Harvesting solar fuels through a bacterium’s unusual appetite for gold
A bacterium named Moorella thermoacetica won’t work for free. But UC Berkeley researchers have figured out it has an appetite for gold. And in exchange for this special treat, the bacterium has revealed a more efficient path to producing solar fuels through artificial photosynthesis.
M. thermoacetica first made its debut as the first non-photosensitive bacterium to carry out artificial photosynthesis in a study led by Peidong Yang, a professor in UC Berkeley’s College of Chemistry. By attaching light-absorbing nanoparticles made of cadmium sulfide (CdS) to the bacterial membrane exterior, the researchers turned M. thermoacetica into a tiny photosynthesis machine, converting sunlight and carbon dioxide into useful chemicals.
Now Yang and his team of researchers have found a better way to entice this CO2-hungry bacterium into being even more productive. By placing light-absorbing gold nanoclusters inside the bacterium, they have created a biohybrid system that produces a higher yield of chemical products than previously demonstrated. The research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, was published on Oct. 1 in Nature Nanotechnology.
Government gives go ahead for world’s largest windfarm
The second stage of the world’s biggest offshore wind farm has been given the go-ahead by the UK Government. The Hornsea Project Two scheme could see 300 turbines being built across 55 miles off the East Yorkshire coast to deliver up to 1.8MW of electricity to 1.8 million UK homes. The turbines will be connected to the grid at North Killingholme in North Lincolnshire.
Approval for the project was delayed for several months after concerns were raised about its potential impact on porpoises. Hornsea Project Two is the second stage of Dong Energy’s planned development of the Hornsea Zone in the North Sea. The windfarm is expected to create up to 1,960 construction jobs and 580 operational and maintenance jobs.
Business and Energy Secretary, Greg Clark, said his decision to give consent would lead to ‘jobs and economic growth right across the country.’ The UK aims to use wind power to provide 10% of the entire country’s energy needs by 2020.
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In a major breakthrough for cancer research a team from Polytechnique Montréal, Université de Montréal and McGill University, Canada, have developed nanorobotic agents able to administer drugs with precision to targeted cancerous cells of tumours. Injecting medication in this way ensures the optimal targeting and avoids jeopardising organs and the surrounding tissue.
The nanorobotic agents are made of over 100 million flagellated bacteria, giving them the ability to self-propel. The agents are filled with drugs and move alone the most direct path between the injection point and the area of the body to cure. The propelling force of the agents is enough to travel and enter the tumours.
Once inside a tumour, the agents can detect oxygen-depleted areas, known as hypoxic zones, and deliver the drug to them. Hypoxic zones are resistant to most therapies, including radiotherapy.
The bacteria that make up the agents rely on two natural systems to move around. The synthesis of a chain of magnetic nanoparticles acts as a compass, allowing the bacteria to move in the direction of a magnetic field, while a sensor measuring oxygen concentration enables them to reach active tumour regions. The bacteria were exposed to a computer-controlled magnetic field, showing the researchers that it can perfectly replicate artificial nanorobots.
The researchers say that the nanorobots open the door for the synthesis of new vehicles for therapeutic, imaging and diagnostic agents, as well as having use in chemotherapy by eliminating the harmful side effects by targeting the affected area.
Bacteria known as Streptomyces (see images above) are the source of the majority of important antibiotics used in medicine today. These drugs have revolutionised the treatment of infectious disease since their introduction into clinical practice in the 1940s.
Recently, the World Health Organisation has warned of a “post-antibiotic era”, where people could die from simple infections that have been treatable for decades. This is because some disease-causing bacteria have evolved to become resistant to most currently used antibiotics, for example MRSA.
BBSRC investment inStreptomyces research since the 1960s has had a huge impact on our understanding and development of antibiotics, and scientists at the BBSRC-funded John Innes Centre are among those now using this knowledge to help discover and develop the new antibiotics needed to counter the threat of antibiotic resistance.
Here you can see fireflies, a type of beetle that glows.
Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light from enzymes called luciferases. In nature, many organisms such as jellyfish and fireflies ‘glow’ using these enzymes.
