All Environmental Microbiology articles
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NewsMicrobes in Brooklyn Superfund site teach lessons on fighting industrial pollution
Researchers discover unprecedented pollution-fighting genetic adaptations in tiny organisms inhabiting Brooklyn’s highly contaminated Gowanus Canal, revealing a potential new approach for cleaning contaminated waters and recovering valuable resources.
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NewsEngineered bacteria emit signals that can be spotted from a distance
Engineers have found a way to read out bacterial signals from as far as 90 meters away. This work could lead to the development of bacterial sensors for agricultural and other applications, which could be monitored by drones or satellites.
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NewsMicrobial vanadate reduction: unveiling electron transfer and isotope fractionation
A recent study has shed light on the microbial reduction of vanadate (V(V)), a crucial process in environmental geochemistry and vanadium detoxification. It investigated electron transfer pathways and vanadium isotope fractionation during this process.
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NewsIn Croatia’s freshwater lakes, selfish bacteria hoard nutrients, shaping food webs
Researchers have documented ’selfish polysaccharide uptake’ by bacteria in freshwater ecosystems for the first time. They found that nutrient hoarding allows selfish species to dominate over others, which could shape a lake’s food web.
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NewsReduced movement of starlings with parasite infections has a negative impact on offspring
Researchers have shown for the first time that the impaired reproductive success in individuals with parasites is connected to altered movement behaviour. Infected starlings have a smaller action radius, which limits their access to high-quality foraging habitats.
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NewsResearch to tackle Prymnesium algal blooms which affect fish populations
A scientific initiative to combat harmful Prymnesium algal blooms in the Broads is gaining fresh momentum, thanks to a renewed collaboration.
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NewsHidden signals in water reveal disease early in tomato plants
Researchers have developed an innovative method for the early detection of Fusarium wilt in tomato plants by monitoring subtle changes in the plants’ water use.
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NewsMuseum collections reveal worldwide spread of butterfly disease
A new study of museum butterfly collections explore how these specimens can be used to track the spread of disease. Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE) is a protozoan parasite that can hamper a butterfly’s growth and flight.
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NewsDistinct patterns of soil bacterial and fungal communities in the treeline ecotone
A study was carried out to understand the biodiversity of the microbial communities in the treeline ecotone that might affect alpine ecosystems and other potential ecological effects in response to climate change.
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NewsBiochar and microbe synergy: a path to climate-smart farming
Researchers conducted a global analysis to obtain a full picture of the environmental and agricultural benefits of biochar, which is shown to be beneficial to soil health and microbes.
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NewsPlastic-degrading enzymes from landfills
Researchers identified and analysed the structure and predicted functions of potential plastic-degrading enzymes in collected landfills sample from around the world, in an effort to reduce plastic pollution.
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NewsWithout oxygen: How primordial microbes breathed
Scientists decode the fundamental mechanisms of a cell respiratory enzyme in ancient bacterial cells, with potential applications in removing greenhouse gases and drug development against pathogens.
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NewsSwRI receives $3 million NASA astrobiology grant to study microbial life in Alaska’s arctic sand dunes
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has received a three-year, $2,999,998 million grant from NASA to identify and characterize life and its biosignatures in frozen sand dunes in Alaska, under conditions similar to dune fields on early Mars and Saturn’s moon Titan. Source: Southwest Research Institute The Great Kobuk Sand ...
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NewsResearch team publishes paradigm-challenging discovery in a Yellowstone thermophile
A graduating PhD student has made an interesting discovery about a common thermophilic bacteria dwelling in hots prings which is able to simultaneously respirate and metabolize via aerobic and anaerobic pathways.
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NewsBacteria and minerals work together to detoxify arsenic in contaminated soils
New research shows that the interaction between arsenic-oxidizing bacteria and goethite, a common Fe mineral, significantly accelerates the conversion of arsenic from its highly toxic form, arsenite [As(III)], into the less harmful arsenate [As(V)].
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NewsSulfur-reducing bacteria team-up to break down organic substances in the seabed
Researchers have decoded the molecular strategies employed by the underappreciated sulfate-reducing bacteria, <i>Desulfobacteraceae</i>, which is capable of breaking down organic carbon in the oxygen-limited seabed.
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NewsScientists reveal anti-bacterial role of plant metabolite
A study shows that a plant metabolite, erucamide, is able to target and disrupt a protein assembly of Gram-negative bacterial pathogens, thus inhibiting their virulence. Understanding the metabolite’s molecular mechanisms could protect crops from infection.
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NewsResearcher measures microplastics’ massive changes in microbes
A new ecological research is underway to investigate the impact of microplastics on aquatic microbial communities in the Virginia Tech Duck Pond.
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NewsToxic chemical pollutants detected in lichens and mosses in the Irati forest
Scientists used a species of lichen (Parmelia sulcata) and a species of moss (Hypnum cupressiforme) from Irati Forest as sentinels or biomonitors to determine the organic pollution in the atmosphere.
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NewsCold temperatures promote spread of a bird pink eye pathogen at winter feeders
A pathogen for bird pink eye remains viable on bird feeders in winter conditions much longer than in summer conditions without losing any of its severity, according to a study.