New Atlas

Medical Audio available

Superbug gene that resists "last resort" antibiotics detected in US for the first time

Michael Irving June 13, 2019

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria might also be one of the biggest medical issues of the 21st century. Now, a bacterial gene that grants resistance to “last resort” antibiotics has been detected in a patient in the US, for the first time.

A gene known as mcr-3.1 that grants bacteria like Salmonella resistance to "last resort" antibiotics has ...

Medical Audio available

New CRISPR-based system inserts new DNA without cutting and pasting

Michael Irving June 12, 2019

The CRISPR gene-editing system is a powerful tool, but sometimes cutting and pasting can have unwanted side effects. Now researchers from MIT and Harvard have developed a new CRISPR-based system that can insert new DNA sequences without cutting, which should make the process safer and more accurate.

A fluorescent image of the cyanobacteria that the researchers extracted the new CRISPR system from

Space Audio available

Looking for life on Mars? Look for pasta-shaped rocks

Michael Irving June 2, 2019

Alien life is almost certainly out there somewhere, but because it’s most likely microscopic, it won’t be easy to spot. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois have come up with a new and fairly obvious sign of life: pasta-shaped rocks.

Filamentous rocks, like these seen at Yellowstone National Park, are created by strands of bacteria, and ...

Science Audio available

Dirt-residing bacteria produce anti-inflammatory fats that could lead to a “stress vaccine”

Rich Haridy May 30, 2019

New research suggests that some of the dirt you may have eaten as a child could have contained a type of bacteria that strengthens the immune system. The study reveals the bacteria Mycobacterium vaccae can produce a unique anti-inflammatory fatty acid with anti-inflammatory properties.

Years of research have revealed how a certain bacteria, found in dirt, can confer inflammatory effects ...

Science Audio available

Study shows how diet can prevent a mid-life microbiome crisis and improve brain health

Rich Haridy May 22, 2019

A fascinating new study is suggesting that a shift in gut bacteria in our middle-age could trigger a process that plays a role in cognitive decline in our later years. And diet may be the key to encouraging the growth of beneficial bacteria that benefit healthy brain aging.

An animal study revealed prebiotic dietary interventions in middle-aged mice reduced signs of brain inflammation and ...

Medical Audio available

Wound dressing uses electricity to bust up antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections

Rich Haridy May 20, 2019

An incredible study has demonstrated the potential of a wound dressing that can fight bacterial infections using a weak electrical field. Offering a novel way to battle antibiotic-resistant infections, the dressing has been approved by the FDA and is currently being tested in human burn patients.

Scientists have developed a wound dressing that can generate a weak electrical field to break down ...

Science Audio available

Alarming study finds plastic ocean pollution harms bacteria that produce the oxygen we breathe

Rich Haridy May 14, 2019

A new study is raising concerns over the effects of plastic pollution in our oceans. For the first time researchers investigated how a common ocean bacteria, responsible for producing over 10 percent of oxygen in the atmosphere, is impaired by chemicals that can leach out of plastic products.

Chemicals that leach out of plastic rubbish were found to impair the growth of bacteria in ...

Medical Audio available

Directed evolution gets bacteria designing new antibiotics for us

Michael Irving May 9, 2019

In the 1990s, the lab of Frances Arnold showed how we can turn evolution to our advantage by manipulating microbes into evolving in a certain way. Now Arnold's team is using the technique to develop new antibiotics.

Caltech researchers are using directed evolution to make bacteria create new antibiotics

Medical

World-first human treatment of antibiotic-resistant infection with genetically modified virus

Rich Haridy May 8, 2019

A new case study outlines the first use of a genetically modified virus to treat a life-threatening antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection. The successful treatment paves the way for larger clinical trials to establish how effective this experimental process could be in wider patient populations.

Three bacteriophages, or bacteria-eating viruses, were administered to the young patient suffering from a major antibiotic-resistant ...

Medical

Newly discovered "jumping" superbug gene threatens last-resort antibiotic

Nick Lavars May 8, 2019

The latest newly uncovered threat in the world of superbugs comes from scientists at Cornell University, who have discovered a previously unknown gene that can leap between organisms to facilitate resistance to an important last-resort antibiotic.

Graphic depicting the newly discovered mcr-9 gene