Microbial Cell News and Research

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Scientists can accurately measure microbial growth rates inside gastrointestinal tracts

For the first time, scientists can accurately measure population growth rates of the microbes that live inside mammalian gastrointestinal tracts, according to a new method reported in Nature Communications by a team at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School.

1 Dec 2015

Umeå University chemist explores ways to decrease bacterial colonization

Among the bacterial infections that are most difficult to treat, chronic infections associated with bacterial biofilms are one of the most hazardous. Bacterial biofilms are densely packed communities of microbial cells surrounded with secreted polymers. In her doctoral thesis, chemist Shoghik Hakbyan has studied ways to decrease the bacterial colonization at Umeå University in Sweden.

14 Sep 2015

Research report on biopharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing markets

The total biopharmaceutical manufacturing market is growing, according to Kalorama Information's report, Biopharmaceutical and Vaccine Production Markets.

24 Sep 2014

IBN and IBM discover new medical application for converted PET bottles

Researchers at Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) and California's IBM Research - Almaden (IBM) have discovered a new, potentially life-saving application for polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is widely used to make plastic bottles.

10 Dec 2013

New material effective in destroying drug-resistant fungi

Researchers at Singapore’s Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) and California’s IBM Research – Almaden (IBM) have discovered a new, potentially life-saving application for polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is widely used to make plastic bottles.

9 Dec 2013

MO BIO Laboratories introduces UltraClean-htp 96 Well Swab DNA Kit

MO BIO Laboratories, Inc., the leader in microbial, stool, plant, and soil nucleic acid purification, announces the launch of the UltraClean-htp 96 Well Swab DNA Kit. The kit is designed for rapid mechanical lysis of microbial cells from low biomass and low inhibitor containing swabs, paper or filter paper for direct application to PCR for metagenomic analysis.

2 Oct 2013

New technique for developing complex protein drugs from bacteria

A cheaper, more efficient technique for developing complex protein drugs from bacteria has been developed at the University of Sheffield.

6 Jun 2013

UC San Francisco researchers outline cell-based therapeutics as a "third pillar” of medicine

Treating patients with cells may one day become as common as it is now to treat the sick with drugs made from engineered proteins, antibodies or smaller chemicals, according to UC San Francisco researchers.

4 Apr 2013

Scientists succeed in direct observation of microorganisms feeding on the intestinal mucosa

The microbiology team of David Berry, Alexander Loy and Michael Wagner from the Faculty of Life Sciences, in collaboration with scientists at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories and with the help of NanoSIMS technology, has for the first time succeeded in directly observing microorganisms feeding on the intestinal mucosa.

6 Mar 2013

Flow cytometry can now be used for quantification of microbial cells in drinking water

Flow cytometry (FCM) can now be officially used for the quantification of microbial cells in drinking water. The new analytical method - developed at Eawag and extensively tested both in Switzerland and abroad - has been incorporated into the Swiss Food Compendium (SLMB) by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).

25 Jan 2013

Study analyzes association between antibiotic use and body mass starting in infancy

Treating very young infants with antibiotics may predispose them to being overweight in childhood, according to a study of more than 10,000 children by researchers at the NYU School of Medicine and the NYU Wagner School of Public Service and published in the online August 21, 2012, issue of the International Journal of Obesity.

22 Aug 2012

Killer coating destroys bacteria and fungi on contact

Better than antibiotics, it is being used in contact lenses to prevent infections and biomedical products are the next stage

11 May 2012

Researchers reveal how immune system distinguishes between beneficial and pathogenic organisms

The human gut is filled with 100 trillion symbiotic bacteria-ten times more microbial cells than our own cells-representing close to one thousand different species. "And yet, if you were to eat a piece of chicken with just a few Salmonella, your immune system would mount a potent inflammatory response," says Sarkis K. Mazmanian, assistant professor of biology at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

22 Apr 2011

Research finds link between increased hygiene and higher rates of certain diseases in women

Little girls growing up in western society are expected to be neat and tidy - "all ribbon and curls" - and one researcher who studies science and gender differences thinks that emphasis may contribute to higher rates of certain diseases in adult women.

27 Jan 2011

Interactions between human and microbial cells determine health, physical well-being: Researchers

At birth, your body was 100-percent human in terms of cells. At death, about 10-percent of the cells in your body will be human and the remaining 90-percent will be microorganisms. That makes you a "supraorganism," and it is the interactions between your human and microbial cells that go a long way towards determining your health and physical well-being, especially your resistance to infectious diseases.

11 Jun 2010

HZI researchers develop new method to produce insulin for treatment of diabetes

More than eight million diabetics live in Germany. Diabetes is not restricted to our prosperous society and the highest growth rates often occur in countries with aspiring economies such as in Asia. Worldwide, more than 285 million people suffer from this illness; with 50 million diabetics, India is the country with the most people affected by this disease.

27 May 2010

KTH Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm, BioSilta Oy collaborate to optimise protein screening

KTH Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm and Biotechnology start-up BioSilta Oy of Oulu Finland have been collaborating over the last year to optimise protein screening in a range of microwell plate formats. The technique utilises EnBase Flo the newly developed Enzymatic Release media technology from BioSilta.

18 May 2010

Researchers use optogenetics technology to troubleshoot neural circuits

Recently, brain researchers have gained a powerful new way to troubleshoot neural circuits associated with depression, Parkinson's disease and other conditions in small animals such as rats. They use an optogenetics technology, invented at Stanford University, that precisely turns select brain cells on or off with flashes of light. Although useful, the optogenetics tool set has been limited.

19 Mar 2010

U.S. Department of Defense funds Rush University Medical Center for gastrointestinal microorganism research

The human body contains billions of microorganisms, and microbial cells found in the human gut are estimated to outnumber human cells by ten-to-one in healthy adults. However, little is known about the ways in which these minute life forms influence health and disease.

28 Oct 2009

New bio-hybrid materials could be used as sensors, catalysts, drug-delivery systems, more

Bacteria play a role in myriad industrial processes from fermentation to cleaning up environmental pollution. But floating freely in solution, the microbial cells constantly multiply, generating biomass that must be removed periodically, causing downtime. Additionally, the microorganisms cannot be localized to a specific region of interest.

3 Aug 2009