https://phys.org/biology-news/microbiology/ en-us The latest science news on microbiology and cell biology. Researchers have discovered that a group of viruses known to infect an agriculturally important plant pathogen has remained genetically stable for an astonishing four decades. The discovery of a disease-fighting virus that doesn't mutate at a rapid rate points the way toward new tools for fighting crop disease—and highlights how little is known about viruses that infect bacteria in agricultural settings. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-family-tree-viruses-grew-paves.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 13 Jul 2026 14:40:03 EDT news703167019 Inside the cell nucleus, genes must be turned on and off with precision to regulate biological processes. The first models of gene regulation were developed in the 1960s, yet modern science continues to uncover new layers of control. A new study involving researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), the Institut Pasteur and Princeton University, published in PNAS, suggests that genes obey an optimal switching principle—random at any given moment, yet precise on average. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-random-flickering-genes-energy-precision.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:00:10 EDT news703149643 IMDEA Materials Institute has developed mechanically tunable hydrogel membranes that closely mimic the mechanical environment of human skin while remaining highly biocompatible, representing an improved platform for skin tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-chitosan-based-hydrogel-membranes-transparent.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 13 Jul 2026 09:00:08 EDT news703147866 Untreated synthetic dye effluents severely threaten aquatic ecosystems by blocking sunlight, depleting dissolved oxygen and releasing compounds with potential ecological toxicity. Among the various treatment strategies, biological treatment is considered a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to chemical methods. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-biotoxicity-due-anaerobic-decolorization-diazo.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 13 Jul 2026 06:20:01 EDT news703141739 Nature is beautiful, powerful and essential. But nature is not always gentle. The same biological world that gives rise to forests, coral reefs and human life also produces infections, cancer, genetic disease, crop blights and toxins. Natural processes can heal, sustain and inspire, but they can also destroy. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-synthetic-life-lab-spudcell-falls.html Cell & Microbiology Sun, 12 Jul 2026 10:00:04 EDT news702738218 Cats may be cute and adorable, but stray and feral cats can sometimes pose a risk to human health. Veterinary researchers have discovered that more than 50% of free-roaming cats in New York City carry parasites that could potentially be transmitted to humans. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-hidden-health-york-city-free.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 10 Jul 2026 10:30:01 EDT news702895994 About 1 in 3 people worldwide have been infected with a microscopic parasite called Toxoplasma gondii—or simply "toxo"—which can cause toxoplasmosis. After the initial infection, toxo settles into our muscles and brains, where it can remain for life. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-people-toxoplasmosis-dangerous-brain-parasite.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 10 Jul 2026 09:40:04 EDT news702893221 Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), together with Wismut GmbH and scientists from the University of Granada in Spain, have demonstrated for the first time that bacteria can convert uranium dissolved in water into a stable chemical compound when they have access to glycerol as a food source. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-bacteria-dissolved-uranium-stable-compound.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:20:10 EDT news702888774 A new Northwestern Medicine study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has explored the impacts of aging on essential cellular processes, findings that could shape the development of future anti-aging therapeutic strategies. Ali Shilatifard, Ph.D., the chair and Robert Francis Furchgott Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, was the senior author of the study. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-aging-rewires-rna-production-favoring.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:30:01 EDT news702822032 In a new study, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have resolved a longstanding mystery by showing how epithelial tissues exhibit slow-moving, glass-like behavior despite their fast-paced biological activity. Their study is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-unraveling-glass-nature-epithelial-tissues.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 09 Jul 2026 12:00:06 EDT news702808893 A Cornell-led study is challenging a decades-old explanation for how chromosomes exchange genetic material within the biological process that forms eggs and sperm in mammals. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-genetic-crossovers-defy-chromosome-length.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 09 Jul 2026 10:00:04 EDT news702807040 An international study by scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has identified a fundamental mechanism that regulates how the body uses stored fat to produce energy. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-key-mechanism-cells-fat-generate.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:00:06 EDT news702802188 About half a million samples are collected from over-50s in Scotland each year in a highly successful NHS program that significantly boosts early cancer detection. But only a tiny amount of the sent-in poo—mixed with fluid—is needed to test for traces of blood, and the rest is discarded. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-untapped-potential-bowel-cancer-samples.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 09 Jul 2026 08:00:08 EDT news702800701 Across North America, in places such as Illinois, Iowa and Texas, farmers are busy growing the crops the world depends on for food, fuel and fiber. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-fertilizers-hidden-soil-crucial-microbes.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 08 Jul 2026 15:20:05 EDT news702734701 The distribution of income and growing inequality are central themes in public debate. Far less attention has been paid to how resources are distributed in ecological communities, in the so-called state of nature, without any social contract. Species abundance distributions have been studied extensively in ecology, but descriptively. They largely follow a distribution similar to human wealth. Yet the fairness of that distribution has rarely been examined. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-state-nature-fair-biomass-microbial.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 08 Jul 2026 13:20:02 EDT news702724269 Much of the genome is made up of repetitive DNA sequences that trace back to ancient mobile elements, many of which have lost their ability to copy themselves into new locations but can still cause problems if they become active again at the wrong time. Now, two studies published in Molecular Cell from FMI scientists reveal how cells keep these potentially disruptive genetic elements under control. The researchers found that a protein complex called ChAHP acts as a targeted genome-defense system, preventing the transcription machinery from switching on these elements in mouse cells. The findings offer insight into how cells manage repetitive sequences while protecting genome stability. