Browsing Tag
Bacteria
8 posts
Could good gut bacteria help prevent cardiovascular disease?
From improving cognitive function, to aiding in the prevention of colorectal cancer, the importance of good gut health is only now truly being understood. And with that understanding has come the extraordinary rise of the gut health trend, leading to the creation and huge success of the gut health industry. In fact, it’s become so
Bacteria load their syringes
Many bacterial pathogens use small injection apparatuses to manipulate the cells of their hosts, such as humans, so that they can spread throughout the body. To do this, they need to fill their syringes with the relevant injection agent. A technique that tracks the individual movement of proteins revealed how bacteria accomplish this challenging task.
Tracking the bacteria behind life-threatening sepsis in premature babies
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Premature babies in neonatal care units are extremely vulnerable, and susceptible to life-threatening infections. To help keep these babies safe the risk of infection needs to be kept as low as possible. A particular problem is late onset sepsis that starts from three days after birth, when bacteria get into the
How bacteria surf cargo through the cell
Bacteria live in nearly every habitat on earth including within soil, water, acidic hot springs and even within our own guts. Many are involved in fundamental processes like fermentation, decomposition and nitrogen fixation. But scientists don't understand a fundamental process within bacteria cells: how they organize themselves before division. Driving vs. surfing When cells divide
Ocean Bacteria Reveal an Unexpected Multicellular Form
Close your eyes and imagine bacteria. Perhaps you’re picturing our intestinal Escherichia coli, or the shiny golden balls of staphylococcus, or the corkscrewing ringlets of Lyme disease spirochetes. Regardless of the species and its shape, chances are your mind’s eye conjured up a single cell, or maybe several free-living cells. The problem with this image
Bacteria on intertidal rockweed across the North Atlantic
Algae such as rockweeds are a fundamental part of marine ecosystems, providing habitat and food to many other marine organisms while also providing ecosystem services. Algae produce oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis, so oxygenation of the water and atmosphere is one such ecosystem service. In turn, algae depend on bacteria to maintain their normal…
Bacterial biofilms, slimy collections of microbes, can develop concentric rings containing cells with different biological features Life 6 January 2022 By Alex Wilkins Bacillus subtilis, a soil bacterium, can create concentric rings when it forms a biofilmKwang-Tao Chou Bacterial biofilms contain a level of structural organisation that we thought was unique to plants and animals.…
Bacteria stunt with established plant-soil feedback theory
Credit: Leiden University "What I find most alluring about soil life is that you can steer it," researcher Martijn Bezemer of the Institute Biology Leiden (IBL) reveals. "You can ask: What do you want? And then I can transform the soil into something you need. At least, that is what we thought." For years, Bezemer…