Ames Laboratory scientists use genetic markers to discover the rhizosphere.

New Berkeley Lab model quantifies interactions between soil microbes and their surroundings.

Proper coordination between our gut bacteria and our biological clocks may be crucial for preventing obesity and glucose intolerance

As the threat of antibiotic resistance grows, scientists are turning to the human body and the trillion or so bacteria that have colonized us — collectively called our microbiota — for new clues to fighting microbial infections. They've logged an early success with the discovery of a new antibiotic candidate from vaginal bacteria, reports Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society.

A microbe developed to clean up nuclear waste and patented by a Michigan State University researcher has just been improved.

Caltech researchers have developed a novel way to visualize proteins generated by microorganisms in their natural environment—including the murky waters of Caltech's lily pond, as in this image created by Professor of Geobiology Victoria Orphan and her colleagues. The method could give scientists insights to how uncultured microbes (organisms that may not easily be grown in the lab) react and adapt to environmental stimuli over space and time. 

Infant rhesus monkeys receiving different diets early in life develop distinct immune systems that persist months after weaning, a study by researchers from UC Davis, the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC) at UC Davis and UC San Francisco has shown. The study, which compares breast- and bottle-fed infants, appears online September 3 in Science Translational Medicine.

When they are not busy attacking us, germs go after each other. But when viruses invade bacteria, it doesn’t always spell disaster for the infected microbes: Sometimes viruses actually carry helpful genes that a bacterium can harness to, say, expand its diet or better attack its own hosts.

 Home Microbiome Project announces results of study on household microbes

Even the most careful chosen meal can contain surprises. To defend against infectious microbes, viruses or other potential hazards that find their way to the intestines, a dedicated contingent of immune cells keeps watch within the thin layer of tissue that divides the contents of the gut from the body itself.