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.
Antimicrobial resistance is one of the greatest challenges facing modern medicine. A new class of programmable antibiotics known as asobiotics can be used to treat bacterial infections when classical antibiotics fail. A team ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 27, 2026
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University of Oregon biologists have resurrected prehistoric proteins up to 160 million years old that carry natural antimicrobial properties. The revived molecules could inspire the design of new treatments for antibiotic-resistant ...
Biotechnology
Aug 25, 2026
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In the journal npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, researchers from the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) and the University of São Paulo (USP) describe the role of three bacteria in suppressing a soil-borne ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 24, 2026
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What helps plants cope better with drought? With heat waves and periods of extreme drought becoming increasingly common worldwide, the need for drought-tolerant plants is increasingly urgent. With the help of bacteria, plants ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 24, 2026
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10
Antarctica is one of the driest, coldest places on Earth. Very little life survives its extremes. In the soils scattered around the frozen ice sheets, however, communities of microbes do survive. And one of the keys to their ...
Ecology
Aug 24, 2026
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The use of antibiotics has traditionally been considered the gold standard in bacterial infection control—the more bacterial cells you kill, and the faster you kill them, the better. University of Tennessee, Knoxville Professor ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 20, 2026
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Researchers from Monash University, in collaboration with the University of Warwick, have discovered how the bacterial antibiotic "gladiolin" can disarm Candida albicans, one of the leading causes of life-threatening fungal ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 19, 2026
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As antimicrobial resistance grows around the world, novel therapies to counter it become increasingly important. Phages—viruses that infect bacteria—are an exciting avenue of research in this regard, providing a means to ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 19, 2026
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All living cells need energy, and most generate it through respiration, a series of chemical reactions normally confined to the cell membrane. Because this machinery takes up space, a cell's energy-generating capacity has ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 18, 2026
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38
The complete genome of the tuberculosis bacterium was sequenced and published in 1998. Since then, scientists have deciphered about two-thirds of TB's genes. Or have they?
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 17, 2026
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