Tag Archive for 'Bacteria'

DNA is emerging as an excellent medium for storing data. Image credit: Shipman et al, doi: 10.1038/nature23017.

Researchers Replay Digital Movie Encoded in Bacterial DNA

Jul 13, 2017 by News Staff

For the first time, researchers have used the CRISPR-Cas microbial immune system to encode a primitive digital movie into — and then ‘play it back’...

Structure of milky spots in the omentum. (A) schematic of whole omentum in mice; the omentum is a thin strip of fat (yellow) that is covered by a layer of mesothelial cells (green); milky spots (MSs, blue) are located just beneath the mesothelial layer embedded between adipocytes; the omentum is well vascularized with an extensive network of capillaries (not shown), which connect to a large central blood vessel (red), running between the adipocytes; blood vessels also connect to the MSs and form a glomerulus-like knot of blood vessels in the lymphoid clusters; a large central lymphatic vessel (light blue) runs down the center of the omentum and branches from this vessel lead to MSs as well as to areas of the omentum that lack MSs; the human omentum is much larger and resembles an apron hanging in front of the abdomen, but also contains MSs. (B) structure of MS; MSs are loose collections of leukocytes embedded between adipocytes (yellow) just beneath the mesothelial layer (green); B cells (blue) form a central cluster, whereas macrophages (brown) and dendritic cells (light green) tend to accumulate around the outside of the MS and are also found individually throughout the omentum; T cells (green circles) and ILCs (orange) can be intermixed with the B cells or may cluster around blood vessels (not shown); cells and antigens are passively collected from the peritoneal cavity through fenestrations in the mesothelial layer by fluid flow or may be actively carried by phagocytic cells like macrophages; cells can also enter the MSs from the blood through HEVs (not shown). Image credit: Selene Meza-Perez & Troy D. Randall, doi: 10.1016/j.it.2017.03.002.

Omentum Performs Unique Immunological Functions

Jun 2, 2017 by News Staff

The omentum is an important immune organ that serves as a first line of defense against toxins and infection, according to a review paper published online...

This digitally-colorized scanning electron microscopic image depicts Enterococcus faecalis. Image credit: Pete Wardell / CDC.

Modified Version of Vancomycin Could Fight Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

May 31, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the Scripps Research Institute has structurally modified vancomycin to make an already-powerful version of the antibiotic even...

First Enterococci Appeared on Earth during Ordovician Period, Says Study

May 11, 2017 by News Staff

According to a new study published today in the journal Cell, the enterococci — gram-positive aerobic bacteria and a leading cause of hospital-acquired...

Spherical bubbles preserved in 3.48 billion-year-old hot spring deposits in the Dresser Formation provide evidence for early microbial life having lived on land. Image credit: University of New South Wales.

Earliest Signs of Microbial Life on Land Found in 3.48-Billion-Year-Old Hot Spring Deposits

May 10, 2017 by News Staff

Fossil evidence of early microbial life has been found in ancient hot spring deposits in the Dresser Formation in the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia,...

According to Leitao-Goncalves et al, gut bacteria control food choice and egg laying in Drosophila melanogaster. Image credit: Leitao-Goncalves et al, doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2000862.

Gut Bacteria ‘Speak’ to Brain to Control Food Choices in Animals

May 2, 2017 by News Staff

In a study published recently in the journal PLOS Biology, neuroscientists identified three gut bacteria species — Acetobacter pomorum, Lactobacillus...

Kuphus polythalamia infographic. Image credit: University of Utah.

Kuphus polythalamia: Marine Biologists Study Giant Mud-Dwelling Shipworm for First Time

Apr 18, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of marine biologists, led by researchers at Northeastern University and the University of Utah, is the first to investigate a never...

Molecular hydrogen points to hydrothermal activity in an ocean beneath the icy surface of Enceladus. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Cassini Finds New Evidence for Hydrothermal Processes in Enceladus’ Ice-Covered Ocean

Apr 13, 2017 by News Staff

During NASA’s Cassini spacecraft’s deepest-ever dive through Enceladus’ plume of gas and ice grains, researchers discovered molecular hydrogen in...

This micrograph depicts the gram-positive bacterium Propionibacterium acnes grown in thioglycollate medium at 48 hours. Propionibacterium acnes is a very common obligate anaerobic, non-spore forming rod, and the etiologic pathogen responsible for acne vulgaris, or pimples. It normally resides in the sebaceous glands of the skin. Image credit: Bobby Strong, CDC.

Unbalanced Skin Microbiome May Be Key to Acne Development, Study Finds

Apr 6, 2017 by News Staff

The overall balance of the bacteria on a person’s skin, rather than the presence or absence of a particular bacterial strain, appears to be an important...

A maple syrup extract increases the potency of common antibiotics. Image credit: Three-Shots.

Maple Syrup Extract Synergizes with Common Antibiotics

Apr 3, 2017 by News Staff

A phenolic-rich extract from maple syrup can make disease-causing bacteria more susceptible to common antibiotics, according to new research from McGill...

