Posts Tagged ‘microbes’
Health & Medicine - Apr 28, 2010 22:13 - 2 Comments
Belly bacteria are talking. Your body listening?
CALTECH (US)—We are not alone—even in our own bodies. The human gut is home to 100 trillion bacteria, which, for millions of years, have co-evolved along with our digestive and immune systems. Some can be harmful, some beneficial, and—according to new research—other microbes may be perched somewhere in between. (more…)
Science & Technology - Mar 30, 2010 12:47 - 0 Comments
How do you turn protein into glass?
DUKE (US)—Researchers have devised a method to dry and preserve proteins in a glassified form that seems to retain the molecules’ properties as workhorses of biology. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Mar 19, 2010 10:01 - 2 Comments
Fungus in golf-course grass wreaks havoc
RICE U. / INDIANA U. (US)—A fungus living inside a popular turf grass called tall fescue, used widely for golf courses and home lawns, is having far-reaching effects on plant, animal, and insect communities. (more…)
Science & Technology - Feb 4, 2010 11:42 - 2 Comments
Lost City microbes vie for control
U. WASHINGTON (US)—On the marine microbial stage, there appears to be a vast group of understudies only too ready to step in when “star” microbes falter. At least that’s what happens at the Lost City hydrothermal vent field in the mid-Atlantic Ocean—the only one of its kind found thus far. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Jan 12, 2010 16:10 - 0 Comments
Antibiotics that outwit bacteria
U. MICHIGAN—Researchers have figured out a way to fool bacteria by using the microbes’ own defenses against them, a technique that could provide scientists with a new tool in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jan 5, 2010 12:30 - 2 Comments
Calcium key to ‘legless’ bacteria
UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US)—Bacteria can swim. Bacteria can walk. It’s this mobility that enables some pathogenic bacteria to infect human hosts. Now researchers have identified a spot on bacteria, that when blocked, can stop the microbes in their tracks. (more…)
Health & Medicine, Science & Technology - Dec 23, 2009 16:20 - 2 Comments
Encyclopedia of microbe genomes: Chapter 1
UC DAVIS (US)—Genome scientists from the United States and Germany have assembled the first pages of a comprehensive encyclopedia of genomes of all the microbes on Earth. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Dec 11, 2009 10:05 - 4 Comments
Let kids get dirty. It’s good for them
NORTHWESTERN (US)—Are hyper-hygienic parents getting too worked up over germs? A new study suggests exposure to common germs early in life may actually protect against cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Nov 23, 2009 14:12 - 2 Comments
Life thrived in early Earth’s cooler temps
STANFORD/TEXAS A&M/YALE (US)—Billions of years ago, the Earth’s climate was far cooler—perhaps by more than 50 degrees than previously believed—which could mean conditions were more conducive for life all over the planet, new findings suggests. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Nov 9, 2009 17:57 - 1 Comment
Plants, bacteria tango to trip up disease
UC DAVIS (US)—New research is helping unravel some of the mystery surrounding how plants and bacteria partner in a kind of immunity dance to defend against invasion from disease-causing microbes. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Nov 6, 2009 12:37 - 3 Comments
Humans host melting pot of ‘personal’ bacteria
U. COLORADO (US)—People carry “personalized” communities of bacteria around that vary widely from our foreheads and feet to our noses and navels, says chemistry professor Rob Knight. He’s part of a research team that has developed the first atlas of bacterial diversity across the human body. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Oct 2, 2009 12:12 - 0 Comments
Enzyme offers target for curing tuberculosis
IOWA STATE (US)—Researchers have identified an enzyme that helps make tuberculosis resistant to a human’s natural defense system. Neutralizing that enzyme may someday lead to a cure for tuberculosis, a contagious disease that’s on the rise. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Jul 9, 2009 13:25 - 3 Comments
Potato famine blight resurfaces in U.S. gardens
One of the most visible early symptoms of the disease is brown spots (lesions) on stems and leaf tips.
