biofilm, microbiology

Free-swimming bacteria settle on a surface to cooperate and form a protective biofilm.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae with pathogenic genes replaced by biofilm-degrading ones enhance survival in a mouse model of ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Swirls of bacteria form on an agar plate.

Microrobots kill bacteria and clean surfaces covered in biofilm.

A study implicates the breaking up of bacterial biofilms on fatty plaques in arteries as causing stroke or heart attack following stress.

Fossilized structures suggest that mat-forming microbes have been around for almost 3.5 billion years.

Researchers show that activating an endogenous protease can eliminate bacterial persisters.

Discoveries of microbial communities that transfer electrons between cells and across relatively long distances are launching a new field of microbiology.

USC researcher Mohamed El-Naggar demonstrates how some bacteria grow electrical wires that allow them to link up in big biological circuits.

Shewanella bacteria generate energy for survival by transporting electrons to nearby mineral surfaces.

Desulfobulbaceae bacteria were recently discovered to form centimeter-long cables, containing thousands of cells that share an outer membrane.

Patterns of cell death aid in the formation of beneficial wrinkles during the development of bacterial biofilms.

Medical devices coated with selenium nanoparticles reduce the growth of a deadly hospital-borne infection.

Some of the interesting stories researchers were discussing at this year’s American Society of Microbiology meeting in San Francisco.