The scientists have tried to extract ancient DNA from two stingless bees Trigonisca ameliae. This image shows Trigonisca ameliae bee in Colombian copal. Image credit: Dr David Penney / University of Manchester.

Social Bees Have Kept Symbiotic Gut Bacteria for 80M Years, New Study Says

Mar 30, 2017 by News Staff

About 80 million years ago (Cretaceous period), a group of bees began exhibiting social behavior. Today, their descendants — honey bees, stingless...

Archean Earth. Image credit: Francis Reddy, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Scientists Propose New Contributing Cause for ‘Great Oxidation Event’

Mar 14, 2017 by News Staff

In the Archean Eon, more than 2.3 billion years ago, Earth’s atmosphere spent about a million years filled with a methane-rich haze; and this haze drove...

Lactobacillus reuteri bacteria (blue). Image credit: Alistair Walsham & Stephanie Schüller, doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.00244.

Lactobacilli Can Reverse Depression Symptoms, Study Finds

Mar 10, 2017 by News Staff

Lactobacilli, a group of probiotic bacteria that ferment milk into yogurt and aid in the digestive process in the body, can reverse depression-like behavior...

Hematite tubes from the NSB hydrothermal vent deposits that represent the oldest microfossils and evidence for life on Earth. Image credit: Matthew Dodd, University College London.

World’s Oldest Known Fossils Found in Canada Push Evidence for Life back by 70 Million Years

Mar 1, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists has discovered in Quebec, Canada, the oldest physical evidence of life on Earth — fossils that date back...

The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). Image credit: Jason Buchner.

Researchers Find Antimicrobial Substances in Komodo Dragon Blood

Feb 23, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the College of Science at George Mason University has detected 48 antimicrobial peptides in the blood plasma of Komodo dragons...

A DNA coverage plot for Escherichia coli following 60 generations (96 h) of growth in the presence and absence of doxycycline: data in the presence (three inner annuli, ‘Dox’) and absence (three outer annuli, ‘No-Dox’) indicate potential genetic mechanisms supporting positive r (growth rate), K (carrying capacity) and resistance adaptation; a change in DNA detected in the sequencing protocol is shown in red (reduction) and blue (increase; and white is complete loss), respectively, with respect to no mean change (in grey); the inner ring (black) indicates genome position and three replicates for each treatment were sequenced; the white region marked dlp12 shows the deletion of prophage dlp12 only during doxycycline treatment; the outer text labels summarize the estimated frequencies of mutations common to all three replicate populations, indicating positive selection for the doxycycline efflux operon, acr, with the prophage deletion at even higher frequency. Image credit: C. Reding-Roman et al, doi: 10.1038/s41559-016-0050.

New Study Highlights How Antibiotics Can Stimulate Bacterial Reproduction

Feb 1, 2017 by News Staff

The growth of bacteria can be stimulated by antibiotics, according to a study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. A DNA coverage plot...

At an extremely high magnification of 44,818x, this colorized scanning electron microscopic (SEM) image reveals some of the morphologic details displayed by Escherichia coli. Image credit: Janice Haney Carr / CDC.

Stable Semi-Synthetic Bacterium Created

Jan 25, 2017 by News Staff

Researchers from the United States, China and France have created what they say is the world’s first stable semi-synthetic microorganism. The research...

A false-color scanning electron micrograph of G. sulfurreducens-P. aestuarii co-culture. Scale bar - 5 μm. Image credit: Phuc T. Ha et al, doi: 10.1038/ncomms13924.

Biologists Discover New Type of Microbial Photosynthesis

Jan 9, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of biologists led by Washington State University Professor Haluk Beyenal has discovered a new type of cooperative photosynthesis...

This illustration depicts a 3D computer-generated image of a number of drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae diplococcal bacteria. Note that extending from the organisms’ exterior were type IV pili, or hair-like appendages, which in this case, are used to promote motility for these bacteria, and improve surface adherence. The artistic recreation was based upon scanning electron microscopic imagery. Image credit: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New Antibiotic to Fight Gonorrhea Developed

Jan 5, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the University of York, UK, has harnessed the therapeutic effects of carbon monoxide-releasing molecules to develop a new antibiotic...

Stephanie M. Reeve et al. identified two plasmid-borne genes that confer high-level resistance to trimethoprim for the first time in MRSA isolates from U.S. hospitals; a series of charged propargyl-linked antifolates overcome this resistance via direct inhibition of the acquired resistance elements. This colorized scanning electron micrograph depicts a grouping of MRSA bacteria. These bacteria are methicillin-resistant, and are from one of the first isolates in the U.S. that showed increased resistance to vancomycin as well. Note the increase in cell wall material seen as clumps on the organisms’ surface. Image credit: Janice Haney Carr / Public Health Image Library / CDC.

New Experimental Antibiotics Show Promise against MRSA

Jan 4, 2017 by News Staff

New experimental antibiotics developed by chemists at the University of Connecticut successfully treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)...

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