Antibiotic with no resistance discovered
09 January, 2015 by Lauren DavisResearchers from Northeastern University have discovered an antibiotic which eliminates pathogens without encountering any detectable resistance - a promising weapon in the war against superbugs such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
Synbiosis ProtoCOL 3 automated colony counter and software
30 October, 2014Synbiosis has introduced a software module for the ProtoCOL 3 automated colony counter. The software is claimed to make Protocol 3 the world's first commercial automatic microbial identification and counter of colonies cultured on CHROMagar plates.
Mapping our microbial footprints
04 September, 2014Despite how hard we may try to scrub ourselves clean with antibacterial soap, it appears that humans are more tightly bound to our surrounding microbes than we thought.
Don't overlook what’s underfoot - save the bugs and germs
26 August, 2014 by Andrew BeattieOne of the biggest problems for conservation today is that it ignores 95% of all known species on Earth. Could a company ignore that proportion of its clients or a government so many of its voters? So why does this problem exist in conservation?
First images of a microorganism's drug manufacturing line
23 June, 2014Researchers at the University of Michigan (UM) have obtained the first three-dimensional snapshots of the 'assembly line' within microorganisms that naturally produces antibiotics and other drugs.
Targeting bacteria's antibiotic-resistant barrier
20 June, 2014Scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have discovered what they believe to be an Achilles heel in the defensive barrier which surrounds drug-resistant bacterial cells.
Australia rises to the challenge of creating synthetic yeast
29 May, 2014 by Lauren DavisAustralia has joined the Yeast 2.0 project, an international effort to create the world's first ever synthetic complex organism: a particular strain of yeast.
Whooping cough bacterium is evolving
23 April, 2014Research led by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has found that the bacterium that causes whooping cough, Bordetella pertussis, has changed - most likely in response to the vaccine used to prevent the disease.
E. coli strain close to complete resistance
02 April, 2014An international study, led by The University of Queensland (UQ), has been tracking a multidrug-resistant E. coli strain that is only one gene away from being resistant to almost all antibiotics.
A vaccine for middle ear infections
27 March, 2014A team of international researchers has moved a step closer to developing a vaccine to protect against middle ear infection, which could also be used for those with poor lung function.
'Microbial Pompeii' found on 1000-year-old teeth
26 February, 2014Plaque on the teeth of 1000-year-old skeletons has preserved bacteria and microscopic particles of food, effectively creating a mineral tomb for microbiomes that has been unearthed by an international team of researchers.
Garlic neutralises resistant bacteria
24 February, 2014A researcher at the University of Copenhagen has written his PhD thesis on the positive properties of garlic, with particular emphasis on its effect against bacteria.
New drug 'cures' bacteria of antibiotic resistance
19 February, 2014A chemist based at the University of Copenhagen has taken out a patent for a drug that can make previously multidrug-resistant bacteria responsive to antibiotics.
Understanding antibiotic-tolerant bacterial cells
14 January, 2014Researchers from the MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection at Imperial College London have made an advance in understanding how a subset of bacterial cells escape being killed by many antibiotics.
3.5 billion-year-old bacterial ecosystem found in WA
18 November, 2013 by Lauren DavisA team of researchers has discovered the well-preserved remnants of a complex microbial ecosystem in a nearly 3.5 billion-year-old sedimentary rock sequence in Western Australia.
