All Biofilms articles
-
Careers
Summer placement: Fleur uncovers the world of Cutibacterium acnes and biofilms
Fleur Thorogood (20), from Cheltenham, reveals what happened during her Applied Microbiology International-sponsored Summer Placement at Cardiff University investigating Cutibacterium acnes host adaptation with respect to biofilms.
-
News
Ship sliming study could enable lower costs and emissions in ocean transport
A model was recently developed to find out the correlation between the speed and extent of biofilm growth and the shear stress of the ship hull. Thus, it helps save fuel consumption by preventing fluid friction from slime fouling.
-
News
Sophisticated early warning system: How bacteria respond to threats
Recent research has found that exogenous petidoglycan fragments of Vibrio cholerae and other multidrug-resistant pathogens are able to trigger 3D biofilm formation as an universial danger response.
-
News
Bacteria in polymers form cables that grow into living gels
Scientists have discovered that bacterial cells growing in a solution of polymers, such as mucus, form long cables that buckle and twist on each other, building a kind of “living Jell-O.”
-
News
Bioactive compounds with possible industrial applications are identified in extremophilic bacteria from the Andes
Researchers isolated a strain of Pseudomonas alcaligenes that can withstand temperatures as high as 44 °C from a hot spring in Chile, and characterized the substances produced by the bacterium that help it survive extreme conditions.
-
News
Dangerous bacterial biofilms have a natural enemy - thanks to stressed plants
Scientists have discovered a chemical that plants produce when they’re stressed prevents biofilm from forming. The breakthrough offers potential advances in healthcare as well as preventing equipment corrosion in industrial settings.
-
News
CARB-X funds Peptilogics to develop a novel, broad-spectrum therapeutic to treat fracture-related infections
CARB-X will award Peptilogics US$3.3 million to develop and execute a workplan for its slow-release formulation of a novel, broad-spectrum therapeutic, zaloganan-CR, an engineered peptide intended for use in preventing infection after high-energy-traumatic bone injuries.
-
News
Small milk fat globules promote good bacteria, study reveals
A study reveals that the structure of milk fat globules, rather than their chemical composition, plays a key role in their interactions with bacteria. Small globules promote the growth of beneficial bacteria like Bacillus subtilis, while larger ones trigger biofilm formation.
-
News
Potentially harmful bacteria slip through antimicrobial showerheads
Researchers report that antimicrobial silver-containing showerheads are no ’silver bullet’. In real-world showering conditions, most microbes aren’t exposed to the silver long enough to be killed.
-
News
Discovery of β‐nitrostyrene derivatives as potential quorum sensing inhibitors for biofilm inhibition in Serratia marcescens
A new study has identified β‐nitrostyrene derivatives as potential quorum sensing inhibitors for biofilm inhibition and antivirulence factor therapeutics against Serratia marcescens.
-
News
Scientists lift lid on Salmonella dry surface biofilm
Food scientists have revealed key characteristics of the foodborne pathogen Salmonella dry surface biofilm (DSB), a previously overlooked type of biofilm that commonly exists in dry food processing environments.
-
News
Cold plasma isn’t just for sterilisation - it could become a vital green tool in water purification
Cold plasma isn’t just for sterilisation, but offers potential as a sustainable water treatment that can target stubborn contaminants like biofilms and pharmaceuticals, according to a new review.
-
Careers
‘It’s been an eye-opener’: Thomas Thompson on his year as a Junior Editor
One year into our first Junior Editor training programme with Letters in Applied Microbiology, Dr Thomas Thompson of Queen’s University Belfast tells us how he is getting on.
-
News
New imaging approach lifts lid on microbial adhesive interactions
Scientists have identified many types of bacteria in the mouth, but many problems remain in understanding how they work with one another. One of the problems is that microbes assemble themselves into densely packed multi-species biofilms. Their density and complexity pose acute difficulties for visualizing individual cells and analyzing their ...
-
News
Funding boost to bring engineering biology technologies to market
Part of a £2.8 million UKRI seed corn fund has been awarded to the Environmental Biotechnology Innovation Centre (EBIC) to bridge the gap between research and market-ready products and technologies, with comprehensive support and resources for researchers.
-
News
Breaking down bacterial barriers using bovine gut enzyme
A team of scientists has devised a way to break down biofilms which limit the entry of drugs and help bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, using an enzyme from the cow’s digestive tract.
-
News
Innovative culture method aerates microbes in static liquid medium without shaking
Culturing is a basic yet indispensable method in microbiology research. Microorganisms are often cultured in a liquid medium that provides essential nutrients, and this process is both simple and highly effective. Source: Prof. Motomu Akita from Kindai University Kindai university researchers devise a new method of culturing microorganisms ...
-
News
Pathogens that cling to microplastics may survive wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment fails to kill several human pathogens when they hide out on microplastics in the water, reports a new study.
-
News
Histones show promise against bacterial infections
Scientists have outlined that human histones have antimicrobial activity against different bacteria, including biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, one of the six most resistant bacteria in the world.
-
News
A lung pathogen’s dilemma: infect or resist antibiotics?
Research has uncovered how Pseudomonas aeruginosa manages the trade-off between colonizing and surviving during infection by switching between biofilm formation for antibiotic protection and a more mobile, “planktonic” state to spread and access nutrients.