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.
A publication led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, shows that microscopic partnerships between ciliates and bacteria play a role in the nitrogen cycle of lakes. The ...
Ecology
Jun 17, 2026
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Genes aren't just transferred from parents to their offspring. Nature has found other ways to pass on genetic information, even between different species. And a new study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National ...
A research team at the University of Greifswald's Research Training Group RTG-PRO "Proteases in pathogen and host: importance in infection and inflammation" has discovered a new mechanism by which bacterial pathogens adjust ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 17, 2026
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Previous research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that a dangerous variety of bacteria that cause drug-resistant infections, called NDM-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (NDM-CRE), ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 13, 2026
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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is considered one of the most urgent global public health threats, with experts predicting that AMR could cause 39 million deaths between 2025 and 2050. AMR is not a single problem, but instead ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 13, 2026
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Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that infect bacteria and are not considered human pathogens. Yet researchers at the Translational Microbiology Laboratory of the Institute of Biochemistry, HUN-REN Biological Research ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 12, 2026
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63
A recent study by Ruibao Li and Jennah Dharamshi published in Nature may help us understand the beginnings of animal evolution billions of years ago. These findings are the result of a collaboration among researchers at Indiana ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 11, 2026
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While scientists have studied how bacteria move toward food using a chemical radar known as chemotaxis, they have only watched single species swim in isolated environments over distances of only a few centimeters.
Ecology
Jun 10, 2026
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All cells in animals, plants, fungi, and protists share a fundamental characteristic: they are eukaryotic cells—complex cells with specialized internal compartments. The cells that make up our bodies are no exception.
Evolution
Jun 10, 2026
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The time-development of species communities cannot be understood solely through ecological interactions or environmental factors, as evolution can also alter community dynamics. This observation helps to understand, among ...
Evolution
Jun 9, 2026
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