Most infection prevention guidelines center on the hospital environment rather than the patient. But the source of antibiotic-resistant microbes is often from the patient’s own body.
Rock dust is only part of the story of soil. Living creatures, many of them too tiny to see, keep that soil healthy for growing everything from food to forests.
New research suggests the gut bacteria of red and grey squirrels differ significantly, potentially explaining the decline of the native red and the success of its grey counterpart.
Much like our gut microbes, the community of microbes used to process human waste must be healthy to do the job well. Monitoring the DNA in waste sludge can help us ensure the system stays healthy.
With the help of the microbes that once played an essential role in keeping you alive, the building blocks of your body go on to become a part of other living things.
The microbiome and its signature smells are crucial for most organisms, whether human, insect or plant. The silent signals sent by the microbiome are essential communications that influence behaviour.
Bacteria and lipids get a bad rap for causing breakouts and oily skin. But both play an essential role in helping your skin barrier stay strong against pathogens and insults from the environment.
Researchers uncovered the foundations of biology by using E. coli as a model organism. But over-reliance on this microbe can lead to knowledge blind spots with implications for antibiotic resistance.
You can squash small bugs by stepping on them, but can you crush even tinier microorganisms like viruses and bacteria? It turns out that you’d need to apply a lot of pressure.
To fully understand the extent of climate-related dangers the Arctic – and our planet – is facing, we must focus on organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye.
Drug-resistant microbes are a serious threat for future pandemics, but the new draft of the WHO’s international pandemic agreement may not include provisions for antimicrobial resistance.