Hacker News with Generative AI: Microbiology

Some gut bacteria could make certain drugs less effective, study indicates (phys.org)
A study published in Nature Chemistry by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Yale University shows how common gut bacteria can metabolize certain oral medications that target cellular receptors called GPCRs, potentially rendering these important drugs less effective.

Medicine, Pharmacology, Microbiology, Health

9 points by pseudolus 3 days ago | 1 comments

Microbes can capture carbon and degrade plastic – why aren't we using them more? (nature.com)
Microorganisms have shaped Earth for almost four billion years.

Microbiology, Environmental Science, Sustainability, Bioremediation, Pollution

8 points by GavCo 12 days ago | 2 comments

Desert rocks suggest unknown microorganism uses marble and limestone as a home (phys.org)
In the desert areas of Namibia, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, research work has revealed unusual structures that are probably due to the activity of an unknown microbiological life form.

Microbiology, Geology, Desert Environments, Science

6 points by wglb 13 days ago | 1 comments

Unknown microorganisms used marble and limestone as a habitat (sciencedaily.com)
In the desert areas of Namibia, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, research work has revealed unusual structures that are probably due to the activity of an unknown microbiological life form.

Microbiology, Geology, Desert Environments, Scientific Discovery

17 points by docmechanic 16 days ago | 1 comments

Microplastics boost antibiotic resistance in E. coli, lab study suggests (thenewlede.org)
Co-mingling of tiny pieces of plastic with certain harmful bacteria can make the bacteria harder to fight with several common antibiotics, according to a new study that adds to global concerns about antibiotic resistance.

Science, Antibiotic Resistance, Environmental Science, Microbiology

7 points by PaulHoule 17 days ago | 0 comments

Carbon recyclers: Sulfur bacteria break down organic substances in seabed (phys.org)
Sulfate-reducing bacteria break down a large proportion of the organic carbon in the oxygen-free zones of Earth, and in the seabed in particular.

Science, Biology, Environment, Microbiology

22 points by wglb 29 days ago | 6 comments

Chimeric particles expand species boundaries in chromosomal island mobilization (biorxiv.org)
Some mobile genetic elements spread among unrelated bacterial species through unknown mechanisms.

Genetics, Microbiology, Evolution, Biology, Research

4 points by lawrenceyan 36 days ago | 0 comments

Our Search for Life in the Clouds (smithsonianmag.com)
By collecting samples after climbing a high peak and firing rockets with special traps into the upper atmosphere, scientists have found microbes living in thin air

Microbiology, Science, Atmosphere, Research

20 points by ulrischa 40 days ago | 3 comments

AI cracks superbug problem in two days that took scientists years (bbc.co.uk)
A complex problem that took microbiologists a decade to get to the bottom of has been solved in just two days by a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool.

Artificial Intelligence, Microbiology, Medical Research, Science

250 points by monkeydust 45 days ago | 108 comments

If it moves, it's probably alive: Searching for life on other planets (arstechnica.com)
The search for extraterrestrial life has always been a key motivator of space exploration. But if we were to search Mars, Titan, or the subsurface oceans of Europa or Enceladus, it seems like all we can reasonably hope to find is extremophile microbes. And microbes, just a few microns long and wide, will be difficult to identify if we’re relying on robots working with limited human supervision and without all the fancy life-detecting gear we have here on Earth.

Space Exploration, Extraterrestrial Life, Microbiology, Robots

4 points by rbanffy 52 days ago | 0 comments

Gut microbiota functions:metabolism of nutrients and other food components(2017) (nlm.nih.gov)
The diverse microbial community that inhabits the human gut has an extensive metabolic repertoire that is distinct from, but complements the activity of mammalian enzymes in the liver and gut mucosa and includes functions essential for host digestion.

Microbiology, Human Health, Nutrition, Metabolism

6 points by BiraIgnacio 53 days ago | 1 comments

'Obelisks', a new class of life living inside humans (bgr.com)
Researchers just discovered an entirely new class of life living inside humans

Biology, Microbiology, Human Biology, Science, Research

109 points by Ziggy_Zaggy 64 days ago | 25 comments

The ocean teems with networks of interconnected bacteria (quantamagazine.org)
Tiny bridges, known as bacterial nanotubes, connect the inner spaces of photosynthesizing bacteria throughout the oceans — forming little-known cellular networks of trade and communication.

Science, Biology, Marine Biology, Microbiology

142 points by abe94 69 days ago | 19 comments

The Ocean Teems with Networks of Interconnected Bacteria (quantamagazine.org)
Tiny bridges, known as bacterial nanotubes, connect the inner spaces of photosynthesizing bacteria throughout the oceans — forming little-known cellular networks of trade and communication.

Science, Biology, Microbiology, Oceanography

3 points by rbanffy 89 days ago | 0 comments

The Ocean Teems with Networks of Interconnected Bacteria (quantamagazine.org)
Tiny bridges, known as bacterial nanotubes, connect the inner spaces of photosynthesizing bacteria throughout the oceans — forming little-known cellular networks of trade and communication.

Biology, Science, Microbiology, Bacteria

17 points by isaacfrond 90 days ago | 1 comments

Scientists Re-Create the Microbial Dance That Sparked Complex Life (quantamagazine.org)
Evolution was fueled by endosymbiosis, cellular alliances in which one microbe makes a permanent home inside another. For the first time, biologists made it happen in the lab.

