While some microbes can make people sick or spoil food, others are critical for survival. These tiny organisms can also be engineered to make specific molecules. Researchers reporting in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering have rewired one such microbe to help tackle greenhouse gases in the atmosphere: It takes in carbon dioxide (CO2) gas and produces mevalonate, a useful building block for pharmaceuticals.

Tadayasu Sawaki has just enrolled in an agricultural university in Tokyo with his longtime friend Kei Yuuki. Although not known outside a close circle of friends and family, Tadayasu has the unique ability to see and communicate with microbes, which appear larger and look different to him than they do to a normal person's eyes. This catches the attention of Keizou Itsuki, a professor at the university and an old friend of Tadayasu's grandfather who specializes in microbiology and fermentation. Thus begins Tadayasu's tutelage under Professor Itsuki, aided by his graduate student Haruka Hasegawa,...

Survey of bacteria living inside household and laboratory appliances finds a robust ecosystem.

Since the genetic code was first deciphered in the 1960s, our genes have seemed like an open book. By reading and decoding our chromosomes as linear strings of letters, like sentences in a novel, we can identify the genes in our genome and learn why changes in a gene's code affect health.

Structural evidence reveals key steps during spliceosome disassembly.

The antimicrobial potential of CRISPR-Cas systems is promising, yet how to best design or implement CRISPR nucleases remains poorly understood. An international team led by the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg has now addressed this knowledge gap.

Molecules often have a structural asymmetry called chirality, which means they can appear in alternative, mirror-image versions akin to the left and right versions of human hands. One of the great mysteries about the origins of life on Earth is that virtually all of the fundamental molecules of biology, such as the building blocks of proteins and DNA, appear in just one chiral form.

Microbiologists are searching for a universal theory of how bacteria form communities based not on their species but on the roles they play.

Attached: 1 image RT by @ECDC_EU: #WorldAMRweek highlights a critical issue! Overusing #antibiotics threatens their effectiveness, leading to resistant bacteria. It’s essential we use these life-saving medicines responsibly. #HealthUnion #OneHealthEU #StopResistance #WAAW23 #WAAW2023 @ECDC_EU 🐦🔗: https://nitter.cz/salam_rasha/status/1728785850668867905#m [2023-11-26 14:40 UTC]

  Clostridioides difficile   is the most common cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea globally. Its spores have been implicated in the prevalence of   C. difficile   infection due to their resistance and transmission ability between surfaces. Currently, disinfectants such as chlorine-releasing agents (CRAs) and hydrogen peroxide are used to decontaminate and reduce the incidence of infections in clinical environments. Our previous research demonstrated the ability of   C. difficile   spores to survive exposure to recommended concentrations of sodium dichloroisocyanurate in liquid form and within personal protective fabrics such as surgical gowns; however, the present study examined the spore response to clinical in-use concentrations of sodium hypochlorite. Spores were exposed to a 10 min contact time of 1000, 5000 and 10 000 p.p.m. sodium hypochlorite, and spore recovery was determined. To understand whether biocide-exposed spores transmitted across clinical surfaces in vitro, biocide-exposed spores were spiked onto surgical scrubs and patient gowns and recovery was determined by a plate transfer assay. Scanning electron microscopy was used to establish if there were any morphological changes to the outer spore coat. The results revealed that viable biocide-exposed   C. difficile   spores can be recovered from surgical scrubs and patient gowns, with no observable changes to spore morphology, highlighting the potential of these fabrics as vectors of spore transmission. This study demonstrates that alternative strategies should be urgently sought to disinfect   C. difficile   spores to break the chain of transmission in clinical environments.