bacteria /newsroom/taxonomy/term/300/all en Jesse Shapiro /newsroom/jesse-shapiro Tue, 21 Dec 2021 21:59:44 +0000 shirley.cardenas@mcgill.ca 283747 at /newsroom How bacteria create a piggy bank for the lean times /newsroom/channels/news/how-bacteria-create-piggy-bank-lean-times-334147 <p>Bacteria can store extra resources for the lean times. It’s a bit like keeping a piggy bank or carrying a backup battery pack. One important reserve is known as cyanophycin granules, which were first noticed by an Italian scientist about 150 years ago. He saw big, dark splotches in the cells of the blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) he was studying without understanding either what they were or their purpose.</p> Thu, 14 Oct 2021 18:43:19 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 279904 at /newsroom Rules of the road: the navigational ‘strategies’ of bacteria in motion /newsroom/channels/news/rules-road-navigational-strategies-bacteria-motion-330989 <p>Bacteria that move around live on the edge. All the time. Their success, be it in finding nutrients, fending off predators or multiplying depends on how efficiently they navigate through their confining microscopic habitats. Whether these habitats are in animal or plant tissues, in waste, or in other materials.</p> Tue, 11 May 2021 16:58:31 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 264788 at /newsroom "Good bacteria" in breast milk changes over time /newsroom/channels/news/good-bacteria-breast-milk-changes-over-time-329084 <p>The cocktail of beneficial bacteria passed from mother to infant through breast milk changes significantly over time and could act like a daily booster shot for infant immunity and metabolism.</p> Mon, 22 Feb 2021 22:26:22 +0000 shirley.cardenas@mcgill.ca 256633 at /newsroom Specialized cellular compartments discovered in bacteria /newsroom/channels/news/specialized-cellular-compartments-discovered-bacteria-323299 <p>Researchers at ƽ岻 have discovered bacterial organelles involved in gene expression, suggesting that bacteria may not be as simple as once thought. This finding could offer new targets for the development of new antibiotics.</p> <p>The study, published in <i><a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/07/15/2005019117">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a></i>, is the first to show that <i>E. coli </i>uses similar strategies to regulate gene transcription as other more complex cell types.</p> Thu, 16 Jul 2020 19:45:14 +0000 justin.dupuis@mcgill.ca 225571 at /newsroom Bacteriophages may play a role in childhood stunting… and be able to help treat it /newsroom/channels/news/bacteriophages-may-play-role-childhood-stunting-and-be-able-help-treat-it-320373 <p>New research spearheaded by ƽ岻 has discovered that bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) found in the intestinal tracts of children may play a role in childhood stunting, a significant impediment to growth that affects 22% of children under the age of five around the world.</p> Wed, 12 Feb 2020 16:25:03 +0000 justin.dupuis@mcgill.ca 198445 at /newsroom Cranberries join forces with antibiotics to fight bacteria /newsroom/channels/news/cranberries-join-forces-antibiotics-fight-bacteria-297443 <p> Mon, 27 May 2019 18:59:09 +0000 cynthia.lee@mcgill.ca 165548 at /newsroom Detecting bacteria in space /newsroom/channels/news/detecting-bacteria-space-297374 <p>Scientists at the University of Montreal and ƽ岻 have pioneered and tested a new genomic methodology which reveals a complex bacterial ecosystem at work on the International Space Station.</p> <p>Until now, relatively little was known about the different types of microbes found on the space station. The new approach enables researchers to identify and map different species inside the ISS, which will ultimately help safeguard astronauts’ health and be key to future long-term space travel.</p> Wed, 22 May 2019 18:24:35 +0000 krysta.veneruz@mail.mcgill.ca 164254 at /newsroom Nano-sized traps show promise in diagnosing pathogenic bacterial infections /newsroom/channels/news/nano-sized-traps-show-promise-diagnosing-pathogenic-bacterial-infections-288324 <p>A new type of “lab on a chip” developed by ƽ岻 scientists has the potential to become a clinical tool capable of detecting very small quantities of disease-causing bacteria in just minutes.</p> <p>The device designed by Sara Mahshid, Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at ƽ岻, is made of nano-sized “islands,” about one tenth of the thickness of a single human hair, which act as bacterial traps or snares.</p> Mon, 30 Jul 2018 14:09:44 +0000 justin.dupuis@mcgill.ca 64951 at /newsroom The secret to longevity is in the microbiome and the gut /newsroom/channels/news/secret-longevity-microbiome-and-gut-287429 <p>You are what you eat. Or so the saying goes. Science now tells us that we are what the bacteria living in our intestinal tract eat and this could have an influence on how well we age. Building on this, ƽ岻 scientists fed fruit flies with a combination of probiotics and an herbal supplement called Triphala that was able to prolong the flies’ longevity by 60 % and protect them against chronic diseases associated with aging.</p> Wed, 30 May 2018 18:42:07 +0000 justin.dupuis@mcgill.ca 42149 at /newsroom Plants, fungi and bacteria work together to clean polluted land /newsroom/channels/news/plants-fungi-and-bacteria-work-together-clean-polluted-land-286247 <p><span>Highly complex interactions among roots, fungi and bacteria underlie the ability of some trees to clean polluted land, according to a novel study by bioinformatics and plant-biology experts from ƽ岻 and Université de Montréal.</span></p> Tue, 27 Mar 2018 18:36:37 +0000 laurie.devine@mcgill.ca 35543 at /newsroom 3D images of enzymes may lead to improved antibiotics /newsroom/channels/news/3d-images-enzymes-may-lead-improved-antibiotics-257716 <p><img align="left" p="" src="/newsroom/files/newsroom/thinkstockphotos-503554614.jpg" style="padding-bottom:10px" /></p> Tue, 12 Jan 2016 15:37:24 +0000 nima.adibpour@mail.mcgill.ca 25076 at /newsroom Could maple syrup help cut use of antibiotics? /newsroom/channels/news/could-maple-syrup-help-cut-use-antibiotics-246929 <p>A concentrated extract of maple syrup makes disease-causing bacteria more susceptible to antibiotics, according to laboratory experiments by researchers at ƽ岻. Thu, 16 Apr 2015 14:04:20 +0000 christopher.chipello@mcgill.ca 22434 at /newsroom Experts: New regulations for Legionnaires' disease /newsroom/channels/news/experts-new-regulations-legionnaires-disease-236851 Tue, 27 May 2014 17:05:00 +0000 raphael.larocque-cyr@mcgill.ca 20801 at /newsroom How cranberries impact infection-causing bacteria /newsroom/channels/news/how-cranberries-impact-infection-causing-bacteria-229118 Mon, 15 Jul 2013 16:32:05 +0000 brenda.chang@mail.mcgill.ca 18906 at /newsroom