microbe

(University of Washington) A UW-led team has taken a sample of Lake Washington mud and successfully sequenced a complete genome for an unknown microorganism.

Their method provides a way to discover new microscopic life in complex communities.

When it comes to cellular communication networks, a primitive single-celled microbe that answers to the name of Monosiga brevicollis has a leg up on animals composed of billions of cells.

It commands a signaling network more elaborate and diverse than found in any multicellular organism higher up on the evolutionary tree, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered.

Having found that whether bacteria stick to surfaces depends partly on how stiff those surfaces are, MIT engineers have created ultrathin films made of polymers that could be applied to medical devices and other surfaces to control microbe accumulation.

(Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Having found that whether bacteria stick to surfaces depends partly on how stiff those surfaces are, MIT engineers have created ultrathin films made of polymers that could be applied to medical devices and other surfaces to control microbe accumulation.

A newly created microbe produces cellulose that can be turned into ethanol and other biofuels, report scientists.

They say the microbe could provide a significant portion of the nation's transportation fuel if production can be scaled up.

(University of Texas at Austin) A newly created microbe produces cellulose that can be turned into ethanol and other biofuels, report scientists from the University of Texas at Austin who say the microbe could provide a significant portion of the nation's transportation fuel if production can be scaled up.

An enzyme from a microbe that lives inside a cow's stomach is the key to turning corn plants into fuel. The enzyme that allows a cow to digest grasses and other plant fibers can be used to turn other plant fibers into simple sugars.

These simple sugars can be used to produce ethanol to power cars and trucks.

Humanity's age-old battle against infectious diseases stands to rage on and on, unless scientists develop a new generation of triple-action antibiotics, according to a new article.