health

Bacteria in and on your body have huge impacts on your overall health. By breaking down food and waste of your body, they produce healthy molecules that affect your brain, heart, gut and muscles.

How bacteria in your gut microbiome defend pathogens

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.

Wolbachia bacteria in mosquitos protect us from nasty viruses

Some nasty viruses can live in mosquitos and get transported into our bodies, when these infected mosquitos bite us. Luckily, some bacteria have superpowers that can fight off these viruses. Find out how the bacterium Wolbachia protects both mosquitos and us from these nasty viruses.

6 books about bacteria every microbe lover should read

Microbes and bacteria affect our lives in every possible way. This is why we should all learn more about these fascinating organisms and how to make the best of their impact. Here, I share with you my favourite books about microbes in which you learn how our amazing microbial friends influence your health, body and the environment and even shaped human history.

Microbial profile of the skin microbiome of a hand.

Bacteria on your hands strengthen your unique skin microbiome

How often have you looked at your dirty hands and thought: “Better wash them to get rid of those bacteria!”. Actually, don’t rush to the nearest bathroom to wash them off. It turns out that every person always has bacteria on their hands. And these bacteria are part of everyone’s unique skin microbiome.

Bacteria use capsules as micro-invisibility cloaks

When bacteria enter the human body, they are welcomed by our immune system that is ready to fight them off. However, some bacteria can put on invisibility cloaks that help them hide from the immune system. Thanks to this sugar coat – the so-called bacterial capsule – bacteria can sneak into our bodies, infect us and make us sick.

What’s in your yogurt?

Yogurt is a well-loved fermented dairy with lots of health benefits. It not only provides us with valuable proteins and immune-stimulating molecules, but can also carry probiotic organisms. Here, we will look at the advantages of adding yogurt to your diet plan and what bacteria have to do with producing this creamy white dream.

Bacteria are used in life science research.

Bacteria are key players in vaccine research

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.

You are what you eat: Gut bacteria share plant leftovers

When we eat plant products, we cannot always digest all their components. Instead, our gut bacteria love plant ploymers and start degrading and digesting them. And they share the leftover food with other bacteria, so that all of them together produce some very healthy molecules for us.

20 (giant) microbes everyone should have heard about

20 interesting microbes everyone should have heard about

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 have many superpowers

The incredible superpowers of bacteria: unveiling nature’s tiny heroes

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.

Bacteria in and on your body have huge impacts on your overall health. By breaking down food and waste of your body, they produce healthy molecules that affect your brain, heart, gut and muscles.

Learn more about the fascinating world of bacteria