Douwe van Sinderen and Dr Paul O'Toole of the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre at University College Cork, is published December 24 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics. http://phys.org/news180786938.html Medicine & Health Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:00:01 EST news180786938 (PhysOrg.com) -- Those seeking to understand and predict climate change can now use an additional tool to calculate carbon dioxide exchanges on land, according to a scientific journal article co-authored by a University of Alabama researcher and publishing this week. http://phys.org/news180285034.html Space & Earth Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:30:02 EST news180285034 An international study that examined the extent of infections in nearly 1,300 intensive care units (ICUs) in 75 countries found that about 50 percent of the patients were considered infected, with infection associated with an increased risk of death in the hospital, according to a study in the December 2 issue of JAMA. http://phys.org/news178909860.html Medicine & Health Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:40:01 EST news178909860 A team of researchers at Louisiana Tech University has found that a naturally occurring microorganism acts as a natural herbicide against giant salvinia. http://phys.org/news177864774.html Biology Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:10:04 EST news177864774 A recently devised method of imaging the chemical communication and warfare between microorganisms could lead to new antibiotics, antifungal, antiviral and anti-cancer drugs, said a Texas AgriLife Research scientist. http://phys.org/news177017648.html Chemistry Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:34:54 EST news177017648 Sam Houston State University has applied for six federal patents, three of which have already been awarded, to protect the technology and engineering associated with a "revolutionary" packaged wastewater treatment system invented by its scientists, and it has formed a company to further develop, market and sell the systems. http://phys.org/news175798150.html Technology Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:51:09 EST news175798150 Perilous and polluting industrial processes can be made safer with enzymes. But only a short range of enzymes have been available for the chemical industry. http://phys.org/news175426112.html Chemistry Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:10:03 EST news175426112 Did you know that millions of tons of fruits and vegetables in the United States end up in the trash can before being eaten, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture? A Georgia State University professor has developed an innovative new way to keep produce and flowers fresh for longer periods of time. http://phys.org/news175258465.html Biology Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:54:59 EST news175258465 They haven't yet figured out how to draw blood from stones, but a group of French researchers is offering new insight that could change how scientists search for signs of life in Martian rocks. http://phys.org/news173635885.html Space & Earth Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:40:33 EST news173635885 (PhysOrg.com) -- It's not every day you find clues to the planet's inner workings in aquarium scum. But that's what happened a few years ago when University of Washington researchers cultured a tiny organism from the bottom of a Seattle Aquarium tank and found it can digest ammonia, a key environmental function. New results show this minute organism and its brethren play a more central role in the planet's ecology than previously suspected. http://phys.org/news173538255.html Biology Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:04:40 EST news173538255 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have discovered how oxygen stops green algae from producing hydrogen. The findings could help those working towards 'solar H2-farms' in which microorganisms produce hydrogen fuel from sunlight and water. http://phys.org/news173425678.html Chemistry Tue, 29 Sep 2009 06:48:30 EST news173425678 Yale engineers have for the first time observed and tracked E. coli bacteria moving in a liquid medium with a motion similar to that of a kayak paddle. http://phys.org/news173098975.html Physics Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:03:54 EST news173098975 A research group from the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) in Tarragona, Spain, has developed a biosensor that can immediately detect very low levels of Salmonella typhi, the bacteria that causes typhoid fever. The technique uses carbon nanotubes and synthetic DNA fragments that activate an electric signal when they link up with the pathogen. http://phys.org/news171626999.html Chemistry Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:20:01 EST news171626999