Microbiota, in the context of biological processes, refers to the dynamic, collectively functioning community of microorganisms that engage in continuous interactions with each other and with their host or environment. These processes include colonization, succession, metabolic activity (such as fermentation, vitamin synthesis, and xenobiotic transformation), signaling, competition, and cooperative interactions that shape local ecological niches. Through these activities, microbiota modulate host physiological processes including barrier function, immune maturation, and energy harvest, and participate in biogeochemical cycles. The term emphasizes the ongoing, emergent biological processes arising from microbial community composition, gene expression, and environmental feedbacks.
Hopefully, we're about to travel back to the moon relatively soon. And while the original "giant leap for mankind" was taken by a human, Neil Armstrong brought a plethora of other forms of life along with him. Humans themselves ...
Astrobiology
40 minutes ago
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In biology, cytokinins were long considered regulators exclusive to the plant kingdom, where they control, among other things, growth and responses to stress. Until now, little research has been conducted into whether these ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 19, 2026
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New research suggests the microbiome near the surface of a plant's roots, known as the rhizosphere microbiome, may play a role in helping crops respond to heat stress.
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 19, 2026
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Probiotic supplements found in drugstores nationwide contain an assortment of microbes sold for specific health purposes despite limited understanding of the microbes' connections to their marketed use, new University of ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 18, 2026
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179
Researchers from the University of Helsinki, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Tamkang University and National Taiwan University investigated how the Green View Index (GVI) relates to the richness and diversity of bacteria ...
Environment
Jun 17, 2026
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Plenty of studies have linked exposure to nature to a wide variety of health benefits, from improved cognitive function to lower blood pressure to better mental health. Other research has found connections between the human ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 6, 2026
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A new study led by Professor Mark Trimmer of Queen Mary University of London, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, explains how increases in natural methane emissions will be maximized under future climate warming.
Earth Sciences
Jun 5, 2026
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The presence of the marine bacterium Vibrio vulnificus, which is potentially dangerous to humans, can now be predicted up to five weeks in advance in the Baltic Sea using artificial intelligence (AI). A research team led ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 28, 2026
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A new study shows crop species, and not soil type, primarily determines the beneficial functions provided by root-associated microbes. In the study, soil obtained from across nine UK locations was used to cultivate six key ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 28, 2026
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Curtin University researchers have discovered some agricultural soils can naturally suppress one of Australia's most damaging broadacre crop diseases. The research, published in the journal Applied Soil Ecology, found some ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 28, 2026
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