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.
In their landmark 1961 paper on the lac operon, Nobel laureates François Jacob and Jacques Monod speculated that RNA might control gene activity in bacteria through base-pairing interactions. But once protein transcription ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 28, 2026
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245
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," goes the old adage, which Rice University professor James Chappell completely ignored in a recent Nature Communications publication. In the study, Chappell describes an innovation in plasmids, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 26, 2026
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68
PathogenFinder2 is a new AI tool developed by researchers at DTU in Denmark, in collaboration with international partners, to determine whether an unfamiliar bacterium possesses genetic characteristics associated with the ...
Biotechnology
Mar 26, 2026
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12
Antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella poses severe challenges to global food safety and public health. Researchers from China have now identified a novel bacteriophage that offers a highly promising "green" biocontrol solution ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 26, 2026
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7
The first large-scale genetic study of E. coli's protective armor has identified the five capsule types that are responsible for 70% of all multidrug-resistant bloodstream infections in Europe. Researchers, including those ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 25, 2026
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11
Almost all living things have an internal 24-hour clock that remains accurate regardless of temperature or other environmental changes. This clock is a highly sophisticated yet simple timekeeping mechanism that is critically ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 24, 2026
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14
The blobfish, once considered the ugliest animal in the world, has since had quite the redemption arc. Years after it was first discovered, scientists realized that the deep-sea creature appeared so unnervingly blobby only ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 23, 2026
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8
Materials inspired by nature, or biomimetic materials, are nothing new. Scientists have designed water-resistant materials inspired by lotus leaves and rose petals, unsinkable metals based on the air-trapping, buoyant abilities ...
Scientists have found a new type of iron-storing protein in a mixture of microbes containing methane-degraders. This discovery underscores the importance of characterizing proteins from microbes that cannot be isolated, thereby ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 23, 2026
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7
A lactic acid bacterium isolated from kimchi may help promote the removal of nanoplastics from the body by binding to them in the intestine. Nanoplastics are ultrafine plastic particles measuring less than 1 micrometer that ...
Bio & Medicine
Mar 21, 2026
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