https://phys.org/biology-news/microbiology/ en-us The latest science news on microbiology and cell biology. If you ask Vijay Parashar, associate professor of medical and molecular sciences (MMSC) at the University of Delaware College of Health Sciences, human bodies are bags of bacteria. "It sounds gross, but not all bacteria are bad; most of them are good. The trouble starts when the bad bacteria learn how to outsmart antibiotics." https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bacterial-enzyme-weaken-antibiotic-defenses.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 06 Aug 2026 19:20:01 EDT news705254041 Heme, a bioactive form of iron, has numerous essential functions in the cell. As a key component of hemoglobin, it enables oxygen transport in the blood. In addition, it performs important functions in other proteins in processes ranging from energy conversion to signal transduction. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-mitochondria-sensors-essential-iron-molecule.html Evolution Thu, 06 Aug 2026 16:20:01 EDT news705247981 Fluorescent dyes have long been used in biological research to identify and visualize structures within living cells. Although effective, they have several drawbacks, including altering the cells under study, limiting the number of structures that can be examined at once and reducing measurement accuracy. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ai-ramanomics-major-obstacle-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 06 Aug 2026 15:40:01 EDT news705240841 Investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have developed a platform for systematically discovering molecular glues that could become protein degradation drug candidates. The platform could help drug developers dramatically expand the range of disease-related proteins that can be therapeutically targeted for elimination via protein degradation. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-metabolically-molecular-degrader-cancer-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:20:04 EDT news705237301 Cells are enclosed by a cell membrane, a sophisticated structure mainly made of lipids that is vital for fundamental biological processes. Artificial lipid membranes have many practical applications, such as drug delivery, but engineering their properties is a huge challenge. Now, a team in Japan has found a new way to control membrane structure. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-interlocking-molecular-propellers-stable-islands.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:20:07 EDT news705230522 A protein known as interleukin 10 (IL-10) is the lynchpin of a new method to protect transplanted cells from host immune system attacks. Rice University researchers engineered a living factory to produce a localized biochemical halo of IL-10 to suppress immune rejection of pancreatic beta cells. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bioengineers-biochemical-halo-cloak-insulin.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:31:17 EDT news705231049 A group of Cornell College students and their professor found surprising results in research on antimicrobial peptides, which are being studied as a method of combating antibiotic resistance. These peptides, part of the innate immune system, could be used to kill bacteria on their own or to create channels for other antibacterial drugs to enter bacteria. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-unexpected-coli-response-complicate-peptide.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 05 Aug 2026 17:20:02 EDT news705164161 U.K. and U.S. scientists have uncovered an important piece of the puzzle in the signaling pathway that causes damaging scar tissue to build up in the body, raising hopes for future treatments. A team from the University of Manchester and University of Connecticut have revealed how a little-known protein helps keep one of the body's most powerful biological signals under tight control. Their findings, published in Nature Communications, could eventually help researchers develop new ways to tackle conditions linked to fibrosis, a process in which excessive scar tissue forms in organs and prevents them from working properly. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-protein-body-restrain-scar.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 05 Aug 2026 17:00:05 EDT news705158941 Using simple artificial cells, a research group led by Makito Miyazaki of the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (IMS) in Japan has uncovered fundamental physical principles that govern how living cells change their shape. By combining experiments with computer simulations and theoretical analysis conducted in collaboration with Purdue University, the researchers showed how a cell's actin cytoskeleton—the network of protein fibers that gives it its shape—can generate cell-scale shape changes and front-rear polarity without relying on complex biochemical signaling. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-artificial-cells-reveal.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:40:07 EDT news705154695 How and where did the first forms of life arise? These are the main questions driving research at the Institute of Molecular Evolution at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU). In a new publication in Science Advances, an international team led by Düsseldorf biologists uncovers pioneering insights into the network of chemical reactions that the very first cells used to make the building blocks of life and the energy sources they used to drive those reactions. