Tag: bacteria

A protective film from seagrass shows whether food has spoiled. Now, a Texas-based research team is looking at how to detect substances in liquid food products using electric signals from bacteria. The molecules in bacteria which create the signal can be toxic and are often swept away by liquids. Leading the team to enclose the bacteria safely in the...

Cardamom provides protection against pathogens. And, as an Australia-based research team recently discovered, pathogens can also be held at bay using peppermint essential oil. This could be particularly important in the context of medical devices. In an initial test, plasma was used to apply an extremely thin film of peppermint oil to a urinary catheter. Enabling the oil molecules...

Innovative and sustainable dyes for yarn are formed through fermentation using bacteria. Yet, in its search for a petroleum-free alternative for colourful textiles, a research team in South Korea created rainbow-coloured cellulose in a single process. Their recipe? Combining cultures from two optimised bacterial strains. Acetic acid bacteria belonging to the K. xylinus strain generated the cellulose, while E.coli...

Fleas help protect implants from bacterial settlement. Now a Japanese research team has discovered that frogs could assist in combating colorectal cancer. They tested 45 bacterial strains from the intestines of Japanese tree frogs, fire belly newts and grass lizards and found one particular strain from the tree frog to be most effective. It killed all tumour cells without...

Water fleas help curb the spread of algae. But fleas have also inspired an Australian research team hoping to guard implants against bacterial settlement. Fleas owe their jumping ability to resilin, an elastic protein that is highly resistant, non-toxic and biocompatible. Adapted as nano droplets with a large surface area and acting as a coating, the protein was 100% effective...

Laser light can cool down high performance processors. It can also make things hot for viruses and bacteria… A US startup’s new photonic chip, measuring the size of a 1 cent coin, can render pathogens inactive with the help of far-UVC light. By using the so-called ‘Second Harmonics’ effect. When blue laser light with a 445 nm wavelength is...

An agency represents people whose looks don’t conform. Including those with vitiligo, an auto-immune disease which causes skin discolouration. In its search for a cure, an American university team hit upon a carbohydrate compound. It was isolated from a gut-friendly bacteria called Bacillus subtilis. During an 18-week study, vitiligo-prone mice were given weekly injections of these exopolysaccharides (EPS). The...

Algae and robots can combine to reduce CO2 in our oceans. A New York-based research team is deploying algae-like bacteria’s photosynthesis capabilities to lower carbon dioxide levels indoors. A cyanobacteria-infused anode is embedded in a bio-based solar cell. Five of these solar cells are attached as leaves to an artificial plant structure which is placed in a pot. Capillary...