Frontiers in Microbiology - Science & research news

Scientists discover microbes in the Alps and Arctic that can digest plastic at low temperatures

May 10, 2023 // 0 Comments

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Image: Beat Stierli Scientists from Switzerland have identified 19 novel strains of cold-adapted specialist bacteria and fungi [...]

10 Frontiers articles that caught the world’s attention in 2022

December 6, 2022 // 0 Comments

By Frontiers’ science writers Image: Shutterstock.com As part of Frontiers’ passion to make science available to all, we highlight just a small selection of the most [...]

From ghost gear to microbe memories: 4 Frontiers articles you won’t want to miss

November 4, 2022 // 0 Comments

by Angharad Brewer Gillham, Frontiers science writer Image: Shutterstock.com At Frontiers, we bring some of the world’s best research to a global audience. But with tens of [...]

Italian researchers discover new recipe for extending shelf life of fresh pasta by 30 days

November 2, 2022 // 0 Comments

By Peter Rejcek, science writer Image credit: Raimunda Losantos / Shutterstock.com Pasta is one of the most popular food staples in the world, but fresh pasta has a limited [...]

Mushroom that grows on insects could help develop new anti-viral medications and cancer drugs

October 19, 2022 // 0 Comments

By Angharad Brewer Gillham, Frontiers science writer Image: bob.leccinum.Robert Kozak/Shutterstock.com Scientists studying the medicinal potential of a rare insect-eating [...]

Microbial ´dark matter´: centuries-old lava caves of Hawaiʻi Island contain thousands of unknown bacterial species

July 21, 2022 // 0 Comments

By K.E.D. Coan, science writer Thick microbial mats hang under a rock ledge in steam vents that run along the Eastern Rift Zone on Hawaiʻi Island. Image Credit: Jimmy Saw [...]

How bees prove to be skilled mathematicians and 3 other amazing science stories you may have missed

May 5, 2022 // 0 Comments

By Colm Gorey, Science Communications Manager Image: Shutterstock.com At Frontiers, we bring some of the world’s best research to a global audience. But with tens of [...]

Likely energy source behind first life on Earth found ‘hiding in plain sight’

January 19, 2022 // 0 Comments

By Jessica Wimmer and William Martin A deep-sea hydrothermal vent. According to one theory, the first life on Earth arose at vents like these. Credit: NOAA Office of Ocean [...]

Broadening the scope of research on one of Frontiers in Microbiology‘s largest sections

September 27, 2021 // 0 Comments

Image: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock.com Two years have passed since the first Covid-19 case was reported. The impact of the pandemic has been devastating with death toll numbers [...]

The two-thousand-year-old mystery of the havoc-wreaking worm

July 15, 2021 // 0 Comments

By Daegan Miller / University of Massachusetts Amherst Office of News and Media Relations Section of a piling attacked by shipworms in Belfast, Maine. Image credit: Barry [...]

Chief Editor Marc Strous is made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

May 5, 2021 // 0 Comments

Marc Strous is a renowned microbial ecologist and Specialty Chief Editor of the Microbial Physiology and Metabolism section in Frontiers in Microbiology. [...]

Earth’s crust mineralogy drives hotspots for intraterrestrial life

April 9, 2021 // 0 Comments

Earth’s crust mineralogy drives hotspots for intraterrestrial life, finds new study in Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

3 bacterial strains discovered on space station may help grow plants on Mars

March 15, 2021 // 0 Comments

By Colm Gorey, Frontiers science writer Interior view from the International Space Station cupola. Image: NASA Swab samples of 8 surfaces aboard the International Space [...]

Life from Earth could temporarily survive on Mars

February 22, 2021 // 0 Comments

Researchers send microbes to Earth’s stratosphere to test if these could survive on Mars: Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

Biotech fit for the Red Planet

February 16, 2021 // 0 Comments

Cyanobacteria can grow under a N2-CO2-rich low-pressure atmosphere with only water and nutrients from Mars dust: Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

Why we cannot ignore the place of viruses on the ‘Tree of Life’

February 3, 2021 // 0 Comments

By Dr Hugh Harris, APC Microbiome Ireland/University College Cork Image: Corona Borealis Studio/Shutterstock One particular virus has come to dominate our lives. Now Dr Hugh [...]

New bacterial culture methods could result in the discovery of new species

January 6, 2021 // 0 Comments

Surprisingly high biodiversity of previously unreported bacteria from the Tabernas Desert: Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

Rapid adaptation of the foodborne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni

January 4, 2021 // 0 Comments

A uniform nutrient-rich medium selects for the loss of motility due to genomic deletions in the pathogenic bacterium C. jejuni: Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

The microbiome of Da Vinci’s drawings

November 20, 2020 // 0 Comments

What microbes live on the original half-a-millennium-old drawings by Leonardo da Vinci? Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

Decaying jellyfish blooms can cause temporary changes to water column food webs

October 30, 2020 // 0 Comments

How fast are nutrients from decaying jellyfish blooms recycled into marine ecosystems? Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

Evolution of radio-resistance is more complicated than previously thought

September 22, 2020 // 0 Comments

Scientists select for a new strain E. coli highly resistant to radiation in the laboratory: Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

Bacteria could survive the travel from Earth to Mars, and vice versa, when forming aggregates

August 26, 2020 // 0 Comments

Deinococcus bacteria can survive in outer space for years: Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

Dr Axel Cloeckaert joins Frontiers in Microbiology

August 21, 2020 // 0 Comments

Dr Axel Cloeckaert joins Karl Kuchler as Frontiers in Microbiology’s Infectious Diseases Specialty Chief Editor [...]

