bacteria – Page 10 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Like Humans, Amoebae Pack a Lunch Before They Travel

By Guest PostJanuary 25, 2011Nature, Scienceagriculture, amoebae, bacteria, beneficial bacteria, biologists, david queller, debra brock, dictyostellum discoideum, farmer amoebae, george gilchrist, harmful bacteria, joan strassmann, migratory systems, slime molds, social amoebae, strains of bacteria, tracy douglas, tuberculosis bacteria

*Amoebae increase survival odds through rudimentary form of agriculture; finding has implications for human diseases*

Some amoebae do what many people do. Before they travel, they pack a lunch.

In results of a study reported in the journal Nature, evolutionary biologists Joan Strassmann and David Queller of Rice University show that long-studied social amoebae Dictyostellum discoideum (commonly known as slime molds) increase their odds of survival through a rudimentary form of agriculture. (more…)

‘Undersea Methane Could be Contributor to Increased Ocean Acidity’

By Guest PostDecember 7, 2010Environmentacidity, algae, bacteria, bottom of the ocean, carbon dioxide, chris osburn, CO2, cold seeps, degradation, dissolved organic carbon, doc, fluids, marine science, methane, methane-derived doc, microbial processing, ocean, ocean acidification, oceanic microorganisms, pacific ocean, phytoplankton, seawater, sediments, undersea, undersea ecosystems

A North Carolina State University researcher is part of a team which has found that methane from “cold seeps” – undersea areas where fluids bubble up through sediments at the bottom of the ocean – could be contributing to the oceans’ increasing acidity and stressing already delicate undersea ecosystems.

Oceanic microorganisms and bacteria survive by consuming dissolved organic carbon, or DOC. A byproduct of this consumption is CO2 – carbon dioxide – which, in large enough concentrations, makes seawater more acidic. (more…)

How Pathogens Hijack Host Plants

By Guest PostNovember 27, 20101 commentSciencearabidopsis, bacteria, cell membrane, cells, diabetes, fluorescence resonance energy transfer, frank white, fret, fungi, global crop, infestation, li-qing chen, mustard, mutation, novel transporters, organism, pathogen infection, pathogenic bacteria, pathogens, plant nutrients, pore proteins, protein genes, sensor-based technology, sugar efflux, sugar-pumping mechanism, sweets

Palo Alto, CA — Infestation by bacteria and other pathogens result in global crop losses of over $500 billion annually. A research team led by the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Plant Biology developed a novel trick for identifying how pathogens hijack plant nutrients to take over the organism. They discovered a novel family of pores that transport sugar out of the plant. Bacteria and fungi hijack the pores to access the plant sugar for food. The first goal of any pathogen is to access the host’s food supply to allow them to reproduce in large numbers. This is the first time scientists have a direct handle on controlling the food supply to pathogens and thus a new means to prevent a wide range of crop diseases and losses. (more…)

Vaccine for Urinary Tract Infections is One Step Closer

By Guest PostNovember 14, 2010Healthantibiotic resistance, bacteria, urinary tract infections, vaccine

Study sheds light on what E. coli genes are doing inside the body during infection

E. coli bacteria. Image credit: Amy Simms, Ph.D

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Urinary tract infections are a painful, recurring problem for millions of women. They are also getting more dangerous as bacteria develop resistance to the most common treatments.

Scientists from the University of Michigan have moved one step closer to a vaccine that could prevent a majority of urinary tract infections, which are caused by E. coli bacteria. Using a genetic technique rarely used to look at infections in human hosts, the researchers studied how the E. coli bacteria operate and discovered key differences between how the bacteria’s genes behave in women and how they behave in mice used in experiments.

Their findings, published online Nov. 11 in PLoS Pathogens, could lead to developments that would save billions in health care costs and millions of doctors’ visits and hospitalizations from urinary tract infections each year. (more…)

Scientists identify key enzyme in microbial immune system

By Guest PostSeptember 10, 20102 commentsSciencearchaea, bacteria, berkeley lab, Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repea, crispr, crrna molecule, csy4 enzyme, DNA, doudna group, genetic element, jennifer doudna, microbes, movie, nucleic acid, nucleic acid-based immune system, plasmids, rachel haurwitz, terminator

Imagine a war in which you are vastly outnumbered by an enemy that is utterly relentless – attacking you is all it does. The intro to another Terminator movie? No, just another day for microbes such as bacteria and archaea, which face a never-ending onslaught from viruses and invading strands of nucleic acid known as plasmids.

(more…)

Bacteria Make Thrift a Habit

By Guest PostAugust 26, 2010Scienceamino acids, bacteria, bacterial protein, bacterium, balance function, curli, daniel smith, e coli, economic cost, escherichia coli, fibers, flagellu, glycine, illness, matthew chapman, mbio, metabolic, microbes, proteins, smith and chapman, ssga, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— In these lean times, smart consumers refuse to pay a lot for throwaway items, but will shell out a little more for products that can be used again and again. The same is true of bacteria and other microbes, researchers at the University of Michigan have learned.

(more…)

The Natural World of the Human Mouth

By PravdaAugust 21, 20102 commentsHealthanaerobic bacteria, bacilli, bacteria, bacterial equilibrium, bacteroids, chromosome number, dental plaque, fungi, fuziformis, gene-villains, human oral cavity, jeff hillman, lactic acid bacteria, lactobacilli, microorganisms, oral microflora, oral mucosa folds, pathogenic microflora, pathogenic microflorabacteria, periodontitis, porphyromonas gingivalis, prevotelly, protozoa, saprophytic, saprophytic microflora, spirochetes and actinomycetes, streptococcus, veillonella, viruses

According to scientists, the number of species of microorganisms that permanently reside in the human oral cavity amounts to 200-500. Of those, only fifty are named and studied. They have various looks: balloons, ovoids, bacilli, those that look like corn on the cob, bottle brushes, spirals, zippers, etc. What of the inhabitants of the mouth are our enemies, and what are friends?

(more…)

Reseachers Predict Larger-than-average Gulf ‘Dead Zone’; Impact of Oil Spill Unclear

By Guest PostJuly 2, 2010Environment, Scienceaquatic, Atchafalaya, bacteria, center for sponsored coastal ocean, dead zone, deepwater horizon, donald scavia, ecologist, geological survey, graham sustainability institute, gulf hypoxic zone, gulf of mexico, hypoxia, hypoxia zone, hypoxia-fueling algae, lake Ontario, louisiana state university, louisiana universities marine consortium, matt Larsen, Mississippi, national oceanic and atmospheric administration, nitrogen, noaa, organic matter, oxygen-starved, river, school of natural resources and environment, university of michigan, US, usgs

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—University of Michigan aquatic ecologist Donald Scavia and his colleagues say this year’s Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” is expected to be larger than average, continuing a decades-long trend that threatens the health of a $659 million fishery.

(more…)

Tag Archives: bacteria