Bacteria-Resistant Hospital Fabrics That Actively Fight Microbes

Scientists have developed fully sterile fabrics by using enzymes that adhere antimicrobial particles with textiles. These fabrics could help eliminate infectious bacteria from medical textiles.

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Bactrian Camel Genome Might Help Survival in Harsh Environments

Bactrian camels have sky-high blood glucose levels, a diet loaded with salt and tend to pack away fat. These evolutionary adaptations help them survive in extremely dry and cold regions of the world.

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Bacterial Disease Threatens Coconut Gene Bank

A bacterial disease outbreak is threatening a collection of 3,200 coconut palms in the South Pacific. This gene bank is located in Papua New Guinea and is part of an international collection of the South Pacific’s coconut species.

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Smartphones Are Great for Sharing Bacteria

Smartphones’ proximity to people’s ears, nose and mouth make them a good vector for transferring microbes. Bacteria and other infectious agents on smartphones can cause the flu, pinkeye, or diarrhea. Lab tests show that most phones have abnormally high levels of coliforms, a bacteria stemming from fecal contamination.

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Filamentous Bacteria Act as Living Power Cables

The filamentous bacteria Desulfobulbus can function as living power cables in order to transmit electrons thousands of cell lengths away. The bacteria, which are only a few thousandths of a millimeter in length and are invisible to the naked eye, can form a multicellular filament that can transmit electrons across a distance as large as 1 cm under the right conditions.

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Antibiotic Resistance Genes Found in a Colorado River System

The pristine Platte river picks up microbial genes for antibiotic resistance as it flows past human settlements. Image: Philip Nealey/Getty

In the Rocky Mountains, the South Platte River system flows east through the Coloradan plateau that has plenty cattle ranches, sheep pastures, dairy farms, and water treatment plants. A new survey shows how human activities have affected the concentrations of antibiotic-resistant genes in the watershed.

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Bacterium Cupriavidus Metallidurans Can Turn Toxins into Gold

Gold flecks produced by the art-science experiment “The Great Work of the Metal Lover,” by Adam Brown, MSU associate professor of electronic art and intermedia. Photo by G.L. Kohuth.

Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered that the bacterium Cupriavidus metallidurans has the ability to withstand incredible amounts of toxicity, which is apparently key to creating 24-karat gold.

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