News tagged with biofilm
Garlic constituent blocks biofilm formation, could benefit CF patients and others
E Pluribus Unum, the motto of the United States, could just as well apply to biofilm-forming bacteria. Bacterial biofilms are far more resistant than individual bacteria to the armories of antibiotics we have devised to combat ...
May 22, 2012 |
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Handheld plasma flashlight rids skin of bacteria instantly
A group of Chinese and Australian scientists, including CSIRO, have developed a handheld, battery-powered plasma-producing device that can rid skin of bacteria in an instant. The handheld plasma flashlight could be used in ...
Apr 26, 2012 |
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Genetic difference in staph offers clues as to why some patients get infections from cardiac implants
New research suggests that some patients develop a potentially deadly blood infection from their implanted cardiac devices because bacterial cells in their bodies have gene mutations that allow them to stick ...
Oct 24, 2011 |
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Handheld plasma flashlight rids skin of notorious pathogens
(PhysOrg.com) -- A group of Chinese and Australian scientists have developed a handheld, battery-powered plasma-producing device that can rid skin of bacteria in an instant.
Apr 04, 2012 |
4.8 / 5 (23) |
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A pesky bacterial slime reveals its survival secrets
By rethinking what happens on the surface of things, engineers at Harvard University have discovered that Bacillus subtilis biofilm colonies exhibit an unmatched ability to repel a wide range of liquids -- and ...
Jan 07, 2011 |
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Microbial hair -- it's electric: Specialized bacterial filaments shown to conduct electricity
(PhysOrg.com) -- Some bacteria grow electrical hair that lets them link up in big biological circuits, according to a University of Southern California biophysicist and his collaborators.
Oct 11, 2010 |
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Bacteria and fungi keep some ancient Australian rock art colors vivid
(PhysOrg.com) -- New studies of 80 Bradshaw rock art works in the Kimberley region of Western Australia have shown their colors have not faded because the artworks are coated with a biofilm of bacteria and ...
Jan 06, 2011 |
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Mighty mesh: Extracellular matrix identified as source of spreading in biofilms
New research at Harvard explains how bacterial biofilms expand to form slimy mats on teeth, pipes, surgical instruments, and crops.
Jan 23, 2012 |
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Streptococcus enzyme could compete with toothbrushes, dental floss
(PhysOrg.com) -- Investigators from Japan show in vitro that the bacterium Streptococcus salivarius, a non-biofilm forming, and otherwise harmless inhabitant of the human mouth, actually inhibits the formation of dental biofilms, ...
Apr 03, 2011 |
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Research team discovers new conducting properties of bacteria-produced wires
The discovery of a fundamental, previously unknown property of microbial nanowires in the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens that allows electron transport across long distances could revolutionize nanotechnology ...
Aug 07, 2011 |
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Bacteria forge nitrogen from nitric oxide: Scientists unravel key pathway in the nitrogen cycle
The anaerobic oxidation of ammonia (anammox) is an important pathway in the nitrogen cycle that was only discovered in the 1980s. Currently, scientists estimate that about 50 percent of the nitrogen in the atmosphere is forged ...
Oct 05, 2011 |
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Researchers develop new method of cleaning toxins from the oilsands
Alberta's oilsands have water challenges. Oilsands development uses a vast amount of water and even though it's recycled multiple times, the recycling concentrates the toxins and metals leftover from extracting ...
Dec 21, 2011 |
3.8 / 5 (5) |
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Bacterial attachment mimics the just-in-time industrial delivery model
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the human world of manufacturing, many companies are now applying an on-demand, just-in-time strategy to conserve resources, reduce costs and promote production of goods precisely when ...
Nov 30, 2011 |
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Endogenous proteins found in a 70-million-year-old giant marine lizard
(PhysOrg.com) -- With their discovery, the scientists Johan Lindgren, Per Uvdal, Anders Engdahl, and colleagues have demonstrated that remains of type I collagen, a structural protein, are retained in a mosasaur ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
May 02, 2011 |
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Biofilm reorganization: Back to the theoretical drawing board
In a surprising new study, researchers using image-analysis methods similar to those employed in facial-recognition software have made a startling discovery that rules out the two main theories scientists ...
Mar 22, 2011 |
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Biofilm
A biofilm is an aggregate of microorganisms in which cells are stuck to each other and/or to a surface. These adherent cells are frequently embedded within a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). Biofilm EPS, which is also refered to as "slime," is a polymeric jumble of DNA, proteins and polysaccharides. Biofilms may form on living or non-living surfaces, and represent a prevalent mode of microbial life in natural, industrial and hospital settings . The cells of a microorganism growing in a biofilm are physiologically distinct from planktonic cells of the same organism, which by contrast, are single-cells that may float or swim in a liquid medium. Microbes form a biofilm in response to many factors, which may include cellular recognition of specific or non-specific attachment sites on a surface, nutritional cues, or in some cases, by exposure of planktonic cells to sub-inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics . When a cell switches to the biofilm mode of growth, it undergoes a phenotypic shift in behavior in which large suites of genes are differentially regulated .
For more information about Biofilm, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
