Zinc blocks protein transporter in lethal bacteria
13 November, 2013Researchers at the Universities of Adelaide and Queensland have found that zinc can 'starve' one of the world's most deadly bacteria by preventing its uptake of an essential metal.
Australian/Israeli collaboration on drug resistance
04 October, 2013Microbiologists from Flinders University in Adelaide and the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) in Israel are teaming up to study how bacteria become resistant to antibiotics.
Antarctica's promiscuous microbes
02 October, 2013 by Lauren DavisDeep Lake, located 5 km from Davis Station in Antarctica, is 3500 years old, 36 m deep and so salty that it remains in liquid form down to a temperature of -20°C. Researchers have now uncovered the secrets of the lake's dominant inhabitants - extremophile microbes from the haloarchaea group.
Bacteria invest in evolutionary success
02 August, 2013Researchers at Sydney and Exeter Universities have, for the first time, recreated and analysed the complex interplay between bacterial investment strategies and their outcomes.
Why do antibiotics have side effects?
05 July, 2013Over the years, doctors have prescribed antibiotics freely, thinking that they harm bacteria while leaving human tissue unscathed. But as scientists at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have noted, “Prolonged antibiotic treatment can lead to detrimental side effects in patients, including ototoxicity, nephrotoxicity and tendinopathy.”
Novel chemistry for new class of antibiotic
05 July, 2013University of Adelaide research has produced a potential new antibiotic which could help in the battle against bacterial resistance to antibiotics.
New species of fungus found
19 June, 2013A University of Sydney researcher has discovered a new species of fungus that causes life-threatening infections in humans and cats.
Grow your own electricity
20 May, 2013Researchers have engineered a strain of electricity-producing bacteria that can grow using hydrogen gas as its sole electron donor and carbon dioxide as its sole source of carbon.
Biosensor that detects antibiotic resistance brings us closer to fighting superbugs
10 May, 2013JoVE has published research that demonstrates how a biosensor can detect antibiotic resistance in bacteria. The technology is a preliminary step in identifying and fighting superbugs.
Study reveals ancient microbial feasting
02 May, 2013The first-ever snapshot of primitive organisms eating each other has been found in ancient fossils examined by a team of scientists at The University of Western Australia (UWA).
Rosco Diagnostica kits for the detection of resistance mechanisms
28 April, 2013Rosco Diagnostica acknowledges the increasing need for detection of resistance mechanisms; therefore, a series of kits has been developed. The objective is to supply users with a conveniently assembled kit complete with easy-to-handle cartridges of disc diffusion tablets and a guide for usage.
Colitag iMPNplate-1600 water test system
19 April, 2013The Colitag iMPNplate-1600 is claimed to be the first definitive system for measuring microbial contaminants in water with the widest testing time window: 16 to 48 h.
Automated colony counter speeds up vaccine testing
12 April, 2013Synbiosis, a manufacturer of automated microbiological systems, has announced that its ProtoCOL 3 automated colony counter is being successfully used at UK vaccine company ImmunoBiology (ImmBio) in Cambridge to speed up testing throughput of its bacterial meningitis vaccines.
Strange alien slime discovered living beneath the Nullarbor Plain
14 March, 2013Deep in water-filled underground caves beneath Australia’s Nullarbor Plain, cave divers have discovered unusual ‘curtains’ of biological material known as Nullarbor cave slimes.
Study finds impact craters could have fostered early life
11 March, 2013A Curtin University-funded study has revealed that even comparatively small meteorite impact craters might have played a key role in the origin and evolution of early life.
