Some ‘friendly’ bacteria backstab their algal pals. Now we know why
The photosynthesizing plankton Emiliania huxleyi has a dramatic relationship with its bacterial frenemies. These duplicitous bugs help E. huxleyi in exchange for nutrients until it becomes more convenient to murder and eat their hosts. Now, scientists have figured out how these treacherous bacteria decide to turn from friend to foe. One species of these bacteria…
Scientists have found the first known microbes that can eat only...
New Year, new viral diet — literally. Tiny, pond-dwelling Halteria ciliates are virovores, able to survive on a virus-only diet, researchers report December 27 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The single-celled creatures are the first known to thrive when viruses alone are on the menu. Scientists already knew that some microscopic organisms…
Blood Falls gushes red water from Antarctica’s ice. It took scientists...
"Among the big questions here are 'how does an ecosystem function below glaciers?', 'How are they able to persist below hundreds of meters of ice and live in permanently cold and dark conditions for extended periods of time, in the case of Blood Falls, over millions of years?," Jill Mikucki, a microbiologist and the study's…
Meet some of the microbes that give cheeses flavor
Cheese making has been around for thousands of years, and there are now more than 1,000 varieties of cheese worldwide. But what exactly makes some cheeses like Parmesan taste fruity and others, such as Brie and Camembert, taste musty has remained a bit of a mystery. Now, scientists have pinned down the specific types of…
The ancestor to modern brewing yeast has been found hiding in...
In 1516, the duchy of Bavaria in Germany imposed a law on its beer brewers meant to reserve ingredients like wheat and rye for the baking of bread. The decree restricted brewers to using only barley, hops, water and yeast to make their libations, and set the prices for beer depending on the time of…
Prescription poop is here: FDA approves fecal slurry for unshakeable diarrhea
Enlarge / Laboratory technicians in France prepare stool to treat patients with serious colon infections by fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), also known as gut flora transplant (GFT) in 2019. For the first time, the US Food and Drug Administration has granted approval for a feces-based microbial treatment, which is used to prevent a recurring diarrheal…
Ancient bacteria could persist beneath Mars’ surface
Radiation-tolerant microbes might be able to live beneath Mars’ surface for hundreds of millions of years and may yet persist today, thanks in part — counterintuitively — to the Red Planet’s frigid, arid conditions. In addition to being cold and dry, the Martian surface is constantly bombarded by cosmic rays, charged particles and other radiation…
How fungi make potent toxins that can contaminate food
Food contaminated with fungi can be an inconvenience at best and life-threatening at worst. But new research shows that removing just one protein can leave some fungal toxins high and dry, and that’s potentially good news for food safety. Some fungi produce toxic chemicals called mycotoxins that not only spoil food such as grains but…
After 80 years, a Nazi shipwreck is causing environmental damage
The V-1302 John Mahn has sat at the bottom of the North Sea off Belgium for decades. The ship began its life in Germany as a 48-meter-long fishing vessel. However, during the Second World War, the Nazi Kriegsmarine requisitioned it for use as a patrol boat. On February 12, 1942, a squadron of six British…
How dormant bacteria spores sense when it’s time to come back...
Bacteria go to extremes to handle hard times: They hunker down, building a fortress-like shell around their DNA and turning off all signs of life. And yet, when times improve, these dormant spores can rise from the seeming dead. But “you gotta be careful when you decide to come back to life,” says Peter Setlow,…