Science, Biology, Evolution, Microbiology

25 points by isaacfrond 93 days ago | 1 comments

'Obelisks': New class of life has been found in human digestive system (sciencealert.com)
Peering into the jungle of microbes that live within us, researchers have stumbled across what seem to be an entire new class of virus-like objects.

Microbiology, Biology, Human Body, Viruses

476 points by unkeen 97 days ago | 134 comments

Viroid-like colonists of human microbiomes (biorxiv.org)
Here, we describe the “Obelisks,” a previously unrecognised class of viroid-like elements that we first identified in human gut metatranscriptomic data.

Microbiology, Genomics, Human Microbiome, Biology, Science

5 points by seslaire 104 days ago | 0 comments

'Obelisks': New Class of Life Has Been Found in the Human Digestive Sys (sciencealert.com)
Peering into the jungle of microbes that live within us, researchers have stumbled across what seem to be an entire new class of virus-like objects.

Biology, Microbiology, Viruses, Human Body, Science

10 points by SMAAART 104 days ago | 1 comments

Technical Report on Mirror Bacteria: Feasibility and Risks (purl.stanford.edu)
This report describes the technical feasibility of creating mirror bacteria and the potentially serious and wide-ranging risks that they could pose to humans, other animals, plants, and the environment.

Biotechnology, Microbiology, Risk Assessment, Environmental Science

20 points by Hooke 112 days ago | 1 comments

The brain microbiome: could understanding it help prevent dementia? (theguardian.com)
Long thought to be sterile, our brains are now believed to harbour all sorts of micro-organisms, from bacteria to fungi. How big a part do they play in Alzheimer’s and similar diseases?

Microbiology, Neuroscience, Dementia, Alzheimer's Disease

7 points by pseudolus 122 days ago | 0 comments

Bacterial World (ox.ac.uk)
Bacteria survive, thrive, fight and die by the trillion every moment. They swim using nanoscopic motors, and battle with spears. They sense, communicate, remember. And as scientists discover more about these tiny organisms, it is becoming clear that bacteria wield huge influence over us, shaping Earth’s past, our present and the future for us all. We have only recently realised how much our lives are inextricably linked with the lives of bacteria. We really are living in a bacterial world.

Microbiology, Science, Biology, Earth Science

22 points by tobr 123 days ago | 6 comments

Fish have a brain microbiome – could humans have one too? (quantamagazine.org)
The discovery that other vertebrates have healthy, microbial brains is fueling the still controversial possibility that we might have them as well.

Microbiology, Neuroscience, Vertebrates, Human Health

334 points by rbanffy 125 days ago | 130 comments

Ryugu asteroid sample rapidly colonized by terrestrial life (phys.org)
Researchers from Imperial College London have discovered that a space-returned sample from asteroid Ryugu was rapidly colonized by terrestrial microorganisms, even under stringent contamination control measures.

Space Exploration, Science, Microbiology, Asteroids

33 points by Tomte 130 days ago | 5 comments

Clinical microbiologist explains why you should never kiss a baby (medicalxpress.com)
There is a cognitive bias called "the curse of knowledge" (sometimes also called "the curse of expertise"). It happens when you incorrectly assume that everyone knows as much as you do on a given topic. As a clinical microbiologist, I assumed everyone knew that it was a terrible idea to kiss a newborn baby anywhere on its head.

Health, Parenting, Microbiology

26 points by bikenaga 133 days ago | 9 comments

Ryugu asteroid sample colonized by terrestrial life despite strict control (phys.org)
Researchers from Imperial College London have discovered that a space-returned sample from asteroid Ryugu was rapidly colonized by terrestrial microorganisms, even under stringent contamination control measures.

Space Exploration, Microbiology, Contamination Control, Asteroids

101 points by bookofjoe 134 days ago | 61 comments

'Achilles heel' of antibiotic-resistant bacteria discovered (studyfinds.org)
SAN DIEGO — In the ongoing battle against antibiotic-resistant “superbugs,” researchers have uncovered an unexpected vulnerability that could change how we fight these deadly infections – and it all comes down to a microscopic competition for resources.

Antibiotic Resistance, Microbiology, Science, Medicine

30 points by Brajeshwar 139 days ago | 5 comments

Effect of a giant meteorite impact on Paleoarchean environment and life (chemistryworld.com)
A giant meteorite that slammed into Earth over 3 billion years ago devastated early microbial life in the oceans, but also freed up a nutrient bonanza.

Paleontology, Earth Science, Microbiology, Meteorites

133 points by kristianp 141 days ago | 53 comments

Microbial community structure in recovering forests of Mount St. Helens (frontiersin.org)
The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens had devastating effects above and belowground in forested montane ecosystems, including the burial and destruction of soil microbes.

Environmental Science, Ecology, Microbiology, Volcanic Eruptions, Forest Regeneration

3 points by gnabgib 146 days ago | 0 comments

Study reveals superbug MRSA's double defense against antibiotics (phys.org)
Scientists have discovered the mechanism which allows the superbug methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to become highly resistant to antibiotics, paving the way for new approaches to control infectious disease.

Antibiotics, Superbugs, Microbiology, Medicine, Science

10 points by gmays 148 days ago | 0 comments