Blow up a long balloon and two things happen: it gets longer and it gets wider. Now imagine a living cell that inflates itself under enormous pressure and yet only grows longer, never adding width.

Bacteria possess unique traits with great potential for benefiting society. However, current genetic engineering methods to harness these advantages are limited to a small fraction of bacterial ...

Bacterial infections pose significant challenges to agriculture and medicine, especially as cases of antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to rise. In response, scientists are elucidating the ways ...

Kidney stones have plagued humans since antiquity, yet despite our long history with them, we've apparently overlooked a key ...

In 2018, scientists discovered something unexpected lurking aboard the International Space Station. This unexpected visitor turned out to be five strains of a multi-drug-resistant bacteria known to ...

Scientists have discovered a new type of immune defense in E. coli bacteria that turns viral infection machinery against the virus itself. Named after the Chinese military strategist Kongming—who ...

In a cave in Romania, scientists found a bacterial strain entombed in ice that is resistant to 10 modern antibiotics. But it may also help fight superbugs.

Mirror bacteria and microbes are synthetic lifeforms made to reflect existing life on Earth. They could serve as tools to treat diseases, but some scientists are concerned about potentially ...

Liquid culture flasks of bacteria grown in yellow broth covered with tinfoil on a shaker. Bacterial strains needed to be tested every step of the way to create the highly compressed genome. Credit: ...

Sweat rarely smells on its own. Body odour develops when bacteria on the skin break down compounds in sweat and release volatile chemicals that evaporate into the air.

Scientists have long recognized human skin as a vibrant ecosystem that's home to millions of microorganisms. Our skin microbiome includes bacteria, fungi, and viruses; all playing a key role in ...