https://phys.org/biology-news/microbiology/ en-us The latest science news on microbiology and cell biology. It can't be heard, but different parts of the human body are in constant conversation, communicating to keep the entire system running efficiently. For biologists, being able to listen in on this discussion is a long-sought-after goal. Over the years, researchers have caught snippets of these exchanges, but the complete dialogue has remained out of reach. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-wholistic-view-cellular-communication-entire.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 09 Sep 2026 11:00:15 EDT news708168661 New research from Indiana University has uncovered a previously unknown vulnerability in how bacteria build the whip-like tails they use to move. The researchers found that building these tails can put stress on the protective wall surrounding a bacterial cell and uncovered systems bacteria use to keep that stress from becoming destructive. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-biologists-hidden-weak-bacteria-tails.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:20:07 EDT news708162241 A new study has demonstrated that regional microbial imprints can remain detectable under commercial winemaking conditions. The research, appearing in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, shows that inoculated fermentations do not "override" native microbial diversity and that vineyard management and environmental conditions affect wine quality. The study helps explain why wines from different regions taste distinct even when made with similar techniques and supports regional flavors and branding. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-local-microbes-persist-wine-commercial.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:00:06 EDT news708078721 Every cell relies on ribosomes, the molecular machines that read genetic instructions and use them to assemble proteins. A cell needs thousands of types of proteins at any one time, so ribosomes must be generalists, capable of using instructions to produce any protein. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-rewire-ribosomes-specialize-protein.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 08 Sep 2026 19:40:01 EDT news708105962 From repairing damaged tissues to developing better implants, many medical developments depend on materials that can mimic the complex properties of human tissue. Meta-biomaterials are among the most promising candidates. By tailoring their geometry, researchers can create materials with properties similar to those of natural tissues. But there is a catch: Changing one property often changes several others at the same time. TU Delft scientists have now developed a method to decouple these properties. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-untangling-meta-biomaterial-puzzle-property.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 08 Sep 2026 19:00:07 EDT news708103801 Plants are home to a diverse array of microorganisms that support their growth and help them adapt to environmental stress—of which there has been an abundance lately. High temperatures and drought caused by human-induced climate change have led to reduced crop yields and the use of biofertilizers such as rhizosphere microorganisms, which help plants absorb nutrients and increase their resistance to disease and stress. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-optimizing-tomato-growth-microbes.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 08 Sep 2026 17:40:01 EDT news708087932 A team of scientists from the Faculty of Science at Charles University has achieved a major breakthrough in research into schistosomiasis, a serious tropical disease affecting more than 250 million people worldwide. Using advanced laser microdissection, the researchers have, for the first time, captured and analyzed proteins secreted by the eggs of the human blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni directly within infected tissues of a living organism, rather than under artificial laboratory conditions. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-eggs-uncovering-tropical-parasite-secret.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 08 Sep 2026 16:40:07 EDT news708094561 Extreme heat waves disrupt life in soil. Soil bacteria that produce and resist antibiotics switch into survival mode, temporarily reducing the number of resistance genes. At the same time, heat and drought are causing significant damage to soils and ecosystems, especially in cold, wet regions such as the Netherlands. This is evident from a large-scale European study by soil ecologist Franciska de Vries (University of Amsterdam) and colleagues. The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-inhibit-antibiotic-resistance-soils-price.html Ecology Tue, 08 Sep 2026 13:00:08 EDT news708081661 Bacteria can survive antibiotics in several ways, including by pumping the drugs out of their cells before they can take effect. Researchers at the University of Osaka have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that allows the bacterium responsible for many cases of pneumonia and meningitis to export the antibiotic fosfomycin. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-antibiotics-route-bacterial-drug-resistance.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 08 Sep 2026 11:40:04 EDT news708080161 A new fluorescence microscopy technique that generates super-resolution images from a single camera exposure could help researchers study rapid movements within cells that are difficult to capture with existing methods. