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.
The World Institute of Kimchi has confirmed in a new study that bacteriophages, which were previously considered a "nuisance" during the process of food fermentation, actually play the role of key helpers that facilitate ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 18, 2025
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In natural environments, bacteria rarely live as free-swimming cells but are attached to surfaces as biofilms in medical devices, mobile phones or human tissue. The bacterial behavior, how they attach and grow, group together ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 18, 2025
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Aminoglycosides are antibiotics effective against a wide range of bacteria including Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Until now however, their mode of entry into bacteria has remained unknown. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 17, 2025
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Municipal wastewater contains a large range of excreted antibiotics and has therefore long been suspected to be a spawning ground for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Now, a study led by a team from the University of Gothenburg ...
Evolution
Nov 17, 2025
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Throughout evolution, pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, have developed sophisticated defense strategies to survive and multiply in the hostile environment of their hosts. These mechanisms increase ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 14, 2025
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QUT researchers have recovered the genomes of more than 24,000 previously unknown microbial species—some from entirely new branches of life that likely evolved before plants and animals. The microbes are detailed in two studies ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 13, 2025
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Researchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) have imaged a heritable form of bacterial symbiosis inside the reproductive system of tiny crustaceans known as ostracods.
Ecology
Nov 12, 2025
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From medicine to agriculture and aquaculture, bacteriophages are poised to have a huge global impact. As viruses which target only bacterial cells, they hold promise as an alternative to antibiotics, overcoming increasing ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 12, 2025
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Staph (Staphylococcus aureus) is the most common germ to afflict humans, and one of the most damaging: it causes diseases like osteomyelitis (bone infection), endocarditis (heart inflammation), and skin infections that trigger ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Nov 12, 2025
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In the future, clothes might come from vats of living microbes. Reporting in the journal Trends in Biotechnology, researchers demonstrate that bacteria can both create fabric and dye it in every color of the rainbow—all in ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 12, 2025
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