For decades, scientists have wondered how large molecules such as proteins pass through cell walls, also known as plasma membranes, without leaving a trace. That ability is part of what makes certain drugs—including some ...
Biochemistry
Oct 20, 2021
0
70
Imagine there are arrows that are lethal when fired on your enemies yet harmless if they fall on your friends. It's easy to see how these would be an amazing advantage in warfare, if they were real. However, something just ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Apr 7, 2021
0
1511
Bacteria are single-celled organisms that are essential to human health, both in our environment and inside our own bodies. However, certain bacterial species can make us sick.
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 9, 2020
0
100
Current research suggests that more complex life-forms, including humans, evolved from a symbiosis event of Bacteria and another single-celled organism known as Archaea. However, evidence of a transition period in which the ...
Evolution
Sep 17, 2020
2
24
Like all cells, bacteria have a membrane that shields them from the outside like a skin. This barrier is not static, but has to allow transport of substances in and out and be flexible so that the bacterial cells can grow. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 16, 2020
0
43
In the past decade, there has been renewed thinking about human missions to the moon and perhaps even to Mars. Inevitably, terrestrial microorganisms on the bodies of astronauts, spaceships or equipment will come into contact ...
Astrobiology
May 27, 2020
0
8
A peptide renders older antibiotics effective again at doses 100 times lower than the common dosage, as shown by research from Örebro University.
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 22, 2020
0
239
University of Minnesota researchers have discovered this previously unknown signaling pathway that regulates surface proteins on bacteria that can lead to new targets for antibiotics.
Cell & Microbiology
May 7, 2019
0
85
Bacterial biofilms are typically the target of heavy-duty cleaning regimens, but these films aren't always bad news. In fact, growing them on thin sheets of nanofibers is a great way to produce a fermented milk product that ...
Materials Science
Mar 6, 2019
0
6
Physicists at McMaster University have for the first time identified a simple mechanism used by potentially deadly bacteria to fend off antibiotics, a discovery which is providing new insights into how germs adapt and behave ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 18, 2019
0
117