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-super-resolution-imaging-reveals-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:40:08 EDT news708075481 The human genome is about two meters (6.6 feet) long, yet it is folded inside a cell nucleus only about 10 micrometers in diameter. To fit into this tiny space, DNA is wrapped around histone proteins to form nucleosomes, which are further organized into chromatin. For decades, chromatin has often been described in two simple forms: euchromatin, which is active, open and accessible, and heterochromatin, which is more compact and repressed. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-super-resolution-imaging-reveals-cohesin.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 08 Sep 2026 05:00:09 EDT news708012662 A squishy worm that starts its life as something of a floating head in the Pacific Ocean is changing what scientists know about metamorphosis at the cellular level. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-worm-radical-metamorphosis-functions-cells.html Plants & Animals Tue, 08 Sep 2026 05:00:04 EDT news707993581 As an embryo develops from a small cluster of stem cells, those once "blank slate" cells begin to take on more specialized roles like brain, liver or muscle cells and organize themselves into three-dimensional structures such as tissues and organs. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-decodes-cell-fingerprints-diverse.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 08 Sep 2026 05:00:03 EDT news707993406 Nearly a century ago, a single colony of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) helped launch the antibiotic age. In 1928, Alexander Fleming returned to his London lab to find that a stray mold had wiped out the Staphylococcus growing on one of his plates. The accident gave the world penicillin, ushering in the age of biomedicine and ensuring that an infected cut or scrape would not be fatal. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-antibiotic-playbook-eskape-artist.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 07 Sep 2026 21:40:01 EDT news707988868 The immune system is a highly sophisticated defense network designed to protect against pathogens. A research team from the Universities of Würzburg and Jena and the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Leibniz-HKI) has shown that certain components of the immune system can actually help the yeast Candida albicans evade immune attack. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-neutrophil-vesicles-candida-albicans-evade.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 07 Sep 2026 14:20:08 EDT news707998895 A routine blood sample contains a diverse collection of immune cells that can reveal important clues about health and disease. These cells, known as peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), are widely used to study infections, autoimmune disorders, cancer and the immune system's response to treatment. Scientists typically identify these cells using fluorescent labels that attach to specific surface markers. While effective, those methods provide limited information about how the cells are functioning and can alter the cells during preparation. As reported in Biophotonics Discovery, a recent study shows how advanced optical imaging can reveal a previously inaccessible layer of information: the metabolic activity of individual immune cells within a complex blood sample. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-advanced-optical-imaging-reveals-hidden.html Cell & Microbiology Sun, 06 Sep 2026 17:30:01 EDT news707627336 In recent years, scientists have developed methods to measure a cell's transcriptome, or all the RNA produced by a cell, to study the cell's identity and genetic activity. However, these methods rely on killing the cell to access the bits of RNA within and offer only a one-time snapshot. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-virus-particles-enable-gene-tracking.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 04 Sep 2026 15:00:02 EDT news707739962 Autophagy is an intracellular degradation mechanism in eukaryotes. The autophagosome, which encloses damaged or excess cellular material for degradation, is constructed from lipids supplied by the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) via the lipid transfer protein Atg2. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-underlying-mechanism-atg2-lipid-autophagy.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 04 Sep 2026 14:40:01 EDT news707745962 Symbiotic ammonia-oxidizing archaea in marine sponges are not strict specialists but true "flexitarians." A team led by microbiologists Bettina Glasl and Katharina Kitzinger from the University of Vienna, in collaboration with partners from Australia, has shown that, unlike their free-living relatives studied thus far, these microbes dine not only on ammonia but also on amino acids such as valine, leucine and isoleucine—and presumably do so to communicate with their animal host. The findings, published in the journal Science Advances , shed new light on one of the oldest animal-microbe symbiotic relationships on Earth and point to a previously underestimated role played by archaea. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-archaea-flexitarians-ammonia-oxidizing-microbes.html Ecology Fri, 04 Sep 2026 14:00:01 EDT news707587201 Fungi are major degraders of plant biomass, including leaves, stems and roots. Investigating the molecular mechanisms that control this process is essential for identifying ways to degrade and use lignocellulose, a recalcitrant waste-product residue from biofeedstocks and agricultural residues, and accelerate the development of biotechnology. It is also essential for deepening understanding of the ecological role of fungi in the global carbon cycle. