News tagged with biofilms
Honey could be effective at treating and preventing wound infections
Manuka honey could help clear chronic wound infections and even prevent them from developing in the first place, according to a new study published in Microbiology. The findings provide further evidence for the clinical use of ...
Jan 31, 2012 |
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Mighty mesh: Extracellular matrix identified as source of spreading in biofilms
New research at Harvard explains how bacterial biofilms expand to form slimy mats on teeth, pipes, surgical instruments, and crops.
Jan 23, 2012 |
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Disease-causing strains of Fusarium prevalent in plumbing drains
A study examining the prevalence of the fungus Fusarium in bathroom sink drains suggests that plumbing systems may be a common source of human infections.
Dec 21, 2011 |
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Researchers develop new method of cleaning toxins from the oilsands
Alberta's oilsands have water challenges. Oilsands development uses a vast amount of water and even though it's recycled multiple times, the recycling concentrates the toxins and metals leftover from extracting ...
Dec 21, 2011 |
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Bacterial filters reduce stink from big pig factories
Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) on industrial animal factories can stink up an entire county, due to ammonia, and a smorgasbord of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Jeppe Lund Nielsen of Aalborg University, ...
Dec 16, 2011 |
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Compound in Apples Inhibits E. coli O157:H7
A compound that is abundant in apples and strawberries inhibits the highly pathogenic E. coli O157:H7 biofilms while sparing a beneficial strain of E. coli that also forms biofilms in the human gut, according to a paper in ...
Dec 16, 2011 |
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Tiny protein helps bacteria 'talk' and triggers defensive response in plants
Scientists have discovered a new signal that helps invading bacteria communicate but also helps targeted rice plants coordinate defensive attacks on the disease-causing invaders, a finding that could lead to new methods of ...
Dec 12, 2011 |
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New fluorescent imaging sorts microbiome in human mouth
New fluorescent labeling technology that distinguishes in a single image the population size and spatial distribution of 15 different taxa has uncovered new taxon pairings that indicate unsuspected cooperation -- and standoffishness ...
Dec 07, 2011 |
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Bacterial attachment mimics the just-in-time industrial delivery model
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the human world of manufacturing, many companies are now applying an on-demand, just-in-time strategy to conserve resources, reduce costs and promote production of goods precisely when ...
Nov 30, 2011 |
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Genetic difference in staph offers clues as to why some patients get infections from cardiac implants
New research suggests that some patients develop a potentially deadly blood infection from their implanted cardiac devices because bacterial cells in their bodies have gene mutations that allow them to stick ...
Oct 24, 2011 |
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Bacteria forge nitrogen from nitric oxide: Scientists unravel key pathway in the nitrogen cycle
The anaerobic oxidation of ammonia (anammox) is an important pathway in the nitrogen cycle that was only discovered in the 1980s. Currently, scientists estimate that about 50 percent of the nitrogen in the atmosphere is forged ...
Oct 05, 2011 |
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Research team discovers new conducting properties of bacteria-produced wires
The discovery of a fundamental, previously unknown property of microbial nanowires in the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens that allows electron transport across long distances could revolutionize nanotechnology ...
Aug 07, 2011 |
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Bacteria use Batman-like grappling hooks to 'slingshot' on surfaces
Bacteria use various appendages to move across surfaces prior to forming multicellular bacterial biofilms. Some species display a particularly jerky form of movement known as "twitching" motility, which is made possible by ...
Jul 18, 2011 |
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Key regulators for biofilm development discovered
They can be found everywhere -- organized communities of bacteria sticking to surfaces both inside and outside the body. These biofilms are responsible for some of the most virulent, antibiotic-resistant infections in humans; ...
Jun 24, 2011 |
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Endogenous proteins found in a 70-million-year-old giant marine lizard
(PhysOrg.com) -- With their discovery, the scientists Johan Lindgren, Per Uvdal, Anders Engdahl, and colleagues have demonstrated that remains of type I collagen, a structural protein, are retained in a mosasaur ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
May 02, 2011 |
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Biofilm
A biofilm is an aggregate of microorganisms in which cells adhere to each other on a surface. These adherent cells are frequently embedded within a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). Biofilm EPS, which is also referred to as slime (although not everything described as slime is a biofilm), is a polymeric conglomeration generally composed of extracellular DNA, proteins, and polysaccharides. Biofilms may form on living or non-living surfaces and can be prevalent in natural, industrial and hospital settings. The microbial cells growing in a biofilm are physiologically distinct from planktonic cells of the same organism, which, by contrast, are single-cells that may float or swim in a liquid medium.
Microbes form a biofilm in response to many factors, which may include cellular recognition of specific or non-specific attachment sites on a surface, nutritional cues, or in some cases, by exposure of planktonic cells to sub-inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics. When a cell switches to the biofilm mode of growth, it undergoes a phenotypic shift in behavior in which large suites of genes are differentially regulated.
For more information about Biofilm, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
