BacterioFiles Micro Edition 74 - Phages Facilitate Fester Fighting

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Category: BacterioFiles

Created on Sunday, 05 February 2012 19:46

Written by Jesse Noar

This episode: Scientists use phages to make bacteria less antibiotic-resistant!

Download Episode (4.5 MB, 5 minutes)

Other interesting stories:

• Using bacterial  bioluminescence for indoor lighting
• The uses and ethics of our microbiome
• Another bacterial insecticide that's harmless to humans
• Microbes could help degrade fracking chemicals and produce more gas (paper)
• Imaging a virus that attacks anthrax
• Bacteria growing with very little heat, oxygen, and food: maybe like on Mars
• Seemingly missing important metabolic enzyme in cyanobacteria found! Could help produce biofuels

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles Micro Edition 73 - Single Cells Start Sticking

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Category: BacterioFiles

Created on Sunday, 29 January 2012 16:34

Written by Jesse Noar

This episode: Scientists coax yeast to evolve into multicellular clusters!

Download Episode (4.5 MB, 5 minutes)

Other interesting stories:

• Bacterial swarm communication could improve robots
• Plant pests trade good bacteria by feeding on the same plant
• Yeast cell parents give daughter cells their newer, less damaged proteins
• Researchers figure out how bacteria break down certain hazardous pollutants
• E. coli made to produce biofuel from switchgrass
• Bacteria could help produce vaccines (paper)
• Probiotics could help when brain trauma causes whacky immune system

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles Micro Edition 72 - Microbes Manipulate Mosquito Messages

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Category: BacterioFiles

Created on Monday, 23 January 2012 03:43

Written by Jesse Noar

This episode: Bacteria on your skin affect your attractiveness to mosquitoes!

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Other interesting stories:

• Virus from smallpox vaccine could help people survive longer with liver cancer
• Craig Venter planning to engineer biofuel-producing algae
• Developing prebiotics by growing fecal bacteria in sugar beet pulp (paper)
• Lactic acid bacteria could be probiotics in mouth too (paper)
• Bacteria can be multicellular too
• Probiotics could help protect gut from radiation
• Probiotics could help treat pancreatitis

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles Micro Edition 71 - Bright Bacteria Brave Biting

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Category: BacterioFiles

Created on Sunday, 15 January 2012 02:06

Written by Jesse Noar

This episode: Some ocean bacteria glow to attract those that eat them!

Download Episode (2.6 MB, 3 minutes)

Other interesting stories:

• Some molds could actually help fight plant diseases
• Probiotics might help treat antibiotic-induced diarrhea
• Fecal transplants seem to effectively treat Clostridium difficile infections
• Could bacteria that eat other bacteria treat disease?
• Identifying bacteria that could help clean up contaminated water (paper)
• Bacteria could one day power airplanes
• A way to make bacteria produce fuel from sugar very quickly

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles Micro Edition 70 - Microbes Make Multiple Magnets

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Category: BacterioFiles

Created on Sunday, 08 January 2012 16:14

Written by Jesse Noar

This episode: Some bacteria have been discovered that construct multiple types of magnet in their cells!

Download Episode (3.2 MB, 3.5 minutes)

Other interesting stories:

• Engineered bacteria grow in bullseye design
• Logic gates designed in bacteria
• Virus could be used as building blocks for eyes, skin, teeth
• Algae could clean water and create biofuel in the process
• Students modify yeast to add vitamins to bread
• Bacteria could produce better sunscreen
• Engineered herpes could treat breast cancer (what a treatment!)

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles Micro Edition 69 - Plants' Prokaryotic Partners

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Category: BacterioFiles

Created on Saturday, 31 December 2011 20:40

Written by Jesse Noar

This episode: Plants open up their roots to let bacteria in!

Download Episode (3.1 MB, 3.25 minutes)

Other interesting stories:

• Diet and its effects on gut bacteria (paper)
• Electrobacteria could produce good biofuel from carbon dioxide
• Viruses might have once been cells
• Using bacteria to prevent soil erosion
• Bacteria can change the whole world's climate
• Swarming bacteria move in a coordinated manner (paper)
• Gut bacteria could affect whether some drugs work or not

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles Micro Edition 68 - Crustacean Calorie Caretaker

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Category: BacterioFiles

Created on Saturday, 24 December 2011 19:24

Written by Jesse Noar

Download Episode (2.9 MB, 3 minutes)

Other interesting stories:

• There is probably (microbial) life on Mars--that we put there (by accident)
• Cyanobacterial viruses are photosynthetic, sorta (paper)
• Freshwater springs in the Dead Sea allow interesting microbial growth
• Bacteria and yeast engineered to produce a new kind of diesel-like biofuel
• Using soil bacteria to kill cancer
• Heat-loving fungi could be good at making biofuels
• Bacteria could help clean up arsenic and make better cropland

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles Micro Edition 67 - Healthful Helper Helices

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Category: BacterioFiles

Created on Saturday, 17 December 2011 19:55

Written by Jesse Noar

Download Episode (2.6 MB, 3 minutes)

Other interesting stories:

• Bacteria could help defend coral against stress
• Researchers replace half of a yeast's chromosome with synthetic DNA
• Beetles use antibiotics to keep offsprings' food safe
• Virus could be used to treat cancers
• Root bacteria influence growth of plants (paper)
• Bacteria engineered to be able to produce useful unnatural proteins
• Fungi could make beech trees more colorful and pretty (paper)

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles Micro Edition 66 - Microbe-Mycelium Mutualism

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Category: BacterioFiles

Created on Sunday, 11 December 2011 22:13

Written by Jesse Noar

Download Episode (3.8 MB, 4 minutes)

Other interesting stories:

• Diet affects viruses in gut a lot too
• Diet may be able to treat gut disorders by manipulating bacteria
• Soil bacteria may help treat cancer
• Desert bacteria coordinate with the daily water cycle
• Fungus makes gold nanoparticles which may kill cancer (paper)
• Bacteria can protect plants against fungi and insects
• Some amount of microbe exposure may keep us healthy

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles Micro Edition 65 - Superfluous Cells Stop Sniffles

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Category: BacterioFiles

Created on Sunday, 04 December 2011 04:28

Written by Jesse Noar

Download Episode (3.2 MB, 3.5 minutes)

Other interesting stories:

• Bacteria could produce biofuel from old newspaper
• Scientists rewrite E. coli genetic code to make certain kinds of protein easily
• Virus related to rabies could kill cancer in children
• Probiotics seem to affect behavior (in mice, at least)
• Yeast converting seaweed to biofuel quickly
• Figuring out which parts of bacterial genome are essential
• Panda gut bacteria may be good for making biofuels

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.