Microbiology News
August 6, 2025
Top Headlines
Aug. 4, 2025 — An intriguing new study reveals that over 80% of parasites found in the ancient poo of New Zealand’s endangered kākāpō have vanished, even though the bird itself is still hanging on. Researchers discovered this dramatic parasite decline by ...
Aug. 3, 2025 — Every time someone snaps a wildlife photo with iNaturalist, they might be fueling breakthrough science. From rediscovering lost species to helping conservation agencies track biodiversity and invasive threats, citizen observations have become vital ...
Aug. 1, 2025 — Ape behavior just got a name upgrade — “scrumping” — and it might help explain why humans can handle alcohol so well. Researchers discovered that African apes regularly eat overripe, ...
July 25, 2025 — Fermenting stevia with a banana leaf-derived probiotic turns it into a powerful cancer-fighting agent that kills pancreatic cancer cells while sparing healthy ones. The secret lies in a metabolite called CAME, produced through microbial ...
July 23, 2025 — Scientists have discovered a sugar compound from deep-sea bacteria that can destroy cancer cells in a dramatic way. This natural substance, produced by microbes living in the ocean, causes cancer cells to undergo a fiery form of cell death, ...
July 22, 2025 — New research from the University of Sydney sheds light on how coronaviruses emerge in bat populations, focusing on young bats as hotspots for infections and co-infections that may drive viral ...
July 21, 2025 — What scientists once dismissed as junk DNA may actually be some of the most powerful code in our genome. A new international study reveals that ancient viral DNA buried in our genes plays an active role in controlling how other genes are turned on ...
July 21, 2025 — Gene editing may hold the key to rescuing endangered species—not just by preserving them, but by restoring their lost genetic diversity using DNA from museum specimens and related species. Scientists propose a visionary framework that merges ...
July 19, 2025 — Romaine lettuce has a long history of E. coli outbreaks, but scientists are zeroing in on why. A new study reveals that the way lettuce is irrigated—and how it’s kept cool afterward—can make all the difference. Spraying leaves with untreated ...
July 16, 2025 — Hawaiian coral reefs may face unprecedented ocean acidification within 30 years, driven by carbon emissions. A new study by University of Hawai‘i researchers shows that even under conservative climate scenarios, nearshore waters will change more ...
July 16, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered a surprisingly simple “tissue code”: five rules that choreograph when, where, and how cells divide, move, and die, allowing organs like the colon to remain flawlessly organized even as they renew every few days. ...
July 12, 2025 — A cat named Pepper has once again helped scientists discover a new virus—this time a mysterious orthoreovirus found in a shrew. Researchers from the University of Florida, including virologist John Lednicky, identified this strain during unrelated ...
Latest Headlines
updated 1:52pm EDT
Aug. 5, 2025 — Tyrannosaurus rex might be the most famous meat-eater of all time, but it turns out it wasn’t the only way to be a terrifying giant. New research shows that while T. rex evolved a skull designed ...
Aug. 5, 2025 — A group of Chinese scientists has created powerful new tools that allow them to edit large chunks of DNA with incredible accuracy—and without leaving any trace. Using a mix of advanced protein ...
Aug. 2, 2025 — Long before evolution equipped them with the right teeth, early humans began eating tough grasses and starchy underground plants—foods rich in energy but hard to chew. A new study reveals that this ...
July 30, 2025 — Scientists have used artificial intelligence to upgrade plant immune systems, potentially revolutionizing how crops like tomatoes and potatoes can defend against harmful bacteria. By reengineering ...
July 29, 2025 — Scientists at UC Merced have engineered artificial cells that can keep perfect time—mimicking the 24-hour biological clocks found in living organisms. By reconstructing circadian machinery inside ...
July 24, 2025 — A tiny, overlooked wrist bone called the pisiform may have played a pivotal role in bird flight and it turns out it evolved far earlier than scientists thought. Fossils from bird-like dinosaurs in ...
July 23, 2025 — What made ribose the sugar of choice for life's code? Scientists at Scripps Research may have cracked a major part of this mystery. Their experiments show that ribose binds more readily and ...
July 11, 2025 — In a bold step toward sustainable space travel, scientists are engineering a radically small, protein-rich rice that can grow in space. The Moon-Rice project, led by the Italian Space Agency in ...
July 8, 2025 — Scientists at MIT have turbocharged one of nature’s most sluggish but essential enzymes—rubisco—by applying a cutting-edge evolution technique in living cells. Normally prone to wasteful ...
July 8, 2025 — High heat and heavy metals dampen a bumblebee’s trademark buzz, threatening pollen release and colony chatter. Tiny sensors captured up-to-400-hertz tremors that falter under environmental stress, ...
Earlier Headlines
July 6, 2025 — Kenyan fig trees can literally turn parts of themselves to stone, using microbes to convert internal crystals into limestone-like deposits that lock away carbon, sweeten surrounding soils, and still ...
July 7, 2025 — Scientists found that embryonic skin cells “whisper” through faint mechanical tugs, using the same force-sensing proteins that make our ears ultrasensitive. By syncing these micro-movements, the ...