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-life-free-cells-emerged-bacteria.html Evolution Wed, 05 Aug 2026 14:00:13 EDT news705143582 Inspired by naturally occurring mats and balls of seaweed, researchers have created highly porous, superadhesive meshes capable of capturing both large and small microplastic particles—a longstanding challenge in the field. The mesh can clean microplastics from both saltwater and freshwater and is made from sustainable, widely available biopolymers. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-tangled-seaweed-size-cleaners-ocean.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 05 Aug 2026 14:00:11 EDT news705069181 Cells can switch off genes by tightly packaging DNA around proteins called histones. However, scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered that under certain conditions, this packaging acts more like molasses than a solid, allowing a specially designed chemical adapter to shuttle gene-activating proteins through the packaging to the silenced gene inside. In addition, the researchers showed that this process reactivates the gene frataxin, which is abnormally silenced in the neurodegenerative disease Friedreich's ataxia. The study, published today in Nature Cell Biology, challenges a longstanding assumption that histone chemical modifications operate in a simple "on" or "off" binary manner. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-silenced-friedreich-ataxia-gene-unconventional.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 05 Aug 2026 12:20:09 EDT news705148141 From routine surgeries to cancer treatment, modern medicine depends on drugs that can fight infections caused by microbes such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. But some microbes are becoming resistant to the drugs used to treat them, which has wide-reaching consequences for global public health. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-backpack-lab-wastewater-contamination-drug.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 05 Aug 2026 10:40:01 EDT news705142621 Soilless farming—a method of growing plants in a nutrient-rich solution rather than traditional soil—accounts for a significant share of vegetable production, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), with more than half of tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce grown using hydroponics. This fast-growing segment of modern agriculture addresses water scarcity, land limitations and food security, but microbial management remains a challenge, according to a team of researchers at Penn State. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-soilless-farming-microbial-growth-impact.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 05 Aug 2026 10:00:09 EDT news705140102 University of Queensland research has shown microbes could give Australian-grown chocolate an edge in the global market. Working with growers in Far North Queensland, scientists found the cocoa fermentation process may have a bigger influence on the flavor of chocolate than the cocoa tree itself. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-unique-environment-australian-chocolate.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 04 Aug 2026 18:30:06 EDT news705083101 Some mosquitoes really are picky eaters. They will not just stick their proboscis into any old human. We know this anecdotally, with some people claiming they are always bitten while others are completely ignored, though we don't really know why. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-people-mosquito-magnets-unbitten.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 04 Aug 2026 15:20:03 EDT news705055569 Our DNA is often pictured as a simple spiral, like a piece of rope held taut. But inside cells, it folds into a complex three-dimensional structure, with 2 meters (6.6 feet) of DNA scrunched like a headphone wire in a pocket. This bundled architecture plays a crucial role in how genes are switched on and off. Understanding these interactions is key to interpreting genetic studies of disease and can help develop targeted treatments. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-3d-dna-rare-immune-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 04 Aug 2026 15:00:08 EDT news705066301 A diamond-based quantum sensor inserted into a living cell can provide previously unseen levels of detail about how life works and how diseases form. "Think of it as an EKG for a single cell—a way to capture everything happening inside at once, in real time," said University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering professor Aaron Esser-Kahn. "We routinely monitor vital signs in people—heart rate, breathing, temperature—but until now, there simply hasn't been an equivalent way to take a cell's vitals." https://phys.org/news/2026-08-method-sharpen-diamond-quantum-sensors.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 04 Aug 2026 14:20:01 EDT news705065822 How readily a cell divides and how well it survives are fundamental to life, shaping everything from organ size to the body's ability to withstand disease. That combination, known as cell fitness, isn't the same for everyone. Differences in genetics and environment can tip the scales toward developmental disorders, tissue degeneration and cancer. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-scientists-cell-villages-genetics-brain.