In scientific research, bioluminescent proteins are used to monitor changes to cells.
In the bottom images around 7000 bacterial colonies have been printed on an agar plate.The bacteria have been genetically engineered to display the bioluminescent enzyme from the firefly Photinus pyralis.
The images were taken with a sensitive camera which can detect the light output from luciferase in each colony. The light output of different types of luciferase can be analysed to discover which ones have enhanced characteristics that could be used in research.
Image credits: Terry Priest, s58y, Cassandra Stowe
Scientists have discovered how a bacterial parasite turns plants into the living dead.
The bacteria is able to manipulate the way plants grow, causing infected plants to transform their flowers into leaf tissue.
In doing so, the plants are sacrificing their reproductive success and becoming sterile – dead to the future and destined to only benefit the survival of the bacteria parasite (healthy plant seen in the top image and an infected plant can be seen in the middle image).
The parasitic bacterium produces a protein that tricks the plant into transforming its flowers into leaf-like material. This transformation makes the plant more attractive to leafhoppers for settlement - the bacterium’s next victim and host to be (see leafhopper in bottom image).
Once an enticed leafhopper eats the infected zombie plant, the bacteria then catches a ride in their saliva on to the next plant they hop on to – starting the cycle all over again.
This research comes from the labs of Professor Hogenhout at John Innes Centre, and Professors Angenent and Immink at Wageningen University.
Laura Sibley who took this image is part of a team from Royal Holloway, who are developing novel vaccines using bacteria (similar to ones that are used in probiotic drinks).
The vaccines they are creating are cheaper than normal vaccines, easier to produce and have no chemicals in them, making them suitable for diseases affecting developing countries. There are many diseases that need vaccine development, including tuberculosis, which kills around two million people per year, and is one of the diseases that they are focused on.
Laura stumbled across the ghostly vision in a study looking at TB vaccine distributed in lung tissue, work which in the future could help to protect people against TB infection.
Autism is primarily a disorder of the brain, but research suggests that as many as nine out of 10 individuals with the condition also suffer from gastrointestinal problems such as inflammatory bowel disease and “leaky gut.” The latter condition occurs when the intestines become excessively permeable and leak their contents into the bloodstream. Scientists have long wondered whether the composition of bacteria in the intestines, known as the gut microbiome, might be abnormal in people with autism and drive some of these symptoms. Now a spate of new studies supports this notion and suggests that restoring proper microbial balance could alleviate some of the disorder’s behavioral symptoms.
At the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology held in May in Boston, researchers at Arizona State University reported the results of an experiment in which they measured the levels of various microbial by-products in the feces of children with autism and compared them with those found in healthy children. The levels of 50 of these substances, they found, significantly differed between the two groups. And in a 2013 study published in PLOS ONE, Italian researchers reported that, compared with healthy kids, those with autism had altered levels of several intestinal bacterial species, including fewer Bifidobacterium, a group known to promote good intestinal health.
One open question is whether these microbial differences drive the development of the condition or are instead a consequence of it. A study published in December 2013 in Cell supports the former idea. When researchers at the California Institute of Technology incited autismlike symptoms in mice using an established paradigm that involved infecting their mothers with a viruslike molecule during pregnancy, they found that after birth, the mice had altered gut bacteria compared with healthy mice. By treating the sick rodents with a health-promoting bacterium called Bacteroides fragilis, the researchers were able to attenuate some, but not all, of their behavioral symptoms. The treated mice had less anxious and stereotyped behaviors and became more vocally communicative.
The New Mexico Department of Health said this week that two women were found to have plague, bringing the total number of people this year in the state known to have the disease to three.
All three patients, a 63-year-old man and two women, ages 52 and 62, were treated at hospitals in the Santa Fe area and released after a few days, said Paul Rhien, a health department spokesman.
Health officials in New Mexico have more experience with plague than many might expect: Every year for the last few years, a handful of people in New Mexico have come down with plague. One person has died.
While the word “plague” may conjure images of medieval cities laid to waste by the Black Death, the disease is still a part of the modern world. It is much less common than it once was, but it is no less serious.