July 7, 2025 — Scientists have decoded the sea spider’s genome for the first time, revealing how its strangely shaped body—with organs in its legs and barely any abdomen—may be tied to a missing gene. The ...
July 4, 2025 — Scientists have discovered that the bacteria behind Lyme disease and anaplasmosis have a sneaky way of surviving inside ticks—they hijack the tick’s own cell functions to steal cholesterol they ...
June 27, 2025 — A groundbreaking study suggests that the famous Cambrian explosion—the dramatic burst of diverse animal life—might have actually started millions of years earlier than we thought. By analyzing ...
June 26, 2025 — Urban wildlife is evolving right under our noses — and scientists have the skulls to prove it. By examining over a century’s worth of chipmunk and vole specimens from Chicago, researchers ...
June 25, 2025 — Two newly discovered viruses lurking in bats are dangerously similar to Nipah and Hendra, both of which have caused deadly outbreaks in humans. Found in fruit bats near villages, these viruses may ...
June 25, 2025 — Leafcutter ants live in highly organized colonies where every ant has a job, and now researchers can flip those jobs like a switch. By manipulating just two neuropeptides, scientists can turn ...
June 24, 2025 — Lichen from the Mojave Desert has stunned scientists by surviving months of lethal UVC radiation, suggesting life could exist on distant planets orbiting volatile stars. The secret? A microscopic ...
June 23, 2025 — In a remarkable twist of science, researchers have transformed a fungus long associated with death into a potential weapon against cancer. Found in tombs like that of King Tut, Aspergillus flavus was ...
June 20, 2025 — Even after 20 million years of evolutionary separation, two tiny worm species show astonishingly similar patterns in how they turn genes on and off. Scientists mapped every cell s activity during ...
June 19, 2025 — During Earth's ancient Snowball periods, when the entire planet was wrapped in ice, life may have endured in tiny meltwater ponds on the surface of equatorial glaciers. MIT researchers ...
June 19, 2025 — Researchers investigating the enigmatic and antibiotic-resistant Pandoraea bacteria have uncovered a surprising twist: these pathogens don't just pose risks they also produce powerful natural ...
June 16, 2025 — A lifelong fascination with nature and fieldwork led this researcher to the world of ethnobiology a field where ecology, culture, and community come together. Investigating how local people relate to ...
June 24, 2025 — Two Ice Age wolf pups once thought to be early dogs have been identified as wild wolves, thanks to detailed DNA and chemical analysis. Surprisingly, their last meals included woolly rhinoceros ...
June 12, 2025 — Mercury contamination is surfacing as a serious concern in parts of Georgia and South Carolina, particularly in regions like the Okefenokee Swamp. University of Georgia researchers found alarmingly ...
June 11, 2025 — Sea cucumbers, long known for cleaning the ocean floor, may also harbor a powerful cancer-fighting secret. Scientists discovered a unique sugar in these marine creatures that can block Sulf-2, an ...
June 15, 2025 — Aphid-hunting wasps can reproduce with or without sex, challenging previous assumptions. This unique flexibility could boost sustainable pest control if its hidden drawbacks can be ...
June 15, 2025 — Underground fungi may be one of Earth s most powerful and overlooked allies in the fight against climate change, yet most of them remain unknown to science. Known only by DNA, these "dark ...
June 6, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered over 200 new giant viruses lurking in ocean waters that not only help shape marine ecosystems but also manipulate photosynthesis in algae. These massive viruses once nearly ...
Sunday, July 6, 2025
Monday, July 7, 2025
- Whispers in the Womb: How Cells “hear” to Shape the Human Body
- How a Lost Gene Gave the Sea Spider Its Bizarre, Leggy Body
Friday, July 4, 2025
Friday, June 27, 2025
Thursday, June 26, 2025
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
- New Viruses Discovered in Bats in China Could Be the Next Pandemic Threat
- Scientists Reprogram Ant Behavior Using Brain Molecules
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Monday, June 23, 2025
Friday, June 20, 2025
Thursday, June 19, 2025
- How Life Endured the Snowball Earth: Evidence from Antarctic Meltwater Ponds
- Microscopic Heist: How Lung Bacteria Forge Weapons to Steal Iron and Survive
Monday, June 16, 2025
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Sunday, June 15, 2025
- Tiny Wasp’s Shocking Reproductive Trick May Transform Global Agriculture
- 83% of Earth’s Climate-Critical Fungi Are Still Unknown
Friday, June 6, 2025
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Sunday, June 8, 2025
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
- DNA Floating in the Air Tracks Wildlife, Viruses -- Even Drugs
- Large-Scale Immunity Profiling Grants Insights Into Flu Virus Evolution
