The microbes in your mouth, and a reminder to floss and go to the dentist

Brushing teeth (stock image).Credit: © Alliance / Adobe Stock Most people know that good oral hygiene — brushing, flossing, and regular dental visits — is linked to good health. Colorado State University microbiome researchers offer fresh evidence to support that conventional wisdom, by taking a close look at invisible communities of microbes that live in every […]

How resident microbes restructure body chemistry

Lab mouse (stock image).Credit: © filin174 / Adobe Stock The makeup of our microbiomes — the unique communities of bacteria, viruses and other microbes that live in and on us — have been linked, with varying degrees of evidence, to everything from inflammatory bowel disease to athletic performance.advertisement But exactly how could such tiny organisms have […]

Microplastics are new homes for microbes in the Caribbean

With 5 trillion pieces of plastic in the oceans, the dynamics of marine environments are shifting in ways that are yet to be discovered. Over time discarded plastics, such as sandwich bags and flip-flops, have degraded into small particles, called microplastics, which are less than 5 mm long. Kassandra Dudek, a former Smithsonian Tropical Research […]

Antibodies derived from mom’s gut microbes

Mother’s milk has been long touted for its salutary effects on the newborn and its ability to shield infants from certain infections.advertisement Now research from Harvard Medical School conducted in mice shows that at least part of its protective effects come from a surprising source: the microbes residing in maternal intestines. The new study, published […]

Teams of microbes are at work in our bodies. Here’s how to figure out what they’re doing

DNA and genetic code concept illustration (stock image).Credit: © Leigh Prather / Adobe Stock In the last decade, scientists have made tremendous progress in understanding that groups of bacteria and viruses that naturally coexist throughout the human body play an important role in some vital functions like digestion, metabolism and even fighting off diseases. But understanding […]

How ancient microbes created massive ore deposits, set stage for early life

Lake Kivu (stock image).Credit: © Cmon / Adobe Stock New research in Science Advances is uncovering the vital role that Precambrian-eon microbes may have played in two of the early Earth’s biggest mysteries.advertisement University of British Columbia (UBC) researchers, and collaborators from the universities of Alberta, Tübingen, Autònoma de Barcelona and the Georgia Institute of Technology, found that […]

Microbes harvest electrons: Novel process discovered

Bacteria illustration (stock image).Credit: © Kateryna_Kon / Adobe Stock Ever since scientists discovered that certain microbes can get their energy from electrical charges, researchers have wondered how they do it.advertisement Bacteria don’t have mouths, so they need another way to bring their fuel into their bodies. New research from Washington University in St. Louis reveals how […]