Model of a protein as seen in Foldit
In an experiment called CASP9, scientists were struggling to map the structure of M-PMV, a protein involved in a virus that causes a form of simian Aids. In that experiment and others, the search had been going on for more than a decade. But the solution was not found by a laboratory but the players of an online puzzle game.
Bordetella bronchiseptica coccobacilli bacteria…Say it 5 times fast!
Like all organisms, bacteria must compete for resources to survive, even if it means a fight to the death.
Continue reading… “Mortal Chemical Combat Typifies the World of Bacteria”
Fungi have significant potential for “horizontal” gene transfer, a new study has shown, similar to the mechanisms that allow bacteria to evolve so quickly, become resistant to antibiotics and cause other serious problems.
Continue reading… “Fungi Can Change Quickly, Pass Along Infectious Ability”
Forensic scientists may soon have a valuable new item in their toolkits — a way to identify individuals using unique, telltale types of hand bacteria left behind on objects like keyboards and computer mice, says a new University of Colorado at Boulder study.
Continue reading… “New Hand Bacteria Study Holds Promise for Forensics Identification”
For two decades, scientists have been pursuing a potential new way to treat bacterial infections, using naturally occurring proteins known as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Now, MIT scientists have recorded the first microscopic images showing the deadly effects of AMPs, most of which kill by poking holes in bacterial cell membranes.
Continue reading… “New Microscopy Technique Offers Close-Up, Real-Time View of Cellular Phenomena”
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. We hear this mantra time and again. When it comes to carbon‹the “Most Wanted” element in terms of climate change‹nature has got reuse and recycle covered. However, it’s up to us to reduce. Scientists at Harvard Medical School are trying to meet this challenge by learning more about the carbon cycle, that is, the process by which carbon moves from the atmosphere into plants, oceans, soils, the earth’s crust, and back into the atmosphere again.
Continue reading… “How Ocean Bacterium Turns Carbon Into Fuel”
Hawaiian bobtail squid
Most humans are blissfully unaware that we owe our healthful existence to trillions of microbes that make their home in the nooks and crannies of the human body, primarily the gut.
Continue reading… “In Sync: Squid, Glowing Companions March in Genetic Harmony”
Researchers at The University of Western Ontario (Western) led an international and multi-disciplinary study that sheds new light on the way that bats echolocate. With echolocation, animals emit sounds and then listen to the reflected echoes of those sounds to form images of their surroundings in their brains.
What could human engineers possibly learn from the lowly slime mold? Reliable, cost-efficient network construction, apparently: a recent experiment suggests that Physarum polycephalum, a gelatinous fungus-like mold, might actually lead the way to improved technological systems, such as more robust computer and mobile communication networks.
Continue reading… “Slime Design Mimics Tokyo’s Rail System”
It’s not thinking in the way humans, dogs or even birds think, but new findings from researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, show that bacteria are more capable of complex decision-making than previously known.
Continue reading… “Bacteria Are More Capable of Complex Decision-Making Than Thought”
Bacteria can swim, propelling themselves through fluids using a whip-like extension called a flaggella. They can also walk, strolling along solid surfaces using little fibrous legs called pili. It is this motility that enable some pathogenic bacteria to establish the infections — such as meningitis — that cause their human hosts to get sick or even die.
Continue reading… “Single Atom Controls Motility Required for Bacterial Infection”
Like savvy Wall Street money managers, bacteria hedge their bets to increase their chances of survival in uncertain times, strategically investing their biological resources to weather unpredictable environments.
Continue reading… “Bacteria ‘Invest’ Wisely to Survive Uncertain Times, Scientists Report”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.