- Tea, Berries, Dark Chocolate and Apples Could Lead to a Longer Life Span, Study Shows
Monday, June 2, 2025
- Nitrogen Loss on Sandy Shores: The Big Impact of Tiny Anoxic Pockets
- Student Discovers Long-Awaited Mystery Fungus Sought by LSD's Inventor
- Synthetic Compound Shows Promise Against Multidrug Resistance
- Insect Protein Blocks Bacterial Infection
Friday, May 30, 2025
Thursday, May 29, 2025
- Leprosy Existed in America Long Before Arrival of Europeans
- Evolution of a Single Gene Allowed the Plague to Adapt, Survive and Kill Much of Humanity Over Many Centuries
- Rock Record Illuminates Oxygen History
- Dinosaurs Could Hold Key to Cancer Discoveries
- HIV Discovery Could Open Door to Long-Sought Cure
- Genetic Basis of Purring in Cats
- Discovery of a New Marine Flagellate
- Cotton Virus Circulated Undetected for Nearly 20 Years, Study Finds
- Cannabis Pangenome Reveals Potential for Medicinal and Industrial Use
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
- Study Deepens Understanding of Cell Migration, Important for Potential Medical Advances
- Kinetic Coupling -- Breakthrough in Understanding Biochemical Networks
- Synthetic Molecular Rings Re-Create Energy Flow Found in Plants
- Newly Identified Group of Nerve Cells in the Brain Regulates Bodyweight
- Genetic Deep Dive Dispels Fear of Hybrid Worm Threat
- Yeast Can Now Produce Human DNase1
- Chemists Recreate How RNA Might Have Reproduced for First Time
- Gut Bacteria May Hold Key to Unlocking Better Cancer Treatment
- A High-Fat Diet Sets Off Metabolic Dysfunction in Cells, Leading to Weight Gain
- Researchers Engineer a Herpes Virus to Turn on T Cells for Immunotherapy
- New AI Tool Reveals Single-Cell Structure of Chromosomes -- In 3D
- Timing, Consistency of Activity Linked to Better Fitness
- Coastal Alaska Wolves Exposed to High Mercury Concentrations from Eating Sea Otters
- Intestinal Bacteria Influence Aging of Blood Vessels
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
- Zika Virus Uses Cells' 'self-Care' System to Turn Against Host
- Nordic Studies Show the Significance of Old-Growth Forests for Biodiversity
- Stirling Research Could Extend Biopesticide Effectiveness
- Discovery Offers New Insights Into Skin Healing in Salmon
- HIV Vaccine Study Uncovers Powerful New Antibody Target
Monday, May 26, 2025
- A Root Development Gene That's Older Than Root Development
- Flowers Unfold With Surprising Precision, Despite Unruly Genes
Friday, May 23, 2025
Thursday, May 22, 2025
- The Scent of Death? Worms Experience Altered Fertility and Lifespan When Exposed to Dead Counterparts
- Ancient DNA Used to Map Evolution of Fever-Causing Bacteria
- 'Selfish' Genes Called Introners Proven to Be a Major Source of Genetic Complexity
- Study Discovers DNA Switch That Controls TB Growth, and Could Help Unlock Its Antibiotic Resistance Secrets
- How Cholera Bacteria Outsmart Viruses
- Looking to Cut Calories? Try Adding Chilies, Study Suggests
- Scientists Test in an Animal Model a Surgical Technique to Improve Cell Therapy for Dry AMD
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
- Plant Cell Sculptors
- Bed-Netting Prototypes to Target Malaria-Causing Parasites
- Something's Fishy Here
- Yeast Reveals How Species Adapt to a Warmer Climate
- Researchers Identify a Dual Origin of Cells Controlling Puberty and Reproduction
- Scientists Invent Breakthrough Device to Detect Airborne Signs of Disease
- Unlocking the Secrets of Bat Immunity
- Engineered Bacteria Can Deliver Antiviral Therapies, Vaccines
- Natural Algal Communities Can Inhibit Aquaculture Pathogens
- Songbirds' Great Risk Results in Great Genetic Reward
- How Hibiscus Flowers Lost Their Bullseyes
- Hand2: Positional Code That Allows Axolotls to Regrow Limbs Found
- Live View: Stress-Induced Changes in Generations of Cancer Cells
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
- How Membranes May Have Brought About the Chemistry of Life on Earth
- Advanced Genomics Study Improves Detection of Hard-to-Find Diarrheal Infections
- 'Sharkitecture:' A Nanoscale Look Inside a Blacktip Shark's Skeleton
- Why Some Viral Infections Appear to Trigger Autoimmune Disease
- Research Team Traces Evolutionary History of Bacterial Circadian Clock on Ancient Earth
- Eating Craved Foods With Meals Lessens Cravings, Boosts Weight Loss
Monday, May 19, 2025
- Genomic Data Shows Widespread Mpox Transmission in West Africa Prior to 2022 Global Outbreak
- 'Cutting to Survive': How Cells Remove DNA Bridges at the Last Moment
- Survival Trick: Pathogen Taps Iron Source in Immune Cells
- Family of Parasite Proteins Presents New Potential Malaria Treatment Target
- Scientific Breakthrough: We Can Now Halve the Price of Costly Cancer Drug
- How Did Plants Evolve the Ability to Transport Massive Amounts of Protein Into Seed Vacuoles?
- How to Swim Without a Brain
- Gut Bacteria and Acetate, a Great Combination for Weight Loss
- Could Nanoplastics in the Environment Turn E. Coli Into a Bigger Villain?