Tag Archives: bacteria

Could we use bacteria to power tiny wind farms?

Posted on August 16, 2016 by

A single drop of fluid can contain billions of bacteria swimming around inside it. For the most part, the movements of these bacteria are random and chaotic. But if you look at them under the microscope, you begin to see … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, Video | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Archaea and the Tree of Life

Posted on May 9, 2016 by

As part of the latest issue of Microbiology Today, called ‘What is life?’ (published online 10 May), we explore the Archaea. These are microbes that have been around since the beginnings of life on Earth, but were only discovered in the last 40 years. … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science, Microbial Evolution and Diversity, Video | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Microbe Talk: April 2016

Posted on April 29, 2016 by

Can parasitic worms treat inflammatory diseases? In 2010, a medical case report was published about a man with inflammatory bowel disease. The man had a serious case of a condition called ulcerative colitis, and was facing the prospect of having a … Continue reading →

Posted in Podcast | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Microbial diversity and ‘unique’ cheeses

Posted on March 22, 2016 by

Traditional cheese-making with raw milk utilises bacteria from the local environment. Today at the Annual Conference, Bronwen Percival, Technical Manager at London-based Neal’s Yard Dairy, will explain how this traditional way of producing cheese is making a comeback, but how … Continue reading →

Posted in Food Microbiology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Discovering new lemur parasites in Madagascar

Posted on March 11, 2016 by

Madagascar is home to many species of wildlife that are found nowhere else on the planet. The island broke off from India about 88 million years ago and its inhabitants have evolved in isolation ever since, giving rise to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Microbiology, Microbial Evolution and Diversity, Parasitology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Microbe Talk: February 2016

Posted on February 24, 2016 by

It’s a well-known fact that the number of bacteria in, and on, a person outnumber the actual human cells present by 10:1, right? While this ratio often appears on presentation slides across the world, is it actually true? In this … Continue reading →

Posted in Podcast | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Mapping the microbes in your mouth

Posted on February 18, 2016 by

Scientists from the Forsyth Institute have managed to visualise communities of bacteria in the human mouth, showing their spatial organisation for the first time in “microbial maps”. The maps could help scientists understand the interactions between different oral bacteria and … Continue reading →

Posted in Clinical and Medical Microbiology, Microbial Evolution and Diversity | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Microbes in an ancient mummy

Posted on February 1, 2016 by

Last month, researchers announced the discovery of ancient gut microbes in the frozen remains of a prehistoric mummy. DNA recovered from the bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, may ultimately change the way we think about the migration of our species. We spoke … Continue reading →

Posted in Microbial Evolution and Diversity | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Microbe Talk: January 2016

Posted on January 28, 2016 by

Nature is full of patterns that follow fundamental mathematical rules – from nautilus shells to spiral galaxies, lightning bolts to blood vessels. In the first podcast of 2016, Anand spoke to Prof Raymond Goldstein from the University of Cambridge about the mathematical … Continue reading →

Posted in Podcast | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Surfer bums and antibiotic resistant bacteria

Posted on January 20, 2016 by

Are surfers at greater risk of being colonised by antibiotic resistant bacteria? Anne Leonard, a PhD student at the University of Exeter Medical School, is trying to find out. Anne is part of a research team led by Dr William Gaze … Continue reading →

Posted in Clinical and Medical Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology, Video | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment