Bacteria are a major domain of prokaryotic microorganisms characterized by the absence of a membrane-bound nucleus, typically possessing a single circular chromosome, 70S ribosomes, and peptidoglycan-containing cell walls. They exhibit diverse morphologies (e.g., cocci, bacilli, spirilla) and metabolic strategies, including aerobic, anaerobic, phototrophic, chemolithotrophic, and heterotrophic lifestyles. Bacteria reproduce primarily by binary fission and undergo extensive horizontal gene transfer via transformation, transduction, and conjugation, driving rapid adaptation. They occupy virtually all ecological niches, form complex communities such as biofilms, and play central roles in biogeochemical cycles, host-associated microbiomes, biotechnology, and pathogenesis research.
Scientists at IOCB Prague are uncovering new details of gene transcription. They have identified a previously unknown molecular mechanism by which the transcription of genetic information from deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 29, 2026
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76
Thyme, rosemary, and lavender have long been associated with natural medicine. Today, however, these aromatic plants are increasingly being studied by researchers. "In an era of ever-increasing microbial resistance to antibiotics, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 28, 2026
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106
Last year, a ten-month-old baby in the US was the first person in the world to have their rare genetic disease effectively cured through the use of CRISPR gene editing technology. But the rollout of CRISPR across a wide range ...
Biotechnology
Jan 26, 2026
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52
The problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has many health experts worried. As disease-causing bacteria adapt to some of our ways to reduce them, especially with antibiotics, it presents an arms race which we appear to ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 26, 2026
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14
Researchers have discovered how bacteria break through spaces barely larger than themselves, by wrapping their flagella around their bodies and moving forward. Using a microfluidic device that mimics insect gut channels, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 25, 2026
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288
Whether in the human body or on surfaces, bacteria protect themselves from outside attackers using biofilms. Physicist Eleonora Secchi is researching how these slime-like protective films are formed, with the aim of making ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 22, 2026
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213
Researchers at the Waltham Petcare Science Institute in the UK recently revealed a complete taxonomic and functional catalog of the canine gut microbiome after analyzing samples from 107 healthy dogs across the U.S. and Europe. ...
Light is a universal stimulus that influences all living things. Cycles of light and dark help set the biological clocks for organisms ranging from single-celled bacteria to human beings. Some bacteria use photosynthesis ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 20, 2026
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1285
Bacteriophages have been used therapeutically to treat infectious bacterial diseases for over a century. As antibiotic-resistant infections increasingly threaten public health, interest in bacteriophages as therapeutics has ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 19, 2026
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495
A bacterial cell settles onto a nondescript surface. It is plump, healthy and functioning as it should. Nothing appears amiss.
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 19, 2026
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