Escherichia bacteria are some of the best-characterised bacteria in research, with Escherichia coli representing the model organism of bacteriology. As Gram-negative bacteria, they have two cell membranes to keep their bacterial cell together and all stuff inside. To gain energy, Escherichia coli and other bacteria break apart energy-rich molecules like sugars, amino acids and fats, just like us. This sets free electrons which bacteria transport to their membrane where they fuel the swimming rotor and tunnels through the membranes. At the end of the respiration process, Escherichia coli can save the electrons in molecules as energy or breathe them out as oxygen.
Bacteria in your gut microbiome help you digest your food, strengthen your immune system and keep you healthy. For this, your gut bacteria keep you free from gut pathogenic bacteria by fighting them with different weapons. Here, we explore some ways gut bacteria defend pathogens and how you can help them protect you.
For a long time, bacteria were classified according to their shapes. With new technologies, we learned that the bacterial shapes help them survive in their environments and face harsh conditions. Spheres, rods, stars and screws: Learn about the different bacterial shapes.
Pathogens and dirty particles contaminate our water supply. But helpful microbes can remove harmful bacteria and pollutants and thus clean our drinking water.
In bacterial battles, there is more than just direct killing. Some bacteria even fight by destroying the houses of their opponents. We could learn a lot from these bacterial wars for our own fights against bacterial superbugs.
To fight nasty microorganisms, researchers need to come up with new strategies to develop vaccines. Turns out bacteria are extremely helpful to researchers, since they provide valuable tools.
Learn how researchers use bacteria to find new vaccines.
To overcome the medical problem of how drugs can reach a specific target within the body, researchers try to use new approaches. These are often based on bacteria or their products. Here, we will explore drug transport mechanisms for which we could use bacteria and their amazing superpowers.
Producing plastics requires a lot of energy, which is a massive burden for the environment. Fortunately, bacteria already know how to make sustainable versions of plastics which we can use in our everyday life. Learn why bacteria produce natural plastics and why these molecules can help us save this planet.
The microbial world is super colorful and diverse.
Even though, we sometimes hear too many negative news articles about certain players of the microbial world, we should not forget about all the other interesting and helpful microbes.
To remind you that the microbial world consists of so many more players, we assembled this list of common and interesting microbes.
Bacteria use nanoweapons to kill other bacteria. For long, it was unclear how toxins stick to the arrow of these nanoweapons. Now, a new study visualised the type 6 secretion system spike and showed how bacteria glue the toxin to the arrow.
Microbes and bacteria touch every aspect of our lives. They have so many superpowers that impact the environment, food production, bioremediation and even the climate. Here, we will look at 20 of the most fascinating bacterial superpowers and tell you where you might encounter them throughout your day. But don’t forget, there are plenty more.
Your gut microbiome is full of helpful and fascinating bacteria. They all work together to keep you healthy, digest your food and fight off intruders. Here, you will learn about what a healthy gut microbiome is, what it does and how to keep it.
When bacteria are under attack, they are telling their siblings about the incoming danger. This allows them to produce weapons – like the molecule bacteriocin – to prepare themselves for a counterattack. With this altruistic behaviour, bacteria assemble and fight back as a team.
Pathogenic bacteria developed different mechanisms to attach to human host cells. However, our immune system learned to fight back, so that a constant battle between bacteria and host is happening in our bodies.