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 04 Aug 2026 11:40:06 EDT news705061082 A microscopic predator may offer a new way to protect some of the Caribbean's most endangered corals. Georgia Tech researchers found that tiny predatory bacteria can halt the spread of a destructive coral disease by hunting and consuming pathogens responsible for the infection. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-tiny-predatory-bacteria-endangered-caribbean.html Ecology Mon, 03 Aug 2026 14:20:01 EDT news704980562 New research reveals that cells of the same chronological age can follow dramatically different biological aging paths, offering new insights into cancer, neurodegeneration and the fundamental biology of aging. Rather than aging uniformly, tissues become a mosaic of biologically younger and older cells, with some individual cells aging much faster than others—a discovery that could reshape how scientists understand aging and the earliest origins of age-related disease. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-cells-age-sharply-biological-aging.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 03 Aug 2026 13:00:01 EDT news704978821 University of Wollongong (UOW) scientists have uncovered, for the first time, exactly how two of the cell's "helper" proteins operate as a rescue crew for misfolded proteins, a discovery that sheds new light on the molecular breakdown that underpins neurodegenerative diseases. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-scientists-molecule-cell-helpers-problem.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 03 Aug 2026 10:20:03 EDT news704970302 As global temperatures continue to rise, scientists are racing to understand why heat so profoundly threatens fertility across the animal kingdom. A new study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and collaborators has uncovered a surprising answer: The brain itself may help decide whether reproductive cells can withstand environmental stress. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-brain-fertility.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 03 Aug 2026 09:44:28 EDT news704969037 The signals that cells use to switch genes on have remained almost unchanged across 2 billion years of evolution, but the ones used to switch genes off vary dramatically from one branch of life to another, according to a new study from the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-life-universal-language-genes-silence.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 03 Aug 2026 05:00:01 EDT news704706301 Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is defined as the ability of disease-causing microorganisms to withstand treatments like antibiotics. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-antibiotic-resistance-south-africa.html Cell & Microbiology Sun, 02 Aug 2026 14:00:03 EDT news704550720 Malaria parasites proliferate in an unusual way. Rather than dividing into two daughter cells like human cells, they first amplify their genetic material tenfold, hundredfold or even thousandfold before simultaneously producing a corresponding number of daughter parasites. Until now, the mechanisms controlling these processes were only partly understood. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-molecular-tethers-asynchronous-replication-parasite.html Cell & Microbiology Sat, 01 Aug 2026 17:00:01 EDT news704719008 Xenophagocytosis is a natural immune process that limits interspecies organ generation by eliminating living donor cells, researchers at the Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan, report. By uncovering how embryonic macrophages eliminate living donor cells, the researchers developed strategies to block this response. Using this strategy, they significantly improved donor cell survival and the generation of rat pancreas in mice, bringing us one step closer to producing transplantable human organs in animals. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-immune-blocking-strategy-interspecies-generation.html Cell & Microbiology Sat, 01 Aug 2026 08:40:01 EDT news704718992 Every time a cell divides, it must accurately copy and distribute its DNA between two new cells. However, in some cases, chromosomes do not fully separate, leaving behind thin strands of DNA known as DNA bridges that connect the two newly formed cells. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-newly-mechanism-dna-cell-division.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 31 Jul 2026 16:40:03 EDT news704723282 Researchers at the University of Tartu have discovered a mechanism in bacteria that helps them adapt to fluoride, which is toxic to most organisms above relatively low threshold concentrations. Their discovery may represent a significant milestone in bioindustry, as it could help reduce the use of petrochemical products. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-backup-fluoride-defense-soil-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 31 Jul 2026 15:20:03 EDT news704720281 Researchers at Reichman University have developed a biological method for protecting marine infrastructure from corrosion caused by prolonged exposure to seawater. The study, published in Cell Reports Physical Science, presents an environmentally friendly alternative to the chemical corrosion inhibitors currently used to protect metals—materials that can be both polluting and costly. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-bacteria-mineral-shield-marine-infrastructure.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 30 Jul 2026 19:20:04 EDT news704644861