Five years ago, Mary Millard went to the hospital for heart surgery. A contaminated medical instrument gave her an infection that led to septic shock. Her heart struggled, and her lungs and kidneys started to fail.
“What I caught was pseudomonas, and it’s a very virulent superbug,” says the 60-year-old former nurse who lives in Baton Rouge, La. This bacterium no longer responds to most antibiotics, and “it lives in you permanently, so I’m on lifetime antibiotics,” she says.
Her doctor prescribed one of the most powerful antibiotics available, and there is no clear backup for her if that stops working. “It’s kind of a wait-and-see. And that’s what’s scary.”
Millard is just one of about 2 million Americans who have been infected with a superbug. Tens of thousands die each year, and the numbers are vastly higher on a global scale.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a major new report about antibiotic resistant germs on Wednesday.
Here I am after another exam session. As usual, I would like to share with you my study method to help someone who is struggling with the same exams. Also, I would appreciate it if you gave me your feedback and advice to improve my approach.
So, let’s start.
Microbiology is a unique subject, and many students have difficulties with it. It might seem all about mnemonics, but it is fundamental to understand the mechanisms at the base of infection, clinical manifestations, diagnosis and therapies of viruses, bacteria and parasitics.
First of all, I thinkattending lessonsis vital. Books are full of notions that might be confusing and having an idea of what to focus on can help, at least at the beginning. I went to classes, took notes, and tried to understand the basics of microbiology.
After classes, I made mind maps trying to organize notions: a branch for microorganism’s structure, one for the cycle of replication, one for symptoms and pathogenesis, one for diagnosis and one for prophylaxis and therapies. I used X Mind for my digital maps, and I find this app extremely efficient (and also, it is free).
Behind having assimilated these basic notions, I read the book and inserted more details on my map. Integrating with the book was fundamental to understanding the mechanisms of pathogenesis and infection. Also, adding information can make it easier to remember the essential ones.
When classes were over, I started reading all the material again and used my mnemonics techniques. I think it is useless to memorize notions at the beginning of the study because, sometimes, understanding the concept makes it easier to learn it. For example, knowing the mechanisms of action of an antibiotic will help to remember which bacteria can defeat. Anyways, some notions (such as the name of some antibiotics or antiviral) need to be learnt by heart. For this purpose, mnemonic techniques (acronyms, short stories, etc.) are a great help.
Next, I started recalling all the topics many times. Trying to explain the matters out loud helped me comprehend whether I had learnt them or not.
Last, I recalled all the subjects with my usual studybuddy. This part is essential because she always knows something that I do not and vice versa.
Also, we do all the previous exams together. It may be unfair, but the best way to get a high score on the test is to understand what the professor focuses on.
I have to confess that I studied the day before the exam. By the way, it was a complex situation. Generally speaking, I advise resting before an exam to be relaxed and stress-free during the test.
And, that’s it! Let me know whether you agree with my study method or you would change something. Also, good luck with your studies
I’ve finally finished my biological patches set! After many months of designing, editing, and trial and error, I’m proud to post up photos of the final products!
They are woven with bright, beautiful colors that will endure many washes and adventures to come. They’re only $8 in my store:
Here are the first five patches in my biological patch set. Once all ten are made, the rainbow of studies will be complete! Each one is illustrated, digitized, and embroidered by me. Stay tuned for more! Next up is herpetology ;)
Reblogging this post for the update!
Reblogging again for yet another update! Newly added: Arachnology.
All the designs have been redrawn, new creatures picked. Super happy with these!
I’ve finally finished my biological patches set! After many months of designing, editing, and trial and error, I’m proud to post up photos of the final products!
They are woven with bright, beautiful colors that will endure many washes and adventures to come. They’re only $8 in my store:
Here are the first five patches in my biological patch set. Once all ten are made, the rainbow of studies will be complete! Each one is illustrated, digitized, and embroidered by me. Stay tuned for more! Next up is herpetology ;)
I’ve finally finished my biological patches set! After many months of designing, editing, and trial and error, I’m proud to post up photos of the final products!
