Clean water
UNICEF estimates that over 2.2 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean drinking water. Micro-organisms are responsible for a host of waterborne diseases, but simultaneously offer solutions in purifying water and improving sanitation. Biofertilizers offer promising solutions for reduced nutrient runoff and wastewater recycling. As well as applying microbes to combat the problem, applied microbiologists can use their knowledge of health and disease to reduce cases of waterborne disease.
News
Study maps antimicrobial resistance across major drinking water sources
Rivers, reservoirs and lakes can act as reservoirs for antibiotic residues and antimicrobial resistance, but the risks are not evenly distributed. A new study of drinking water sources in the Poyang Lake basin found that rivers and certain lake sites carried higher resistance-gene burdens, with mobile genetic elements emerging as a key factor linked to their spread.
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NewsMachine learning links water quality measurements to potential pathogen risks
A study of drinking water prediction systems shows that environmental measurements could support predictions of multiple microbial targets and generate potential health risk estimates broadly consistent with calculations based on measured pathogen concentrations.
NewsFungi that colonise human faeces: first scientific study lays the groundwork for myco-sanitation
Filamentous fungi can colonise fresh human faeces, and the choice of fungal species shapes how the material changes, according to a new study. Depending on the species, the fungi accelerated degradation, reduced faecal indicator bacteria, suppressed faecal odour or changed the appearance of the material.
NewsGlobal genome atlas reveals hidden life in lakes
Researchers reconstructed nearly 20,000 mitochondrial genomes from around 3,660 species fround in lakes and reservoirs. The result is the first global genomic atlas of these microscopic eukaryotes found in lakes and reservoirs. It reveals a wealth of previously unknown biodiversity: for several groups of algae and related organisms.
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Features
Tracking the invisible: monitoring microbial processes in freshwater ecosystems using fluorescence sensing
Rivers are dynamic ecosystems driven by microbial processes that regulate carbon and nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition, and oxygen consumption. Despite their central role in river health, microbial processes remain mostly invisible in routine water quality monitoring programmes, which continue to focus primarily on physicochemical parameters.
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NewsWater transformed into a weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Engineers have developed a new approach for turning ordinary water into a weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, according to a study that hinges on a new kind of crystal made from titanium dioxide. These crystals transform the normal oxygen molecules in water into a special molecule known as “singlet” oxygen.
NewsIn African lakes, microbes living on algae reduce a powerful greenhouse gas
Lakes emit as much methane as agriculture. Researchers have shown that, in 79 African lakes, bacteria living on the surface of microalgae act as a natural filter. The greener the water becomes, the more these methanotrophs break down this powerful greenhouse gas.
NewsWHO reports latest global trends in cholera, meningitis and plague
Cholera deaths increased by 30% in 2025, despite fewer cases being reported to the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2025, 47 countries reported 451 499 cholera cases and 7870 deaths to WHO, the highest number of annual cholera deaths reported to WHO since 1999.
NewsSafer water: From single-target tests to real-time multipathogen surveillance
A new perspective outlines how integrated biosensing systems could move aquatic pathogen surveillance from periodic single-target testing toward rapid, online monitoring of multiple pathogens at once.
NewsRainwater tanks may be harbouring hidden health risks
Rainwater tanks are a popular way for Australians to save water, but new research has found they can also harbour potentially harmful bacteria and metals that could pose health concerns.
NewsCyanobacterium found in clean lakes shows little toxic potential
Scientists have assembled the first complete genomes of Gloeotrichia echinulata, comparing DNA of samples from both West Coast and Northeast lakes. They found no evidence of the machinery required to produce the toxins commonly associated with cyanobacteria.
NewsBacteria pulled from local pond water show early promise for cleaning up sewage
A new study identifies green sulphur bacteria from Peshawar pond samples that reduced pollution markers in wastewater after a week of treatment.
Long ReadsHow indigenous microbes could rescue the Niger Delta
Benzene contamination from decades of oil exploitation has turned the Niger Delta’s groundwater into a slow-acting poison for millions of people. Yet the solution may already be living in the contaminated sediment itself, if only the political will exists to deploy it.
NewsWas Nîmes depopulated by the Plague of Cyprian?
Analyses of the carbonate deposits in the aqueduct featuring the famous Pont du Gard shed light on the water supply of the ancient city of Nîmes - and support the theory that the city was depopulated by the plague.
NewsDairy waste to fuel: New process unlocks potential of 95,000 tonnes of salty whey
A company that helped design how astronauts grow and recycle food in space is now applying that thinking to the critical problem of dairy waste here on Earth. Scientists turned salty whey, a high-volume by-product from cheese production, into bioethanol.
NewsIntermediate nitrification/denitrification bioreactor closes a gap
Researchers present a method for nitrification and denitrification of septic effluent comprising an intermediate nitrification/denitrification bioreactor which builds on concepts currently used in the design of full‑scale wastewater treatment plants.
NewsCo-digestion of waste and wastewater from biomanufacturing for energy recovery
Researchers have developed the Anaerobic Baffled Continuous Stirring (ABCS) reactor, a device capable of simultaneously treating solid waste and wastewater from biomanufacturing processes while recovering methane for energy self-sufficiency.
NewsRiver drinking water sources may face greater antibiotic resistance risks than reservoirs, study finds
A basin-wide study of 13 drinking water sources in China’s Poyang Lake region shows that water source type can strongly shape the occurrence and spread of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes, and resistant bacteria.
NewsMicroplastics may act as pollutant shuttles, carrying chemicals, pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes
A new review reveals how microplastics transport multiple pollutants across ecosystems and proposes a framework for identifying when these vector effects become serious ecological threats.
NewsPreliminary wastewater bioremediation by photosynthetic Chlorobium genus isolated from pond water
Researchers have isolated naturally occurring light-driven bacteria from local pond water and shown that, within just one week, these microorganisms can substantially reduce the levels of organic pollutants in raw sewage.
NewsAnti-fouling materials protect against slimy incursions
Researchershave received a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop materials that incorporate soft robotics and nontoxic polymers to fight biofouling, or the buildup of aquatic organisms in wet environments.
NewsFirst results published from major algal gene sequencing project
A new study reveals that different species of microscopic algae can behave in strikingly different ways because of their genetics.
NewsSwimming in rivers and lakes linked to higher risk of stomach bugs and rashes
Researchers have found that people swimming in rivers and lakes were more than twice as likely to develop skin problems, while higher levels of bacteria linked to faecal pollution were associated with an increased risk of stomach bugs.