Saving desalination membranes from minerals and microbes

Treating seawater with selected chemicals before desalination could reduce biofouling and lengthen the lifespan of filtration membranes. Identifying the components of membrane antiscalants that cause biofouling could help ...

Targeting resistance to a crucial reserve antibiotic

Colistin is a cationic cyclic peptide that disrupts bacterial cell membranes of Gram-negative bacteria. It is one of the few remaining antibiotics of last resort for use against infections with multidrug-resistant bacteria. ...

How bacteria cope with stress

When exposed to stress, bacteria allow their metabolism to take a break during which they suppress, for example, the incorporation of proteins into membranes. Scientists from Marburg, Freiburg and Munich have discovered this ...

Protein structure offers clues to drug-resistance mechanism

MIT chemists have discovered the structure of a protein that can pump toxic molecules out of bacterial cells. Proteins similar to this one, which is found in E. coli, are believed to help bacteria become resistant to multiple ...

Unveiling the secrets of biofilms

Most bacteria have the ability to form communities, biofilms, that adhere to a wide variety of surfaces and are difficult to remove. This can lead to major problems, for example in hospitals or in the food industry. Now, ...

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