They are embroidered with bright, beautiful colors that will endure many washes and adventures to come. They’re only $8 in my store:
Here are the first five patches in my biological patch set. Once all ten are made, the rainbow of studies will be complete! Each one is illustrated, digitized, and embroidered by me. Stay tuned for more! Next up is herpetology ;)
In addition to eating eucalyptus leaves, koala joeys also indulge in bits of their mother’s poop. Joeys aren’t born with the gut bacteria to digest their leafy meals, but mom’s feces are full of them.
This was a lot of fun. I spoke about he new book (The Small Guide to Small Things) and The New Jersey State Microbe. The audience had students, teachers, nurses, professors, and people from the general public.
WTF: Though they look like boring rocks, stromatolites are 3,000 year old biological structures formed in shallow water by microorganisms called cyanobacteria.
AND GET THIS:
Their formation is based on the coordinated efforts of billions of single-celled organisms working in unison to bind fine grain sediments together with the bacteria’s flagella. By working together the cynobacteria are able to secure a shelter to protect the community from harmful UV radiation.
PRETTY COOL, RIGHT? NOW CHECK THIS OUT:
When the stromatolites were discovered by scientists in 1956, they were the first ever recorded living examples of structures previously found only as fossils in ancient rocks. Although today’s stromatolites are only around 2,000 – 3,000 years old, the cyanobacteria that build them are similar to life forms found on Earth up to 3.5 billion years ago! This means the stromatolites are modern-day examples of life in Precambrian times.
Back then, the Earth’s atmosphere contained only 1% oxygen. The cyanobacteria dominated the primordial seas, forming extensive stromatolite reefs and releasing increasing amounts of oxygen into the atmosphere.
Thus, modern stromatolites help explain the role of microbes in the evolution of the Earth’s biosphere. They have also helped scientists develop an ecological viewpoint that the survival of life depends on interaction rather than competition.
Ahmed Mohamed, the Muslim American teen who became a household name after being arrested for a homemade clock, has done well for himself. After sending an invite back in September, Obama finally made good on his promise to Ahmed — and it couldn’t have happened on a better night.
This is amazing! Props to Obama, for reminding us to foster kids’ curiosity and creativity.
Here are some talks by more cool kids who are killing it:
Rogan Brown paper microbes. The collection of both hand and laser-cut specimens are inspired by tree moss, cell structures, bacteria, coral, diatoms, and radiolaria.
This year’s Longitude Prize is focused on the growing problem of antibiotic resistant bacteria. They’ve put together a nice image, shown here, which showcases what they term ‘the ten most dangerous antibiotic resistant bacteria’. You can read more detail on each of them here:http://www.nesta.org.uk/news/antibiotic-resistant-bacteria
The prize offers a £10 million prize fund for the development of a cheap, accurate, and easy to use bacterial infection test kit, which will allow doctors to prescribe the correct antibiotics at the correct time for patients, to try to help minimise the development of antibiotic resistance.
Here are six examples of bacterial morphology (from left to right):
• Palisades (Bacilli) • Staphylococci (Cocci) • Spirochete • Lophotrichous Bacillus • Streptococci (Cocci) • Comma’s form Available as a sticker set on Etsy!
Here are some pictures that I’ve taken from my past laboratory experiments during the whole foundation year + my first year of BSc (Hons) Biotechnology in university! Had some pictures that are from failed / unsuccessful experiments (ㆀ˘･з･˘)
A team of doctors and researchers working at Erasmus Hospital in Belgium has successfully treated an adult woman infected with a drug-resistant bacteria using a combination of bacteriophage therapy and antibiotics. In their paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the group describes the reasons for the use of the treatment and the ways it might be used in other cases.
Bacteriophages are viruses that infect and kill bacteria. Research involving their use in human patients has been ongoing for several decades, but they are still not used to treat patients. In this new effort, the researchers were presented with a unique opportunity not only to treat a patient in need of help, but to learn more about the possible use of viruses to treat patients infected with bacteria that have become resistant to conventional antibiotics.
