Microbiology

New biological insecticides, which make use of “entomopathogenic” viruses that are harmful to insects, have emerged in recent years. The big advantage versus regular pesticides is that they are…

Salmonella bacteria is most frequently spread to humans by infected food and as they develop a resistance to one group of antibiotics they are also less susceptible to killing by other, unrelated…

Sexual reproduction is costly. For starters, only half of the population can bear offspring so the other half has to work hard to make sure they're included in the future gene pool. Yet there is a…

A growing population and greater wealth will mean more demand for meat in developing nations. That brings concern about air quality related to food production. Some emissions are direct, such as…

Oxygen is necessary for survival on Earth but the planet's atmosphere did not always contain this life-sustaining substance. One of science's greatest mysteries is how and when oxygenic…

All animals live in a microbe rich environment, with immense numbers of bacteria, archaea, fungi and other eukaryotic microbes living in, on and around them. For some of these microbes, the…

Proteins may be more of a factor in shaping regulatory patterns than environment, according to a new study that looks at how cells' protein networks relate to a bacteria's genome. The lab…

A new strain of photosynthetic cyanobacteria have been engineered to grow without the need for light.   The cyanobacterium strain Synechococcus elongatus strain PCC 7942 has been well…

The toxin that causes botulism is the most potent that we know of - just 1/1,000th the weight of a grain of salt can be fatal, which is why so much effort has been put into keeping Clostridium…

'Pestilence', widespread outbreaks of deadly contagious disease, are known throughout history. In popular translations of the Christian Bible, Pestilence is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse…