Bacteria

Microbes coordinate activity to reduce competition, Israeli researchers discover

The findings, discovered by a team led by Dr. Sarah Moraïs, indicate that microbes respond not only to environmental conditions, but also to the presence and identity of neighboring microbes.

 Fluorescence microscopy images of Bacillus subtilis spores harboring GFP or Scarlet fusion to a DNA packaging protein (SspA)
 View of the Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod.

Four-week-old infant in Ashdod died of respiratory failure, Health Ministry says

Baby formula

Teva Israel, Health Ministry issue recall for Nutrilon Phase 1, Nutrilon AR baby formula

A microscope.

Israeli, US scientists uncover viral switch that could help defeat antibiotic resistance


High pollution levels found at several streams in northern, eastern Israel, ministries confirm

The Health and Environmental Protection Ministries advised against entering the water at several points due to a high level of bacterial contamination.

A scientist gathers samples for conducting bacteria contamination tests on a stream; illustrative.

Artificial sweeteners help obese people lose 1.6 kg in a year and improve gut bacteria

WHO recommends against using low-calorie sweeteners for weight control, citing risks of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Artificial Sweeteners.

Ancient microbes from Alaska permafrost awaken after 40,000 years

The Colorado Boulder team says the thawed bacteria spend months in a sleepy state before multiplying rapidly, forming visible biofilms and releasing greenhouse gases.

Researchers drilling into the permafrost.

Bacterium outbreak kills one prenatal baby, infects three at Haifa's Rambam Health Care Campus

The hospital stated that the condition of the three infected babies was stable, while also confirming that the infection had been contained in the NICU with no further cases reported.

Enterobacter bacterium becomes fatal in premature babies.

From 1.1M years ago to Wrangel’s last mammoths: microbes that endured through time

Research from steppe mammoths to the last woolly mammoths shows microbial lineages coexisted across hundreds of thousands of years and wide regions until their extinction 4,000 years ago.

Mammoth foot found in Siberia, Russia.

DNA confirms Yersinia pestis as cause of the first recorded pandemic 1,500 years ago

Using ancient DNA from eight teeth under Jerash's Roman hippodrome, scientists date the outbreak to mid-6th–early 7th century, finding nearly identical strains from a fast, deadly wave.

A researcher holds a Jerash tooth used to help identify the origin of the first plague.

What is the bacteria that could lurk in salads you make that could shut down your body?

Unwashed greens and cross-contamination can turn a simple bowl into a breeding ground for bacteria that can cause blindness, meningitis, or even death.

Vegetable salad.

Experts recommend bidets over toilet paper, study shows ten times fewer bacteria

Specialist Rose George warns that wiping only with toilet paper can leave fecal residue.

 Experts recommend bidets over toilet paper, study shows ten times fewer bacteria.

Scientists convert plastic waste into paracetamol using engineered E. coli

Professor Stephen Wallace: 'It is the first time a bacterium has converted a plastic bottle into paracetamol.'

 Scientists convert plastic waste into paracetamol using engineered E. coli.

Study: Kissing may spread depression and anxiety via bacteria between spouses

Researchers detected significant increases in symptoms of depression and anxiety in originally healthy spouses.

 Study: Kissing may spread depression and anxiety via bacteria between spouses. Illustration.