New Atlas

Space Audio available

Spacefaring bacteria prove no match for new space station antimicrobial coating

Michael Irving March 19, 2019

Humans weren’t built for space travel. The immune system takes a beating, leaving us more vulnerable to infection. Astronauts have now tested a new antimicrobial coating on board the International Space Station (ISS), and found it kept space-faring bugs at bay for well over a year.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have tested a new antimicrobial coating called AGXX and found ...

Medical

Polymer catheter coating kills infection-causing bacteria

Ben Coxworth March 8, 2019

Hospital-acquired infections are a serious problem, and the most common type of such infections occurs when catheters are inserted into blood vessels. A new coating, however, shows promise for killing bacteria at insertion sites, keeping them from establishing biofilm colonies on the catheters.

When bacterial biofilms form on intravascular catheters, potentially fatal bloodstream infections can result

Materials Audio available

Medieval "stained glass" technique prevents bacterial infections

Michael Irving March 5, 2019

Bacteria are a huge problem in hospitals, where colonies can build up on instruments and cause potentially fatal infections in vulnerable patients. Now, researchers at Aston University have developed a new type of antimicrobial material that’s made using a centuries-old stained glass technique.

An old technique for making blue stained glass has now been used to make antibacterial materials

Health & Wellbeing

Microneedle patch packs silver nanoparticles for safer vaccinations

Ben Coxworth March 5, 2019

Although it's important to get vaccines to people in developing nations and elsewhere, it's also crucial that those medications subsequently be administered in a safe and sterile manner. A new microneedle patch could help, as it incorporates bacteria-killing silver.

An illustration depicts the microneedle patch in microbe-killing action

Science

Edible film kills bacteria in seafood

Ben Coxworth December 17, 2018

While it's important to keep food of any type fresh, it's particularly crucial with seafood, as it can become tainted with toxic bacteria. That's why an international group of scientists is developing a transparent antibacterial film that gets eaten along with the seafood it's covering.

The film has been used to eradicate E. coli and Salmonella bacteria in tiger prawns

Medical

UV-emitting fibers could prevent catheter-caused infections

Ben Coxworth August 23, 2018

Medical devices such as catheters extend from within a patient's body out through an opening in their skin, and unfortunately those openings often become infected. Thanks to new research, however, ultraviolet optical fibers may eventually keep such infections from occurring.

One of the far-UVC-diffusing optical fibers used in the study

Medical

Natural blue clay may kill germs in wounds

Ben Coxworth August 23, 2018

For centuries, various cultures have used clay as a remedy for infections. Now, scientists from Arizona State University (ASU) and the Mayo Clinic have determined that blue clay in particular may indeed be effective at treating infected wounds.

The blue clay contains bacteria-killing iron and aluminum

Science

Cooking oil used to turn steel antibacterial

Ben Coxworth July 30, 2018

The scratches that form on stainless steel may seem minuscule to us, but they provide a haven for microscopic bacteria. Scientists at the University of Toronto have developed a method of making those scratches less hospitable to the microbes, using a surprisingly simple substance – cooking oil.

Dr. Tarek Awad shows two samples: at left, a stainless steel surface treated to trap simple ...

Science

Membrane-coated gold "robots" designed to detoxify blood

Ben Coxworth June 4, 2018

It's never a good thing when donated human blood – or even the blood in our bodies – is infected with bacteria. Scientists at the University of California San Diego, however, are developing a means of removing such blood-borne microbes using tiny ultrasound-powered robots.

A colored scanning electron microscope image of some of the nanorobots

Medical

New medical gloves use "microorganism-killing molecule" to eradicate bacteria

Ben Coxworth May 31, 2018

Healthcare-associated infections are definitely no good, but neither is the overuse of antibiotics, as it creates resistant strains of bacteria. With that in mind, a new type of medical glove has been developed, that kills microbes without the use of added chemicals.

The gloves are claimed to kill bacteria on contact