After exposure in space aboard the International Space Station, a new kind of surface treatment significantly reduced the growth of biofilms, scientists report. Biofilms are mats of microbial or fungal growth that can clog ...
Space Exploration
Sep 7, 2023
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24
Oil spills are disastrous for the natural environment, as they lead to long lasting pollution that harms surrounding wildlife. However, certain oil-degrading bacteria thrive in oil-spill conditions and contribute remarkably ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 29, 2023
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1
Iron is well-known for rusting, but this doesn't just happen on contact with oxygen and water. Some bacteria are also able to decompose iron anaerobically in a process referred to as electrobiocorrosion.
Materials Science
Aug 14, 2023
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190
When considering a bacterial population as a multicellular community, it is imperative to understand the inherent roles of maintaining homeostasis and viability in response to environmental factors. Cannibalism is a strategy ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 2, 2023
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1
Biofilms are highly resistant communities of bacteria that pose a major challenge in the treatment of infections. While studying biofilm formation in laboratory conditions has been extensively conducted, understanding their ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 1, 2023
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46
Bacterial biofilms are clusters of microorganisms that form on wetted surfaces virtually everywhere. They harbor pathogens that compromise water quality, and they can disrupt the operation of many different engineered systems ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 25, 2023
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62
Researchers from the University of St Andrews have developed peptides that can help combat bacteria growing in biofilms, which occur in up to 80% of human infections.
Biochemistry
Jul 6, 2023
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14
Infections are among the most frequent complications during a hospital stay. Researchers at the University of Basel have now uncovered why one of the most dangerous nosocomial pathogens is so difficult to combat. It follows ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 20, 2023
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38
Some bacterial pathogens form so-called biofilms during infection processes to protect themselves from drugs or cells of the human immune system. Every year, more than 500,000 people die from infections associated with biofilms. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 13, 2023
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49
Bacteria harness the power of communities. A research group at the University of Basel, Switzerland, has now discovered that the bacterial pathogen that causes cholera forms a novel type of bacterial community on immune cells: ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 12, 2023
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22
A biofilm is an aggregate of microorganisms in which cells adhere to each other on a surface. These adherent cells are frequently embedded within a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). Biofilm EPS, which is also referred to as slime (although not everything described as slime is a biofilm), is a polymeric conglomeration generally composed of extracellular DNA, proteins, and polysaccharides. Biofilms may form on living or non-living surfaces and can be prevalent in natural, industrial and hospital settings. The microbial cells growing in a biofilm are physiologically distinct from planktonic cells of the same organism, which, by contrast, are single-cells that may float or swim in a liquid medium.
Microbes form a biofilm in response to many factors, which may include cellular recognition of specific or non-specific attachment sites on a surface, nutritional cues, or in some cases, by exposure of planktonic cells to sub-inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics. When a cell switches to the biofilm mode of growth, it undergoes a phenotypic shift in behavior in which large suites of genes are differentially regulated.
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