News in Marine Biotechnology – Page 4
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NewsToddler diagnosed with rare Mycobacterium marinum infection following iguana bite
A 3-year-old girl was infected with an unusual Mycobacterium marinum infection, that developed following an iguana bite, report the doctors who treated her at this year’s ECCMID in April.
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NewsCoastal ecosystem shows shifting bacterial extracellular hydrolytic systems
Scientists have found that a coastal ecosystem that experiences periodic phytoplankton blooms appears to have two distinct bacterial extracellular hydrolytic systems linked to shifts in bacterial community structure.
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NewsDeep sea sponges yield new bacterial strains that may battle pathogens
Researchers who scoured deep sea sponges in search of novel antimicrobial compounds have discovered several bacterial strains that are effective against a variety of pathogens.
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NewsBacteria flourish in plumes of deep ocean volcanoes
Deep down in the ocean at tectonic plate boundaries, hot fluids rise from so-called hydrothermal vents. The fluids are devoid of oxygen and contain large amounts of metals such as iron, manganese or copper. Some may also transport sulphides, methane and hydrogen. Source: HACON cruise 2021, REV Ocean ...
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NewsTiny chalk discs in oceans play key role in earth’s carbon cycle by propagating viruses
Researchers find biomineral structures formed by marine algae foment viral infection, contributing positively to capture CO2.
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NewsEC awards €7.65m to develop tools to harness marine microbiome data
The European Commission has awarded €7.65 million in funding to the BlueRemediomics project, which will develop novel tools and approaches to catalogue marine microbiome data and marine culture collections.
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News‘Friend or foe’ bacteria kill algal hosts when coexisting no longer works out
A study sheds new light on chemical processes that cause marine bacteria to switch from coexistence with an algae host to killer mode.
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NewsShort-lived volcanic island harboured sulphur-metabolizing microbes
Researchers discovered a unique microbial community that metabolizes sulphur and atmospheric gases, similar to organisms found in deep sea vents or hot springs, on a volcanic island that only lasted for seven years.
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NewsCorals may punish cheating symbiont algae by cutting off their food supply
Corals may ‘punish’ the algae that live inside them by cutting off their food supply if such algae become selfish and renege on their part of the resource-sharing deal with the coral as part of their symbiosis.
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NewsScientists synthesize precursors of powerful anti-cancer drug in yeast cells
Researchers have identified a novel method for the biological synthesis of catharanthine and vindoline - the two pharmacologic precursors of anti-cancer drug vinblastine - using yeast cells.
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NewsScientists discover a new way of sharing genetic information in a common ocean microbe
<i>Prochlorococcus</i>, the world’s most abundant photosynthetic organism, reveals a gene-transfer mechanism that may be key to its abundance and diversity.
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NewsThree compounds from sea sponge and marine bacteria offer Covid-blocking powers
University of British Columbia researchers have identified three compounds that prevent COVID-19 infection in human cells, derived from natural sources including a BC sea sponge.
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NewsPlankton may reveal ocean history - and even predict trends in chronic human illness
Tapping an almost century-long survey, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers say marine plankton may offer way to monitor historical marine pollution trends; and perhaps be used to predict trends in childhood and adult chronic illnesses.
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NewsEngineered microbial community could serve as living carbon sink
A Chinese team of researchers has genetically engineered a microbial community which could serve as a living carbon sink.
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NewsNew technique reveals marine microbes’ outsized role in carbon cycle
A small fraction of marine microorganisms are responsible for most of the consumption of oxygen and release of carbon dioxide in the ocean, new research suggests.
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NewsToxic bacteria find floating homes on microfibres in the Mediterranean Sea
Almost 200 species of bacteria have colonized microfibres in the Mediterranean Sea, including one that causes food poisoning in humans, according to a new study.
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NewsResearchers cultivate ‘impossible’ microbe that can grow on nitrogen while producing methane
Researchers have managed to grow a marine heat-loving methanogen that can turn nitrogen and carbon dioxide into ammonia and methane by using hydrogen.
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NewsDisease-resistant corals can rescue their more vulnerable neighbours
Disease-resistant corals can be used to help “rescue” corals that are more vulnerable to disease, according to a study from the University of California, Davis, that monitored a disease outbreak at a coral nursery in Little Cayman, Cayman Islands.
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NewsHolographic microscopy lifts lid on the life of microplankton
Researchers can follow the lives of microplankton at the individual level for the first time by making use of holograms created in digital microscopes and interpreted using artificial intelligence (AI).
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NewsMarine bacteria take in carbon dioxide through photosynthesis
Researchers in China have identified carbon-dioxide-fixing cells from seawater and determined that their sample contains functioning genes for light harvesting, suggesting that the bacteria engage in photosynthesis.