https://phys.org/biology-news/microbiology en-us The latest science news on microbiology and cell biology. Researchers from The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability (DTU Biosustain) have developed an innovative fermentation process that produces natural betalain-type food colors. This groundbreaking technology is set to revolutionize the food color industry by offering a more sustainable and efficient alternative to traditional extraction methods. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-nature-palette-reinvented-fermentation-breakthrough.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Fri, 01 Dec 2023 06:38:26 EST news620635090 Vibrio bacteria, named for their vibrating swimming motion, span approximately 150 known species. Most Vibrio live in brackish or salt water, either swimming free or living as pathogens or symbionts in fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and corals. Because Vibrio thrives at relatively high temperatures, outbreaks in marine animals are expected to become ever more frequent under global warming. For example, over the past few decades, Vibrio have been implicated in the 'bleaching' of subtropical and tropical corals around the world. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-scientists-alarm-bacteria-linked-mass.html Ecology Cell & Microbiology Fri, 01 Dec 2023 00:15:04 EST news620612101 A tiny but prolific world of microbes encompasses everything around us, both inside and out. Microbiomes, which are comprised of diverse communities of microbes, play a pivotal role in shaping human health, yet the intricacies of how different microbial compositions influence our well-being remain largely unknown. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-microbial-interactions.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 30 Nov 2023 16:37:04 EST news620584621 Studying sex from just the male perspective misses half the experience. But much of what we know about the origins of reproductive cells comes from looking at sperm and egg formation separately—or only focusing on sperm. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-tiny-worms-scientists-fertility.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 30 Nov 2023 14:04:03 EST news620575441 High doses of X-rays and other kinds of ionizing radiation can damage the DNA present in the cell nucleus, a phenomenon which can both lead to the development of cancer in humans and be used to kill cancer cells. This damage to DNA occurs through two mechanisms: one involves the direct physical impact of ionizing particles; the other is indirect, involving an attack on nucleic acids by chemical species arising from water radiolysis (the decomposition of hydrogen bonds between H2O molecules). https://phys.org/news/2023-11-elucidates-ionizing-dna.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:11:47 EST news620568705 A team of U of T Scarborough researchers have discovered that the waxy protective barrier around plants might play a role in sending chemical signals to other plants and insects. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-waxy-surface-key-stronger-crops.html Cell & Microbiology Agriculture Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:05:48 EST news620568346 Biomolecular condensates transport RNA molecules inside of cells for functions such as cell signaling and regulating cell processes, but little is known about how they form distinct compositional identities, similar to how oil and water stay separated. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-rna-molecules-added-condensates-composition.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:57:52 EST news620567869 Deep-sea hydrothermal vents are hot springs on the ocean floor. Sea water penetrates into the ocean crust, becomes heated, and rises to the seafloor surface carrying dissolved nutrients. Around these vents, far from any sunlight, vibrant biological communities are found. Here, microbes play the role of primary producers through chemosynthesis—similar to the role that plants play on land through photosynthesis. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-bacterial-species-hydrothermal-vent-microbial.html Evolution Cell & Microbiology Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:11:04 EST news620565061 A new study led by the University of Oxford has shed light on why certain species of bacteria carry astonishing arsenals of weapons. The findings, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, could help us to engineer microbes that can destroy deadly pathogens, reducing our reliance on antibiotics. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-mystery-bacteria-extensive-weaponry.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:00:01 EST news620557079 Phosphorus in wastewater is a major contributor to harmful algal blooms in water bodies around the globe, with the potential to harm wildlife, livestock, and even humans. To prevent this, wastewater treatment plants often rely on chemical- and energy-intensive techniques to remove phosphorus before it can impact downstream water bodies. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-newly-algal-strains-rich-phosphorous.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Wed, 29 Nov 2023 13:21:33 EST news620486490 How do animals make decisions when faced with competing demands, and how have decision making processes evolved over time? In a recent publication in Biology Letters, Tina Barbasch, a postdoctoral researcher at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, and Alison Bell (GNDP), a professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, explored these questions using three-spined stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus). https://phys.org/news/2023-11-fish-brains-insight-molecular-basis.html Plants & Animals Cell & Microbiology Wed, 29 Nov 2023 13:17:46 EST news620486259 The Second Plague Pandemic of the mid-14th century, also known as the Black Death, killed 30–60% of the European population and profoundly changed the course of European history. New research led by Penn State and the University of Adelaide suggests that this plague, potentially through resulting changes in diet and hygiene, may also be associated with a shift in the composition of the human oral microbiome toward one that contributes to chronic diseases in modern-day humans. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-ancient-british-oral-microbiomes-reveals.html Evolution Cell & Microbiology Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:38:04 EST news620480281 Plants have two main uptake mechanisms to obtain iron (Fe) from the soils. The type of strategy employed depends on the botanical classification of the plant. In the so-called strategy-I mechanism, plants must first reduce the trivalent iron (Fe3+) into bivalent iron (Fe2+). Only then can Fe2+ be taken up by roots as a free ion. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-distinct-chemical-coumarins-soil-phs.html Cell & Microbiology Agriculture Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:35:02 EST news620480101 A team of microbiologists at McGill University's Redpath Museum, working with a colleague at Tattoo Lounge MTL, has investigated changes to the skin microbiome when a person has an ear pierced and a metal object inserted into the puncture. In their study, reported in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group collected skin swabs from volunteers before and after their piercings. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-skin-biome-ear-piercing.