Bacteria

Fat is best known for being an energy storage system, but it may also play a previously-unknown role in defense against infection. Scientists from the Universities of Queensland and Barcelona have found that cells can use fats to fight off bacteria.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are poised to become a huge health problem, and we desperately need new treatments. Now, researchers have engineered new antimicrobial molecules from wasp venom, which have shown promise in tests in mice.

Two of the problems with traditional plastics are the facts that they're made from non-renewable petroleum, and they stick around for centuries once discarded. A new alternative, however, is made from existing waste, and should biodegrade in a year.

Scientists have found fecal transplants from old mice to young mice result in the younger animals displaying learning and memory impairments. The findings build on a growing body of research linking age-related cognitive decline with gut microbiome changes.

A persistent scientific mystery over the past century has been exactly how some animals seemingly have the ability to sense the Earth’s magnetic field. A team of researchers are suggesting the magnetic-sensing bacteria could be symbiotically generating this novel sense.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have developed a test, called the Gut Microbiome Health Index, that can predict a person’s general health status by measuring the levels of 50 gut microbial species.

We've already heard about so-called "microneedle patches" that are used for the painless and sustained release of medication through the skin. Now, MIT scientists have adapted the technology for the detection of spoiled food.

Scientists investigating more eco-friendly forms of plastic production have made an exciting breakthrough, with the discovery of a bacterial system that generates one of the material's key building blocks through its natural metabolic process.

A new experiment placing bacteria on the outside of the International Space Station (ISS) has found that micro-organisms can survive in space for years, or even decades. The study lends weight to the idea that life could travel between planets.

Researchers from Ohio State University have created the first catalog of viral populations known to inhabit the human gut. Called the Gut Virome Database, the study suggests each person’s gut viral population is as unique as their fingerprints.

The usefulness of antibiotics is beginning to unravel, with potentially devastating results. In the hunt for new drugs, researchers have now investigated how an antivitamin of Vitamin B1 could be a promising new weapon against these “superbugs.”

A few years ago researchers discovered bacteria in Antarctica that could survive on nothing but air. Now the team has found evidence of this handy ability in other cold desert locations. The finding could have implications for life beyond Earth.