Biology News Net - Microbiology

Biologists discover bacterial defense mechanism against aggressive oxygen

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:12:27 -0500

Bacteria possess an ingenious mechanism for preventing oxygen from harming the building blocks of the cell. This is the new finding of a team of biologists that includes Joris Messens of VIB, a life sciences research institute in Flanders, Belgium, connected to the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. The scientists made this discovery by modifying the DNA of the intestinal bacterium Escherichia coli. By means of this model organism, they have uncovered the existence of a mechanism that repairs proteins in the cell that have been damaged by oxygen. There are indications that a similar repair system is active in human cells. The research results are being published in the eminent scientific journal Science. At the same time, the researchers are posting an animation online that illustrates the finding.

New explanation for nature's hardiest life form

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:33:09 -0500

Got food poisoning? The cause might be bacterial spores, en extremely hardy survival form of bacteria, a nightmare for health care and the food industry and an enigma for scientists. Spore-forming bacteria, present almost everywhere in our environment, can also cause serious infectious diseases, such as tetanus, anthrax, and botulism. Now researchers from Lund University and the U.S. have made a breakthrough in our understanding of the molecular characteristics of spores that in the long term may lead to new methods for sterilizing food and medical equipment. The findings are published in the latest issue of the American scientific journal PNAS.

Scientists visualize how bacteria talk to one another

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:31:40 -0500

Using imaging mass spectrometry, researchers at the University of California, San Diego have developed tools that will enable scientists to visualize how different cell populations of cells communicate. Their study shows how bacteria talk to one another – an understanding that may lead to new therapeutic discoveries for diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes and allergies.

Bacteria 'launch a shield' to resist attack

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:01:27 -0500

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the Technical University of Denmark along with other collaborators in Denmark and the US found that the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa can 'switch on' production of molecules that kill white blood cells – preventing the bacteria being eliminated by the body's immune system.

Unusual bacteria help balance the immune system in mice

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:21:57 -0500

Medical researchers have long suspected that obscure bacteria living within the intestinal tract may help keep the human immune system in balance. An international collaboration co-led by scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center has now identified a bizarre-looking microbial species that can single-handedly spur the production of specialized immune cells in mice.

Major discovery opens door to leishmania treatment

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:32:50 -0500

Leishmania is a deadly parasitic disease that affects over 12 million people worldwide, with more than 2 million new cases reported every year. Until recently, scientists were unsure exactly how the parasite survives inside human cells. That mystery has now been solved according to a new study published in Science Signaling by a team led by Dr. Martin Olivier – a scientist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and McGill University. It is hoped the new study will lead to the development of the first prophylactic treatment for leishmania.

Reservoir of deforming tropical disease sought

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:12:44 -0500

Knowing what causes a disease may not make it easier to control and contain infection, but understanding how humans become infected and where the pathogens live may improve control. A National Science Foundation grant for $1.5 million over five years will allow an international team of researchers to investigate how changes in the environment affect a deforming tropical disease called Buruli ulcer.

In amoeba world, cheating doesn't pay

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:40:26 -0500

Cheaters may prosper in the short term, but over time they seem doomed to fail, at least in the microscopic world of amoebas where natural selection favors the noble.

C. difficile hypervirulence genes identified

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:33:21 -0500

Five genetic regions have been identified that are unique to the most virulent strain of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), the hospital superbug. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology studied the genome of the bacterium, looking for genes relating to motility, antibiotic resistance and toxicity.

Piece from childhood virus may save soldiers' lives

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:11:36 -0500

A harmless shard from the shell of a common childhood virus may halt a biological process that kills a significant percentage of battlefield casualties, heart attack victims and oxygen-deprived newborns, according to research presented Sunday, September 6, 2009, at the 12th European meeting on complement in human disease in Budapest, Hungary.