In new table-top reactor, bacteria from wastewater produce abundant, clean hydrogen from cellulose, or even vinegar, and a little electricity

Bacterial cells form colonies with complex organization (aka biofilms), particularly in response to hostile environmental conditions. Recent studies have shown that biofilm development occurs when bacterial cells seek out small cavities and populate them at high densities.

As if being admitted to the hospital weren’t bad enough, patients, once admitted, are at higher risk of becoming infected with a “superbug” bacterium, Clostridium difficile (C. difficile). The toxins produced by C. difficile kill human intestinal cells by causing them to burst open, allowing the bacteria to use them as fuel.

Bacteria that thrive in oxygen starved environments have been used successfully to target cancer tumours, delivering gene therapy based anti-cancer treatments, according to scientists speaking today (Thursday 6 September 2007) at the Society for General Microbiology’s 161st Meeting at the University of Edinburgh, UK, which runs from 3-6 September 2007.

Researchers at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Surrey have developed microchips capable of quickly and cheaply identifying dangerous and drug resistant bacteria in clinical samples, scientists announced today (Wednesday 5 September 2007) at the Society for General Microbiology's 161st Meeting at the University of Edinburgh, UK, which runs from 3-6 September 2007.

While you may not catch a fly sipping Perrier, the insect has specialized taste cells for carbonated water that probably encourage it to binge on food with growing microorganisms. Yeast and bacteria both produce carbon dioxide (CO2) when they feast, and CO2 dissolves readily in water to produce seltzer or soda water.

When the space shuttle Endeavour touched down at the Kennedy Space Center August 21, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston microbiology and immunology department chairman David Niesel was waiting by the runway, looking forward to a reunion with some of its passengers.

The next time you have difficulty fighting a bacterial infection, your next trip to the doctor might be to the family veterinarian. A new University of Missouri-Columbia study is investigating whether the family pet could be a reservoir for infections of multi-resistant bacteria in humans.

Pigs could be the key to understanding how antibiotic resistant bacteria persist in Intensive Care Units in hospitals.

A research team including University of Central Florida Microbiology Professor Keith Ireton is using the bacterial pathogen Listeria Monocytogenes to understand the mechanisms of cell growth and cancer development.