Tags: bacteria

The world’s oceans are dominated by microscopic organisms that power the Earth’s biogeochemical processes. These microbial ecosystems sustain life in the oceans by forming the basis of the ocean food web and balance the composition of our atmosphere – though scientists are just beginning to understand and study these ecosystems. A new research study led by the University of Georgia examines reproductive fitness of bacteria critical to the world-…

A new naming system for microbes, Greenland's zombie ice, a Finnish scholar on a American history, and tributes to a beloved campus colleague and friend lead Franklin College media mentions and experts During September: Greenland ‘zombie ice’ an ominous warning for future, new study finds – Tom Mote, Distinguished research Professor of geography and associate dean, quoted at Yahoo! News Jackson’s water crisis – A stark warning about…

The Genes to Genomes blog reports on recent research by UGA fungal biologists Michelle Momany and Marin Brewer, who reported in their findings that Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from clinical settings is resistant to agricultural fungicides. Infections have long been a deadly problem for hospital patients. Though modern medicine has an impressive array of antimicrobial drugs at its disposal, pathogens continue to evolve resistance,…

Marine bacteria serve as regulators within and between ocean systems, processing about a quarter of all the photosynthesis on Earth. Because of their microscopic size and very short life span of a single day, learning what controls their activities, what nutrients they are trying to find, what molecules they grow on, and whether they interact with other microbes has been nearly impossible.…

The volume of the world’s oceans defines the gigantic scale on Earth – 300 million cubic miles, and an average depth of 12,000 feet. Of all the activity taking place there at every moment, any one part can be difficult to understand, making predictions difficult if not impossible. But scientists are starting to figure out some of its most complex processes. The concentration of bacteria around phytoplankton, for example, and how these…

Microbial ecosystems – the relationships between microorganisms and their environments including within the human body – play an important role in human health. Through diagnostic testing and genetic analysis, researchers can track how disruptions of this ecosystem can cause problems ranging from asthma and allergies to obesity and diabetes. The processes currently used to analyze this data are labor intensive and often inefficient. The…