https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. 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. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-bacteria-hitchhike-large-distances.html Ecology Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:00:05 EDT news700313941 Antibiotics continue to drive resistance in bacteria, even after they are broken down in wastewater treatment plants and discharged into rivers and seas, new research published on World Oceans Day has shown for the first time. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-antibiotics-resistance-waterways.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 08 Jun 2026 05:00:02 EDT news699883739 Living in the Dead Sea would be a very unpleasant experience for most creatures. With salt concentration above 30% and temperatures ranging from 10–50°C, it takes unique environmental adaptations to survive in such harsh conditions. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-dead-sea-archaea-sport-tail.html Evolution Wed, 03 Jun 2026 10:40:01 EDT news699696781 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 by the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW) has reached this conclusion by combining high-resolution environmental, satellite, and microbiome data in an AI-based analysis. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ai-drones-early-vibrio-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 28 May 2026 19:00:01 EDT news699207122 Scientists from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have uncovered what gives Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes cholera, the ability to colonize the human gut. The researchers found that a small RNA embedded within another gene controls where cholera thrives, a discovery that could improve prediction and prevention strategies. The study is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-hidden-small-rna-cholera-bacterium.html Molecular & Computational biology Sat, 16 May 2026 17:00:01 EDT news697991271 The Na+-NQR enzyme is vital for energy production in pathogenic bacteria like the one that causes cholera, making it a highly promising target for new antibiotics. Researchers combined modified artificial intelligence techniques with extensive supercomputer simulations to visualize the hidden, dynamic movements of this enzyme during sodium transport. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-bacterial-energy-enzyme-reveals-dual.html Biotechnology Fri, 15 May 2026 12:00:03 EDT news698064602 In physics, the spontaneous de-mixing of two substances is known as phase separation. It is an important mechanism in nature to create structure and patterns and typically requires some form of attraction between the constituents. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) in Göttingen, together with collaborators at the University of Edinburgh and the Institute of Physical Chemistry in Warsaw, have now discovered a new route to phase separation available in systems where the constituents are inherently alive or active. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-hidden-growth-cell-colonies-phase.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 13 May 2026 16:12:22 EDT news697907521 All lifeforms need to continuously adapt to temperature changes to survive. Now, Weill Cornell Medicine investigators studying a bacterial protein have identified a new mechanism of sensing cold temperatures. The finding points to the possibility that this same type of mechanism exists in other organisms, including humans, and may have relevance for disorders involving faulty temperature regulation. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-cold-triggered-ion-channel-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 06 May 2026 18:30:05 EDT news697305661 Scientists have mapped in unprecedented detail the structure of Vibrio bacteria, which can cause life-threatening infections linked to antibiotic resistance. The King's College London team behind the study, published in Nature Communications, say the finding could provide new targets for life-saving treatment. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-lifethreatening-bacterium-hidden-motor-gave.html Cell & Microbiology Sat, 25 Apr 2026 12:00:04 EDT news696170503 At the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), Jérémie Palacci's research group is venturing into metallurgy—albeit with a twist. Instead of traditional tools, the scientists use E. coli bacteria, often associated with infection linked to contaminated food. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-microbial-hockey-scientists-bacteria-rotate.html Cell & Microbiology Sat, 11 Apr 2026 10:00:03 EDT news694774202 Take a typical fish out of the water and it won't live long. It gets the oxygen it needs from the water it swims in. In a similar way, scientists are exploring dependency as a method of controlling what microbes can do and where they can do it. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-coli-microbes-areas.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 02 Apr 2026 18:20:05 EDT news694361101 Some single-celled organisms are known to transition to multicellularity during their lifetimes, usually either by cloning themselves or when many similar cells come together to form a larger multicellular organism. A new study published in Nature suggests that a combination of the two routes may be more common than previously thought—even in organisms distantly related to animals. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-celled-multicellular-pathways.html Evolution Thu, 26 Feb 2026 16:40:04 EST news691335817 Sometimes, transporting electrons from one cell to another is a team effort. In electroactive bacteria, that team is a group of proteins that shepherds electrons forward, passing them along like a relay baton, so they can penetrate the thick cell envelope comprising multiple layers of membranes that otherwise are not electroconductive. But how these proteins collaborate to achieve this has not been clear. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-electrochemical-reshape-bacterial-protein-patterns.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 23 Feb 2026 16:10:01 EST news691082521 Following one of the largest sewage spills in U.S. history, University of Maryland researchers have detected high levels of fecal-related bacteria and disease-causing pathogens in the Potomac River, raising urgent public health concerns and underscoring the risks posed by aging sewer infrastructure. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-team-coli-pathogens-potomac-river.html Environment Thu, 05 Feb 2026 16:44:26 EST news689532241 Just like every other creature, bacteria have evolved creative ways of getting around. Sometimes this is easy, like swimming in open water, but navigating more confined spaces poses different challenges. