News • Advanced biosensor
Researchers engineer tumor-detecting bacteria
Scientists from the University of California San Diego and their colleagues in Australia have engineered bacteria that can detect the presence of tumor DNA in a live organism.
Microbiology
News • Hospital pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii
More appendages = greater adaptability
German bioinformaticians have now detected an unexpected diversity of certain cell appendages in the bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii that are associated with its pathogenicity.
News • "Time-travelling" pathogens
Climate change thaws ancient frozen bacteria – how dangerous are they?
Global warming could hasten the release of ‘time-travelling’ pathogens from melting permafrost and ice that have been trapped for millennia, new research finds.
News • Molecular test for bacteria response
New method rapidly reveals antibiotic resistance
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a molecular method able to detect whether or not bacteria respond to antibiotics within minutes.
News • Infection microbiology
Researchers discover a potential cause of Parkinson’s disease
Researchers at the University of Helsinki have demonstrated that certain strains of Desulfovibrio bacteria are the likely cause of Parkinson’s disease in most cases.
Article • Confirming initial positive findings
First-tier rapid serology testing for Lyme disease
Lyme disease, the most common tick-transmitted bacterial infection in the world, is challenging to diagnose. Initial early-stage symptoms may include skin rash, fever, headache, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, and/or body and joint aches. However, these symptoms are also associated with many other diseases and medical conditions.
News • MTX in the mix
Researchers develop novel therapy for vancomycin-resistant infections
Researchers from the US, Singapore and Geneva have developed a novel combination therapy using an anticancer agent for treating vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE).
News • Model organisms evolved too far
How lab bacteria became 'estranged' from their real-life counterparts
A model organism used in laboratories for the past 100 years has evolved so extensively that it may no longer be fit for purpose, according to a new study on bacterial strain Escherichia coli K-12.
News • Reduced postoperative complications
Colorectal cancer surgery: gut microbiota helps healing
In a promising study, Canadian researchers have shown for the first time in mice that modifying intestinal flora before surgery could reduce postoperative complications in colorectal cancer patients.
News • Infectious disease research
Hidden bacteria increases risk of antimicrobial resistant infection in hospital patients
Carriers of a specific bacteria have a 14% chance of developing an antibiotic resistant infection with 30 days of hospitalisation, according to new research from Amsterdam.
News • Unexpected reactivation
BYOB (Bring your own bacteria) as cause of hospital infections?
Some hospitalized patients’ infections may develop from their own bacteria, new research results suggest. The study in mice indicates that medical interventions can awaken dormant, hidden bacteria.
News • Intestinal distress
Multiple sclerosis: a closer look at the gut microbiome
Findings of bacteria with anti-inflammatory effects in the intestines of MS patients with no evidence of active disease indicate that diet, bacteria and disease progression are linked.
News • Antibacterial compound research
Developing antibiotics that target multiple-drug-resistant bacteria
Researchers have designed and synthesized analogs of a new antibiotic that is effective against multidrug-resistant bacteria, opening a new front in the fight against these infections.
News • Increased infection risk
AMR: drug resistant bacteria can travel from gut to lung
A new Oxford University study provides the first direct evidence of antibiotic resistant bacteria migrating from a patient’s gut microbiome to the lungs, increasing the risk of deadly infections.
News • Infection control
Legionnaire's disease: genetic analysis key to understanding risk
Routine sampling of water supplies and genomic sequencing of Legionella bacteria could play a key role in identifying the source of Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks, research suggests.
News • Model to predict efficacy
Phage therapy: a viable alternative to antibiotics?
Bacteriophages – viruses that kill bacteria – could be a solution for fighting antibiotic-resistant pathogens, French researchers have developed a model to better predict their efficacy.
News • To enter human cells
SARS-CoV-2 hijacks antiviral human proteins
SARS-CoV-2 depends on the broadly antiviral interferon-induced human transmembrane proteins , to enter human cells and replicate inside them.
Article • Antimicrobial resistance development
AMR and climate change: a worrying dual threat to global health
Climate change and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are forming an alarming alliance: Global warming creates new breeding grounds for resistant bacteria. A serious and very real threat to public health – but not quite the doomsday scenario some might make it out to be, says Prof Sabiha Essack from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa.
News • Connection between genes and disease severity
E. coli: How does an intestinal germ become a pathogen?
In the human intestine, Escherichia coli is mostly harmless, but in certain conditions causes bladder infections and even sepsis - but why? Researchers went to the bottom of this transformation.
News • Deep learning approach
'Curvy' bacteria as telltale sign of drug resistance?
Researchers find that drug-resistant bacteria can be distinguished from non-resistant bacteria based on structural changes evident in electron microscope images with high accuracy using deep learning.
News • Cutting risk of death
Machine learning rapidly detects sepsis
Researchers used artificial intelligence to identify sets of genes that predict whether a patient will acquire severe sepsis.
News • Pathogen analysis
Unlocking epidemic prevention with affordable genome sequencing
A worldwide consortium aims to equip researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with cheap and accessible methods for sequencing large collections of bacterial pathogens.
Sponsored • Mass spectrometry
Shedding light on the mysteries of rare microbial infections with MALDI-TOF MS
The Zybio EXS2600 mass spectrometry system enables rapid microbial identification, including bacteria and fungi. With an advanced pre-filled sample kit, user-friendly software and a comprehensive strain database, the EXS2600 offers high-throughput screening, convenient operation and accurate results.
News • Microbiology
Using 3D printing technique to create biofilms
Researchers at the University of Rochester, and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands recently developed a 3D printing technique to engineer and study biofilms—three-dimensional communities of microorganisms, such as bacteria, that adhere to surfaces. The research provides important information for creating synthetic materials and in developing drugs to fight the negative effects of…
News • Sharper than ever
High-res image of bacterial bumps gives clues to antibiotic resistance
The sharpest images ever of living bacteria have been recorded by researchers at University College London, revealing the complex architecture of the protective layer that surrounds many bacteria and makes them harder to be killed by antibiotics.
