Tag: bacteria
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Resistance isn’t futile
Like the Borg in Star Trek, microbes are constantly evolving to get past their host’s defences (thankfully they don’t tend to assimilate their hosts into a hive mind). They are becoming resistant to the drugs created to prevent diseases caused by them, and this tactic is far from futile.
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Issue 29 Online: EuScireka!
Welcome to the new edition of EuSci Magazine! We will be posting and promoting each article from the magazine individually on our website over the next few weeks. If you want to read the magazine in its full and original form you can either pick one up from many different locations on campus or read…
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Bacterial prospectors take on the final frontier
Bacteria currently used as catalysts in earthbound mining processes could one day be used to extract critical elements in space and further the human settlement of other planets. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh struck gold with their discovery in a recent study published in the journal Nature Communications. Led by Charles Cockell, Professor of…
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Electricity from bacteria: the future of clean energy?
Elle Bethune discusses how bacteria can power batteries, and how these can be used for clean energy on Earth and finding life in space. Clean energy has become a hot topic in science, and for good reason. While most of us have heard of wind, solar or even geothermal energy as alternatives to fossil fuels,…
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Bacteria in space: why biological life support systems are the future of space travel
One of the greatest challenges limiting our ability to send astronauts on long-haul missions is the need for constant resupply of essential materials from Earth. Any manned spaceflight needs to carry enough food, water and oxygen to sustain a crew for the duration of the mission, but there is only so much weight a single…
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New funding to fight antibiotic resistance
Since the 1940s, we have been abusing antibiotics, using them to treat any infection under the sun. In the short term, this worked. Our sore throats went away, our infections subsided, and we went on with our daily lives. The rash use of antibiotics to treat everything, however, has a long-term effect, one that is…
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Bacteria may be travelling through the air to share DNA
A research group has discovered that bacteria in remote, isolated regions share some stretches of DNA and are suggesting that this is due to bacteria travelling through the air. Human understanding of how bacteria travels across the globe has changed a lot in recent decades. It was originally assumed that bacteria are transported on humans and…