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-terrain-bacteria-complex-environments-playbook.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 15 Jan 2026 12:40:31 EST news687703201 "The UN estimates that by 2050, common bacterial infections could kill more people than cancer," says Arnold Mathijssen, a biophysicist at the University of Pennsylvania who studies how active particles like bacteria move in fluidic systems. "Bacteria are remarkably fast, adaptive swimmers, capable of moving hundreds of body lengths per second while being subjected to strong fluid flows." https://phys.org/news/2026-01-coli-exploit-fluid-channel-upstream.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 12 Jan 2026 16:32:51 EST news687457917 Scientists have uncovered a new explanation for how swimming bacteria change direction, providing fresh insight into one of biology's most intensively studied molecular machines. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-war-decades-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 09 Jan 2026 12:40:01 EST news687184209 Antibiotic resistance is a growing global health crisis that makes common infections harder to treat and puts many medical procedures at risk. Now, Carnegie Mellon University researchers have uncovered a vulnerability in bacteria that could pave the way for an entirely new class of treatments. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-bacterial-decision-outsmart-antibiotic-resistance.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 19 Dec 2025 13:34:15 EST news685373600 Urbanization and a warmer climate means that more people want to swim in canals, harbors, and urban beaches. However, this means that they may be swimming close to where treated wastewater and stormwater are discharged—including bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens that might make people sick. A new method tested in Sweden by Lund University can provide both faster and more complete answers on whether the water is safe for swimming or not. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-method-contaminated-minutes.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 15 Dec 2025 18:20:02 EST news685028133 A new study shows that microplastics in the natural environment are colonized by pathogenic and antimicrobial resistant bacteria. The study team calls for urgent action for waste management and strongly recommends wearing gloves when taking part in beach cleans. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-microplastics-pose-human-health-ways.html Environment Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:00:01 EST news683286905 A recent spill of bio-beads—small plastic pellets used by some wastewater treatment facilities since the 1990s—has brought renewed attention to a problem that has been quietly accumulating in coastal waters for years. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-plastic-bio-beads-sewage-polluting.html Environment Mon, 24 Nov 2025 12:28:04 EST news683209681 In natural environments, bacteria rarely live as free-swimming cells but are attached to surfaces as biofilms in medical devices, mobile phones or human tissue. The bacterial behavior, how they attach and grow, group together or excrete compounds that glue the biofilm, is influenced by their mechanical interaction with the surface. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-bacteria-surfaces-fluorescent-probe-visualizes.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 18 Nov 2025 15:02:02 EST news682700521 Research led by the University of Auckland has cast light on the evolutionary origins of one of nature's first motors, which developed 3.5 billion to 4 billion years ago to propel bacteria. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-life-nature-motor-billions-years.html Evolution Tue, 11 Nov 2025 09:24:04 EST news682075441 New studies from Arizona State University reveal surprising ways bacteria can move without their flagella—the slender, whip-like propellers that usually drive them forward. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-bacteria-sugar-fueled-currents-molecular.html Molecular & Computational biology Sat, 08 Nov 2025 15:51:12 EST news681839461 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently reported a spike in entangled whales off California in 2024, leading scientists and marine mammal biologists to worry about how this year will go as winter fishing seasons get underway. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-noaa-spike-whale-entanglements-latest.html Plants & Animals Thu, 30 Oct 2025 08:06:06 EDT news681030332 The bacterium known as Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an unwelcome visitor in the human body. Serious infections can result when a bunch of these bugs settle together on a surface to form a biofilm—a community of microbes like the slime on spoiled food, but in this case residing inside a person. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-bacteria-cluster-infection.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 28 Oct 2025 15:23:06 EDT news680883781 Even in an environment as seemingly simple as a drop of water, bacteria can organize themselves into complex patterns or arrangements. Through experiments, theory, and computational modeling, scientists from Caltech and Princeton University have found that the way these cells arrange themselves is shaped by oxygen levels and is predictable and controllable, offering insights that could lead to new ways to target infections. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-bacteria-confined-droplets-complex-patterns.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 14 Oct 2025 11:23:03 EDT news679659781 Newcastle scientists have developed an efficient new model to track bacterial responses to toxic chemicals and nutrients. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-efficient-bacterial.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 07 Oct 2025 11:44:03 EDT news679056241 A living ink containing bacteria attracts coral larvae and could help rebuild reefs. The paper is published in the journal PNAS Nexus. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-bacterial-ink-coral-reefs-larvae.html Ecology Tue, 09 Sep 2025 09:45:02 EDT news676629901 Hotspots of bacteria and phosphorus at England's most famous lake must be addressed urgently, the authors of a study into its water quality warned on Tuesday. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-pollution-hotspots-england-famous-lake.html Environment Tue, 19 Aug 2025 10:00:59 EDT news674816450