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bacteria and DNA molecules on a purple background.
Engineering the Microbiome: CRISPR Leads the Way
Scientists have genetically modified isolated microbes for decades. Now, using CRISPR, they intend to target entire microbiomes.
Engineering the Microbiome: CRISPR Leads the Way
Engineering the Microbiome: CRISPR Leads the Way

Scientists have genetically modified isolated microbes for decades. Now, using CRISPR, they intend to target entire microbiomes.

Scientists have genetically modified isolated microbes for decades. Now, using CRISPR, they intend to target entire microbiomes.

bacteria

Electric Bacteria: Out of the Darkness and into the Light
Hannah Thomasy, PhD | Feb 29, 2024 | 6 min read
Once obscure mud microbes inspire a new generation of living electronics.
Image of Hawaiian Bobtail squid
To Boldly Go Where No Squid Has Gone Before
Hannah Thomasy, PhD | Dec 1, 2023 | 2 min read
Jamie Foster’s space-faring squid and its symbiotic bacteria illuminate host-microbe communication.
What Could Cause the Next Pandemic?
What Could Cause the Next Pandemic?
The Scientist | 2 min read
Scientists prepare for the future by filling in the research gaps between zoonotic viral reservoirs, emerging viruses, and human immune defenses.
A man sitting at a desk in a white lab coat holds up a large model of a <em >Drosophila</em> fly. In the background is a window and a bookcase.
The Origins and Recent Promise of Nonsense Suppressor tRNAs
Ida Emilie Steinmark, PhD | Sep 8, 2023 | 4 min read
A discovery that goes back to the first studies of translation has become the topic of biotech buzz.
A man wearing a dark blue sweater is smiling and standing in front of a building
When Microbes Meet the Immune System
Mariella Bodemeier Loayza Careaga, PhD | Sep 8, 2023 | 3 min read
Timothy Hand leads a research team that explores how maternal immune signals shape the infant intestinal microbiota.
Discover the microbiome&rsquo;s role in diabetes&nbsp;
A Question of Balance: How the Gut Microbiome Influences Diabetes
The Scientist | 1 min read
The presence of beneficial or detrimental microbes pulls the host toward health or disease.
Microscopic image of a torn piece of gray plastic on a white background.
Alpine and Arctic Microbes Break Down Plastics
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Jul 7, 2023 | 2 min read
Researchers identified cold-adapted microbes that degrade certain plastics at low temperatures, potentially saving energy in industrial recycling.
Vet giving vaccines to pigs
Antimicrobial Resistance: The Silent Pandemic
Danielle Gerhard, PhD | Jun 30, 2023 | 9 min read
Scientists continue to ring alarm bells about the risks associated with the continued misuse of antimicrobials and advocate for innovative treatments, improved surveillance, and greater public health education.
Brush Up: Quorum Sensing in Bacteria and Beyond
Brush Up: Quorum Sensing in Bacteria and Beyond
Deanna MacNeil, PhD | 4 min read
Microbes communicate with quorum sensing to coordinate their behavior in response to how many neighbors they have.
Cheese wheels with moldy rinds on a wooden plank
Deleting a Gene Quells a Pesky Cheese-Destroying Fungus
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Jun 30, 2023 | 3 min read
Fungi disrupt microbial communities on cheese by making antibiotics. 
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa
Cooperation and Cheating
Mariella Bodemeier Loayza Careaga, PhD | Jun 1, 2023 | 6 min read
Bacteria cooperate to benefit the collective, but cheaters can rig the system. How is the balance maintained?
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The Scientist Speaks - Rising From the Dead: How Antibiotic Resistance Genes Travel Between Current and Past Bacteria
Nele Haelterman, PhD | 1 min read
Heather Kittredge and Sarah Evans discuss the environmental conditions that facilitate natural transformation in bacteria’s native habitat.  
Infographic showing strategies used by cooperators to curb the cheater population in a bacterial community
Infographic: Curbing the Cheaters 
Mariella Bodemeier Loayza Careaga, PhD | Jun 1, 2023 | 1 min read
From spatial structuring to policing, cooperative bacteria have a wide toolkit to contain the spread of cheaters.
Man in blue shirt holding a paper representation of the intestines
Gut Bacteria Contribute to Anorexia
Kamal Nahas, PhD | May 1, 2023 | 3 min read
Microbiomes transplanted from women with anorexia nervosa into mice enhanced symptoms of the eating disorder, such as rapid weight loss and reduced appetite.
Learn About the Latest Innovations in Microbiology Research
Getting Ahead of the Curve with Microbiological Assays
The Scientist and Tecan | 1 min read
Versatile technology helps scientists streamline microbiology research.
One hand holding the other, depicting pain in the joints
A Bacterial Culprit for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Hannah Thomasy, PhD, Drug Discovery News | Apr 27, 2023 | 4 min read
Scientists identified a species of Subdoligranulum that may drive disease.
Image shows photorhabdus virulence cassettes (green) binding to insect cells (blue) prior to injection of payload proteins.&nbsp;
Engineered Bacterial “Syringes” Can Deliver Drugs Into Human Cells
Rohini Subrahmanyam, PhD | Apr 20, 2023 | 4 min read
Researchers repurpose tiny bacterial injection systems to specifically inject a wide variety of proteins into human cells and living mice.
Discover how to avoid PCR inhibition
Crude Samples, Optimal Results
The Scientist and MilliporeSigma | 1 min read
Discover how to avoid the PCR inhibitors that lurk in most nucleic acid samples.
T regulatory cell in red sandwiching an antigen presenting cell in blue
Gut Bacteria Help T Cells Heal Muscle: Study
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Mar 14, 2023 | 4 min read
Regulatory T cells in the colon travel to muscles to promote wound healing in mice, raising questions about how antibiotics may impact injury recovery.
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