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-divergent-molecular-mechanisms-fungal-biomass.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 04 Sep 2026 10:40:02 EDT news707724421 For most mammals, cold suppresses neural activity and diminishes the sense of touch. But the thirteen-lined ground squirrel can detect touch in conditions as low as 4°C (39°F), about as cold as the inside of a refrigerator, finds a new Yale study published in Current Biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-hibernating-squirrels-retain-cold.html Plants & Animals Fri, 04 Sep 2026 08:40:01 EDT news707729581 Gram-negative bacteria are responsible for several infections that are hard to treat because of their high resistance to antibiotics. These bacteria possess an outermost layer called the outer membrane that acts as a protective barrier. Serving as the cell's interface with the outside world, the outer membrane contains specialized proteins that perform multiple functions, such as nutrient transport and environmental sensing. The localization of these outer membrane proteins is achieved through the combined action of several key players, including the SurA chaperone and the β-barrel assembly machinery (BAM) complex. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-molecular-snapshots-reveal-bacteria-outer.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 04 Sep 2026 05:00:03 EDT news707653216 Researchers have demonstrated a series of biological tests that could serve as "proxies" for measuring how different regenerative agriculture practices could improve soil carbon—years before it would be possible to measure the carbon directly. The technique offers new insights into how effective various regenerative practices are at improving soil health. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-microbes-dead-alive-early-indicators.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 03 Sep 2026 17:50:01 EDT news707672281 Every movement we make, from blinking to sprinting, depends on the ability of muscle fibers to contract in a rapid and coordinated way. Achieving this precision requires an intricate internal membrane network known as the transverse tubule, or T-tubule, system. These narrow membrane invaginations carry electrical signals from the cell surface deep into the muscle fiber, where they trigger the release of calcium needed for contraction. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-molecular-muscle-architecture.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 03 Sep 2026 17:00:01 EDT news707665993 When inner and outer cell layers of sepals—the leaf-like plant organs that cover and protect the flower bud before it opens—all grow upward, the organs stay smooth and uniformly stiff, which is optimal for the plant, according to a new study. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-wrinkled-smooth-cell-growth-mechanics.html Plants & Animals Thu, 03 Sep 2026 15:00:03 EDT news707654581 Scientists have revealed a bizarre microscopic creature that reproduces in a way reminiscent of the horror film" Alien." The microbe grows one or more new cells inside its own body before the outer "mother" cell ruptures to release them, a reproductive strategy never before seen in its group of organisms. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-scottish-pregnant-grandmother-microbe-offspring.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 03 Sep 2026 14:40:01 EDT news707654402 Cells synthesize proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and these proteins are transported to the Golgi apparatus for distribution to their ultimate destinations inside and outside the cell. The structures that transport proteins from the ER to the Golgi apparatus are called COPII vesicles; the processes that regulate the formation of COPII vesicles are only partially understood. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-stressed-cells-protein-shipping.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:07:27 EDT news707656021 There are millions of species of bacteria and archaea on Earth, remarkably little is known about most of them. Now, researchers have mined the genomes of thousands of microorganisms preserved at the RIKEN BioResource Research Center (BRC) to find organisms that may be capable of capturing CO2. BRC, located in Tsukuba—one of Japan's largest centers of scientific research—is a unique, world-class research facility. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-microbial-dark-yields-potential-carbon.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 03 Sep 2026 11:40:09 EDT news707649132 Climate change continues to threaten the world's coral reefs, which support at least a quarter of all marine life. Though probiotics have been shown to rehabilitate corals in aquarium experiments, demonstrating the efficacy of such microbial therapy in the ocean is difficult. In a study published in the journal Cell Reports on Sept. 3, researchers establish that both live probiotic and inactivated postbiotic treatments improve coral health—while the animals are under thermal stress during a natural marine heat wave. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-probiotic-postbiotic-treatments-revive-stressed.html Ecology Thu, 03 Sep 2026 11:00:08 EDT news707490570 When researchers at HHMI's Janelia Research Campus set out to create a map of all the neurons in the fruit fly brain in 2008, many in the scientific community thought they were out of their minds. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-connectome-pursuing-fly-brain-rewired.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 03 Sep 2026 11:00:01 EDT news707563056