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-cells-genomic-hitchhikers.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 08 Jul 2026 12:40:10 EDT news702724046 High-speed movies of microscopic worms may sound like a dull night at the cinema, but this advanced imaging capability could help scientists better understand how diseases begin and progress, track subtle changes in cells and study how the body responds to treatments. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-invisible-visible-high-movies-scientists.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 08 Jul 2026 12:40:04 EDT news702724281 Research has shed intriguing new light on the genetics underlying the diverse plant organ shapes seen in agriculture and nature. Despite more than a century of scientific investigation into the role of inner and outer tissues, there is still much to learn about how leaves, stems, fruits and grains get their genetically determined shapes. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-uncover-story-growth.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 08 Jul 2026 11:00:09 EDT news702638397 A single gram of soil contains between 10 million and 1 billion viruses. Most of those viruses do not infect plants, animals or people, but they do target bacteria and other microbes. Because of their influence on microbial communities, viruses can affect nutrient cycling and soil health. Understanding how they behave is therefore crucial to supporting agriculture, food production and water quality. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-isotope-probing-soil-dormant-viruses.html Ecology Tue, 07 Jul 2026 17:20:07 EDT news702647687 In mammals, hair follicles emerge during embryonic development, forming geometric patterns that vary from one species to another. But how is the position of each hair determined? A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has shown that a simple mechanism based on the movement of cells in response to chemical signals can reproduce the formation of hair follicles in two mammalian species. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-simple-cell-migration-mechanism-hair.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 07 Jul 2026 12:40:06 EDT news702638986 Understanding how cells within and around a tumor interact provides key information about a cancer's architecture, a patient's immune response to the disease and even how susceptible the cancer may be to various types of treatment. But deducing these cellular "neighborhoods" using traditional techniques is time-consuming and expensive. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-inferring-multicellular-interactions-tumors-standard.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 07 Jul 2026 11:40:01 EDT news702638952 Researchers from Skoltech and other science centers in Russia have developed a reporter system—a tool for screening potential new antibiotics—that enables the selection of drug compounds disrupting RNA synthesis in gram-negative bacteria. Among others, these include multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a dangerous pathogen responsible for hospital-acquired infections that has already adapted to existing antibiotics. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-screening-tool-rna-disrupting-antibiotics.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 07 Jul 2026 10:20:01 EDT news702627605 Popular science fiction is no stranger to escape-pod scenarios, typically featuring characters who narrowly avoid their demise by jettisoning from a spaceship—think R2-D2 and C-3PO shooting away from a rebel spaceship in the opening of Star Wars: A New Hope. Biologists at the University of California San Diego have found that communities of bacteria feature a similar ejection capability. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-bacteria-ability-jettison-cells-survival.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 07 Jul 2026 05:00:14 EDT news702543214 The marine microalgae responsible for the most devastating effects of the South Australian harmful algal bloom (HAB) has now been shown to be the most toxic species of its kind ever studied. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-south-australian-algal-bloom-species.html Ecology Mon, 06 Jul 2026 16:20:05 EDT news702562917 Tuberculosis, caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is the world's deadliest single-agent infection, responsible for 1.23 million deaths in 2024, according to the World Health Organization. The bacterium's unique outer cell membrane is notoriously hard to penetrate, making few drugs, including antibiotics, effective in treating the disease. However, a research team led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst has developed a pair of techniques that can vastly speed the search for better tuberculosis drugs. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-world-deadliest-infection-pac-ai.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 06 Jul 2026 16:20:04 EDT news702571476 A major transition in evolution is the shift from asexual to sexual reproduction in early organisms. But why would a yeast cell, which usually reproduces asexually, choose to mate with a very different partner in times of stress? https://phys.org/news/2026-07-evolutionary-pressure-sexual-asymmetry-revealed.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 06 Jul 2026 10:20:01 EDT news702550580 The formation of supramolecular polymers within living cells is an emerging strategy for regulating cellular functions, and lipid droplets (LDs) are promising environments for such processes. LDs are cellular organelles composed mainly of neutral lipids, such as triacylglycerols and cholesterol esters, and are deeply involved in cellular functions. However, the self-assembly of supramolecular polymers in neutral lipid-rich environments such as LDs is not well understood. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-neutral-lipids-enable-precision-supramolecular.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 06 Jul 2026 05:00:03 EDT news702287033 As consumer interest grows in foods and beverages with added nutritional value, brewers are exploring ways to improve fermentation itself rather than relying on post-production additives. Ornithine, a naturally occurring amino acid involved in several biological processes, has attracted attention as a promising ingredient for value-added products. However, increasing ornithine production in brewing yeast is difficult because the metabolic pathway is tightly regulated, making conventional improvement strategies challenging. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-wild-yeast-discovery-enables-gm.html Cell & Microbiology Sun, 05 Jul 2026 07:40:04 EDT news702281791 Researchers from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have—in collaboration with colleagues from Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) in Munich—analyzed the complex biochemical processes that bacteria use to insert proteins into their cell membranes. They explain that—contrary to prior assumptions—there are more similarities between the processes in bacteria and higher cells than previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-proteins-inserted-cell-membranes.html Cell & Microbiology Sat, 04 Jul 2026 19:30:01 EDT news701955169 A small change in acidity can transform the world around us. A squeeze of lemon changes the taste of food. Vinegar preserves vegetables. Stomach acid helps break down a meal. These familiar effects come from protons—tiny charged particles that can reshape chemical interactions. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-bacterial-protein-reveals-hidden-calcium.html Cell & Microbiology Sat, 04 Jul 2026 11:20:01 EDT news702218376