Biology News Net - Microbiology

Ocean microbe communities changing, but long-term environmental impact is unclear

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:03:36 -0500

As oceans warm due to climate change, water layers will mix less and affect the microbes and plankton that pump carbon out of the atmosphere – but researchers say it's still unclear whether these processes will further increase global warming or decrease it.

Scientists characterize protein essential to survival of malaria parasite

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:31:26 -0500

A biology lab at Washington University has just cracked the structure and function of a protein that plays a key role in the life of a parasite that killed 655,000 people in 2010.

UGA scientists 'hijack' bacterial immune system

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:50:20 -0500

The knowledge that bacteria possess adaptable immune systems that protect them from individual viruses and other foreign invaders is relatively new to science, and researchers across the globe are working to learn how these systems function and to apply that knowledge in industry and medicine.

Hepatitis C virus hijacks liver microRNA

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:32:52 -0500

Viral diseases are still one of the biggest challenges to medical science. Thanks to thousands of years of co-evolution with humans, their ability to harness the biology of their human hosts to survive and thrive makes them very difficult to target with medical treatment.

Researchers confirm new cancer-causing virus

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:58:40 -0500

An important new study from the Laboratory for Developmental Genetics at USC has confirmed cytomegalovirus (CMV) as a cause of the most common salivary gland cancers. CMV joins a group of fewer than 10 identified oncoviruses — cancer-causing viruses — including HPV.

Preparing for a thaw: How Arctic microbes respond to a warming world

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 19:12:36 -0500

From the North Pole to the Arctic Ocean, the frozen soils within this region keep an estimated 1,672 billion metric tons of carbon out of the Earth's atmosphere. This sequestered carbon is more than 250 times the amount of greenhouse gas emissions attributed to the United States in the year 2009. As global temperatures slowly rise, however, so too do concerns regarding the potential impacts upon the carbon cycle when the permafrost thaws and releases the carbon that has been trapped for eons. Like so many of the planet's critical environmental processes, the smallest players—microbes—have the most significant influence over the eventual outcome.

Fighting fire with fire: 'Vampire' bacteria has potential as living antibiotic

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:08:11 -0500

A vampire-like bacteria that leeches onto specific other bacteria – including certain human pathogens – has the potential to serve as a living antibiotic for a range of infectious diseases, a new study indicates.

Tuberculosis bacterium's outer cell wall disarms the body's defense to remain infectious

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:43:07 -0500

The bacterium that causes tuberculosis has a unique molecule on its outer cell surface that blocks a key part of the body's defense. New research suggests this represents a novel mechanism in the microbe's evolving efforts to remain hidden from the human immune system.

Microbes generate electricity while cleaning up nuclear waste

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 17:31:15 -0500

Researchers at Michigan State University have unraveled the mystery of how microbes generate electricity while cleaning up nuclear waste and other toxic metals.

Harmless soil-dwelling bacteria successfully kill cancer

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:12:34 -0500

Professor Nigel Minton works at the University of Nottingham. A bacterial strain that specifically targets tumours could soon be used as a vehicle to deliver drugs in frontline cancer therapy. The strain is expected to be tested in cancer patients in 2013 says a scientist at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn Conference at the University of York.