Microbial ecology yields new insights for future shipwreck conservation

August 19, 2020 // 0 Comments

Shipwreck habors a rich spatially structured microbial community: Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

The most promising strategies for defeating coronavirus: a review study

April 24, 2020 // 0 Comments

Experts review possible approaches from antivirals to gene therapy against the virus responsible for COVID-19: Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

Microbiotechnology: a refocused scope for a highly-respected section

March 24, 2020 // 0 Comments

A broader research scope has been defined for one of Frontiers in Microbiology biggest sections. [...]

New image analysis method shows how giant viruses infect amoeba

February 4, 2020 // 0 Comments

Time-lapse microscopy reveals how amoebae react to infection by giant viruses: Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

New species of antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in infected wound

January 23, 2020 // 0 Comments

A hitherto unknown antibiotic-resistant bacteria species, in the same family as E. coli and Salmonella spp., has been found: Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

Apple study recognized in Altmetric’s Top 100 list

December 19, 2019 // 0 Comments

The annual list highlights the most discussed and shared research from the past year. [...]

Where the Sun doesn’t shine? Skin UV exposure reflected in poop

October 24, 2019 // 0 Comments

Exposure of the skin to UVB light alters the mix of bacteria found in the gut, possibly via vitamin D; Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

Skin bacteria could save frogs from virus

September 10, 2019 // 2 Comments

Ranavirus can wipe out entire common frog populations, but researchers say their latest study could help the species; Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

New section: Biology of Archaea

July 26, 2019 // 0 Comments

Hot springs water pond with algae and archaea

New specialty on Biology of Archaea now available in Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

An apple carries about 100 million bacteria. Good luck washing them off.

July 24, 2019 // 3 Comments

Most microbes are inside the apple – but the strains depend on which bits you eat, and whether you go organic; Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

Altering how cyanobacteria capture light from the Sun can impact their health

July 16, 2019 // 0 Comments

Researchers have identified a gene mutation in cyanobacteria that creates resistance to free radicals, and could be used to accelerate cell growth in biotech applications; Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

Zero-calorie sweeteners on trial again

June 26, 2019 // 0 Comments

Exposure to sucralose and acesulfame-K in the womb and via breastmilk leads to altered intestinal flora and liver toxicity in mouse pups; Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

Love, hate and indifference in insect-microbe relationships

June 26, 2019 // 0 Comments

Professor Takema Fukatsu leads Microbial Symbioses, a new specialty in Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

The bacteria building your baby

June 5, 2019 // 0 Comments

Exposure to influential bacteria begins before we are born, new evidence confirms; Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

Scientists clarify what probiotics are and what they are not

April 18, 2019 // 1 Comment

Frontiers in Microbiology: A new scientific paper calls for strict adherence to the scientific definition, ensuring improper use of the term doesn't mislead consumers or limit advancements in the emerging field of microbiome science [...]

Urban biodiversity to reduce chronic disease

April 11, 2019 // 0 Comments

'Rewilding' the urban environment with native microbes could restore the human microbiome and reduce our risk of chronic disease; Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

Underwater forests a treasure trove of new drugs

April 10, 2019 // 1 Comment

Scientists recover dozens of antimicrobial and anticancer compounds from seaweed; Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

More scrutiny needed for less-deadly foodborne bacteria

April 1, 2019 // 0 Comments

Foodborne pathogens in the Bacillus cereus group cause diarrhea and vomiting. Credit: Penn State. — by Penn State University, USA Employing advanced [...]

New drug resistance process found in bacteria

March 29, 2019 // 0 Comments

This is the research team in charge of the study. From left to right: Ivan Erill, Pilar Cortés, Jordi Barbé and Miquel Sánchez-Osuna. Credit: UAB. — by Autonomous [...]

Superbugs have colonized the International Space Station – but there’s a silver lining

March 25, 2019 // 0 Comments

An antimicrobial coating made of precious metals reduced growth of bacteria on contamination-prone surfaces inside the ISS, where extreme conditions can foster antibiotic-resistant superbugs; Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

Dormant viruses activate during spaceflight – NASA investigates

March 18, 2019 // 0 Comments

The stress of spaceflight gives viruses a holiday from immune surveillance, putting future deep-space missions in jeopardy; Frontiers in Microbiology [...]

Call for Editors: be a part of the largest community of Microbiologists

March 11, 2019 // 0 Comments

Researcher analyzing liquid chromatography data

Join the Frontiers in Microbiology Editorial Board as an Associate Editor or Review Editor [...]

Professor Karl Kuchler is new Chief Editor of Infectious Diseases specialty in Frontiers in Microbiology

March 4, 2019 // 0 Comments

In a Secure High Level Laboratory Scientists in a Coverall Conducting a Research. Biologist Adjusts Samples in a Petri Dish with Pincers and Examines Them Under Microscope

Professor Karl Kuchler is the new Specialty Chief Editor of Infectious Diseases, a specialty in Frontiers in Microbiology. [...]

Clues to Martian life found in Chilean desert

March 1, 2019 // 1 Comment

A trial NASA rover mission in the Mars-like Atacama desert has successfully recovered subterranean organisms -- strange, scattered, salt-resistant bacteria that could lead the search for Martian life deeper underground; Frontiers in Microbiology [...]