Your gut microbes might be turning fiber into extra calories
Deep within your gut lives a bustling world of microbes, each playing a role in digesting your food. Among them is one unusual microbe that produces methane — a gas…
Frozen light switches: How Arctic microbes could revolutionize neuroscience
Imagine the magnificent glaciers of Greenland, the eternal snow of the Tibetan high mountains, and the permanently ice-cold groundwater in Finland. As cold and beautiful these are, for the structural…
Martian dust to dream homes: How microbes can build on the red planet
Inhabiting Mars has long been a futuristic fantasy fueled by science fiction. However, successful landings on our neighboring planet over the past half-century have made this seemingly far-fetched idea increasingly…
Microbes in Brooklyn Superfund site teach lessons on fighting industrial pollution
Using advanced DNA sequence analysis, a research team led by NYU Tandon School of Engineering’s Assistant Professor Elizabeth Hénaff has discovered that tiny organisms in Brooklyn’s highly contaminated Gowanus Canal…
Gut microbes release cancer-fighting bile acids that block hormone signals
Bacteria naturally present in the human intestine (known as the gut microbiota) can transform cholesterol-derived bile acids into powerful metabolites that strengthen anti-cancer immunity by blocking androgen signaling, according to…
Origin of life: How microbes laid the foundation for complex cells
Ten years ago, nobody knew that Asgard archaea even existed. In 2015, however, researchers examining deep-sea sediments discovered gene fragments that indicated a new and previously undiscovered form of microbes.…
Scientists reveal gut microbes’ hidden role in anxiety: Could probiotics be the next mental health breakthrough?
Could the key to easing anxiety be hidden in our gut? Scientists from Duke-NUS Medical School and the National Neuroscience Institute have discovered a crucial connection between gut microbes and…
Scientists discover unique microbes in Amazonian peatlands that could influence climate change
Complex organisms, thousands of times smaller than a grain of sand, can shape massive ecosystems and influence the fate of Earth’s climate, according to a new study. Researchers from Arizona…
Microbes found to destroy certain ‘forever chemicals’
UC Riverside environmental engineering team has discovered specific bacterial species that can destroy certain kinds of “forever chemicals,” a step further toward low-cost treatments of contaminated drinking water sources. The…
Engineers find a way to protect microbes from extreme conditions
Microbes that are used for health, agricultural, or other applications need to be able to withstand extreme conditions, and ideally the manufacturing processes used to make tablets for long-term storage.…