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:10:01 EST news620478379 Have you ever wondered why we carry two copies of each chromosome in all of our cells? During reproduction, we receive one from each of our parents. This means that we also receive two copies, or alleles, of each gene—one allele per chromosome or parent. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-reveals-clever-dosage-mechanism-biallelic.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:00:01 EST news620476142 Blood vessels are responsible for the appropriate and efficient delivery of nutrients and oxygen to the whole body. To do so, they must grow and branch to reach every cell in a process called angiogenesis. The precise regulation of the sprouting and pruning of blood vessels is complex and partly unknown, but endothelial cells, those lining the inner part of the vessels, are known to play an important role. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-key-protein-blood-vessel-growth.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 29 Nov 2023 10:27:46 EST news620476064 A research team has found that microorganisms in the human gut utilize beta-elimination to break down plant natural products and thus make them available to humans. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-decipher-enzyme-scissors-intestinal-microbes.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 29 Nov 2023 10:05:03 EST news620474701 If you added up all the microbes living deep below Earth's surface, the amount of biomass would outweigh all life within our oceans. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-minimalist-maximalist-life-microbe-mile.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 28 Nov 2023 15:25:04 EST news620407501 An analysis combining the results of 14 studies from around the globe has uncovered some common patterns in how the piglet microbiome, specifically the gut bacteria, changes over time. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-blending-statistical-piglet-gut-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Agriculture Tue, 28 Nov 2023 14:34:05 EST news620404442 Single-cell multi-omics technologies allow a profound system-level biology understanding of cells and tissues. However, an integrative and possibly systems-based analysis capturing the different modalities is challenging. In response, bioinformatics and machine learning methodologies are being developed for multi-omics single-cell analysis. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-libra-tool-paired-single-cell-multi-omics.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 28 Nov 2023 12:47:02 EST news620398021 Living cells are bombarded with many kinds of incoming molecular signal that influence their behavior. Being able to measure those signals and how cells respond to them through downstream molecular signaling networks could help scientists learn much more about how cells work, including what happens as they age or become diseased. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 28 Nov 2023 11:00:01 EST news620388967 Researchers at PSI and ETH Zurich have taken connective tissue cells that have been mechanically reprogrammed to resemble stem cells and transplanted them into damaged skin. In their laboratory experiment, they were able to show that this can promote wound healing. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-reprogramming-tissue-mechanically-wound.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Tue, 28 Nov 2023 10:43:17 EST news620390592 A team of scientists at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and MIT has spatially mapped the choices stem cells make during tissue regeneration in flatworms, revealing an unexpected finding: Rather than being organized into homogeneous neighborhoods—where one group of stem cells becomes eye cells and another becomes muscle cells, for example—the spatial pattern of stem cell choice is highly heterogeneous, with adjacent stem cells choosing different fates. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-cell-fate-choice-adult-regeneration.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 28 Nov 2023 10:31:04 EST news620389861 Far too many antibiotics are used around the world. As a result, bacteria are becoming resistant to these drugs. Curing bacterial diseases is becoming more difficult than before because antibiotics are perhaps our foremost weapons in the fight against them. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-method-bacteria-easily.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 28 Nov 2023 09:50:04 EST news620387402 Countless times a day, patients, visitors and medical staff in hospitals touch surfaces of all kinds. Door handles, railings or elevator buttons can serve as transport vehicles for pathogens such as hospital germs or viruses. Smooth surfaces are comparatively easy to clean after contamination. With porous structures such as textiles, however, this is not that simple. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-coating-fabrics-inhibits-growth-pathogens.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Tue, 28 Nov 2023 09:37:07 EST news620386625 Using new super-resolution microscopes, researchers at the University of California, Irvine and the University of Pennsylvania have for the first time observed electrical charge and discharge functions inside mitochondria isolated from cells. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-uncover-battery-like-functions-mitochondria-super-resolution.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Tue, 28 Nov 2023 09:36:49 EST news620386607 Machine learning is now helping researchers analyze the makeup of unfamiliar cells, which could lead to more personalized medicine in the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-secrets-peptide-sequences-cells-ai.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 28 Nov 2023 09:06:03 EST news620384761 For successful fertilization, sperm should move forward rapidly and be shaped correctly. The unique structure of the sperm cells forms during spermiogenesis. Now, researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the Transdisciplinary Research Unit Life & Health at the University of Bonn have found that fertility problems in both mice and humans can be caused by loss of so-called cylicins. This causes defects in the head and tail structure of sperm. The results of the study have now been published in the journal eLife. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-malfunction-spermatogenesis-uncover-contribution-cylicin.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 28 Nov 2023 08:55:04 EST news620384102 Researchers from Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine (CAMP) Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) at Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT's research enterprise in Singapore, in collaboration with Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have developed a novel method capable of identifying contaminants in T-cell cultures within 24 hours. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-pave-faster-safer-t-cell-therapy.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 27 Nov 2023 16:46:04 EST news620325961 Increasing evidence has shown an association between gut microbiota and numerous diseases inferred by metagemomic (MWAS), indicating the microbiota as one of the most promising and effective strategies to control these diseases. However, inferring causalities and strong associations from high-dimensional data are very challenging, leading to low concordance in causal microbe identification between metagenomic studies. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-inferring-causative-microbial-features-metagenomic.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 27 Nov 2023 16:34:03 EST news620325242