Q&A: What factors influence likelihood and severity of Ebola outbreaks? Researcher at Penn State discusses results of two papers that looked at factors that contribute to how Ebola virus disease outbreaks begin and how severe they become.

What factors influence likelihood and severity of #Ebola #outbreaks? ...

| #virus | #Africa | #pathogen | #Marburg | #MicroSky | Via eurekalert .org

We study pandemics, and the resurgence of measles is a grim sign of what’s coming Controlling the spread of many infections, including measles, depends on trust in public health, which is eroding.

Resurgence of #measles is a grim sign of what’s coming ...

| #pandemics | #measles | #infections | #MicroSky | Via @theconversation.com

#MicroSky

How are #kefir microbial communities & product characteristics maintained in industrial production?

Kefir’s complex microbial symbiosis drives flavor & health benefits but industrial methods dilute key functions. New synthetic cultures offer solutions
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #MicroSky

How bacteria suppress immune defenses in stubborn wound infections Researchers have revealed how a common bacterium, Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis), releases lactic acid to acidify its surroundings and suppress the immune-cell signal needed to start a proper…

How #bacteria suppress immune defenses in stubborn #wound #infections ...

| #Enterococcus | #polymicrobial | #macrophages | #MicroSky | Via @sciencex.bsky.social

HIV-1-encoded circular RNA enhances viral transcription through Tat binding Nature Microbiology, Published online: 13 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02271-0Obi, Yan and colleagues identified an HIV-1-encoded circular RNA (circHIV) in plasma from people living with HIV and in infected primary cells and T-cell lines. CircHIV binds to the viral Tat protein and enhances transcription from the viral promoter.

Out Now! HIV-1-encoded circular RNA enhances viral transcription through Tat binding #MicroSky

Plasmids promote antimicrobial resistance through insertion sequence-mediated gene inactivation Nature Microbiology, Published online: 13 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02290-xInactivation of chromosomal genes through plasmid-encoded IS elements is an extended mechanism of antimicrobial resistance evolution in bacteria.

Out Now! Plasmids promote antimicrobial resistance through insertion sequence-mediated gene inactivation #MicroSky

Bridging Clinical #Microbiology and #ArtificialIntelligence:

An Image-Based Deep Learning Framework for Automated Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #OpenAccess #AI #MicroSky

Excited to team up with @whelanfj.bsky.social to work on a CF-related project focusing on Pseudomonas aeruginosa genomics. Applications close on April 3. Please share!

#microsky

#Medsky🧪 #IDsky #microsky #immunosky #publichealth The findings highlight the gut-immune interface as a potential driver of #Longcovid & support therapeutic strategies targeting #viralpersistence and intestinal immune homeostasis

In a new review, authors summarise current research on Staphylococcus aureus extracellular vesicles, with a focus on their potential applications for vaccine development, drug delivery, and novel antitumor and antiviral therapies.

https://ow.ly/IWIy50YreMS

#Microsky

The tremendous amount of computing resources required to simulate even a minimal bacterium for a short duration really puts into perspective what a remarkable machine such a tiny organism is.

#MicroSky

#microsky

A lot has been said about AI in biological research. While it is certainly a disruptive force, it is not yet an assistant you could blindly delegate your scientific tasks to.

Read our thoughts on the promise and pitfalls of AI in this month's editorial

#MicroSky 🦠🤖

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Highly mutagenic continuous evolution in E. coli using a Φ29-based orthogonal replication system - Nature Biotechnology Mutational rates of bacterial evolution are increased using an error-prone orthogonal system.

#NatMicroPicks

Sending evolution into overdrive 🔧🦠

A Φ29‑based DNA replication system in E. coli enables stable and targeted hypermutation achieving evolution of enzyme activities within days

#MicroSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#NatMicroPicks

No-GMO enhanced Bt toxin 🦠🌱🪲

Naturally occurring 'sporesilk' matrix coating the Bacillus thuringiensis toxin crystals boosts insecticidal activity providing a non-GMO pest biocontrol.

#MicroSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Acinetobacter baumannii’s lifestyle includes soil-dwelling colonization of decaying plant material and airborne spread - Nature Communications Little is known about the ecology and evolution of the nosocomial pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii outside the hospital. Here, Wilharm et al. show that the lifestyle of A. baumannii includes soil-dwel...

#NatMicroPicks

The versatile Acinetobacter baumannii! 🦠

The dreaded pathogen naturally occupies soil and airborne niches that underpin its recalcitrance and human contact may have shaped its evolution.

#MicroSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Candida albicans synergizes with Fusobacterium nucleatum in colorectal cancer progression via the Flo9-RadD interaction How does other types of microbe like fungi influence tumor-promoting role of Fusobacterium nucleatum? In this study, Li et al. establish that commensal fungi facilitate translocation of pro-tumor bact...

#NatMicroPicks

Multi-kingdom microbial interplay in cancer 🦠🍄🦀⚕️

Candida albicans synergizes with Fusobacterium nucleatum in colorectal cancer offering a potential therapeutic target via L‑arginine disruption.

#MicroSky #CancerSky

www.cell.com/cancer-cell/...

Antibiotic use and gut microbiome composition links from individual-level prescription data of 14,979 individuals - Nature Medicine Using individual-level data from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register and fecal metagenomes of 14,979 individuals in Sweden, the authors examined the association between oral antibiotic use over 8 yea...

#NatMicroPicks

Antibiotics in the long run ⌛💊🦠

Antibiotic use shows lasting associations with reduced gut microbial diversity for up to 8 years, indicating long-term impacts on the adult gut microbiome.

#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The MicrobeAtlas database: Global trends and insights into Earth’s microbial ecosystems MicrobeAtlas (www.microbeatlas.org) is an integrated, reference-based resource for truly planet-wide microbiomics, analyzing hundreds of thousands of microbial lineages across diverse environments, co...

#NatMicroPicks

A Microbial Atlas 🦠🗺️

MicrobeAtlas unifies >2 million microbiome samples into a resource that enables consistent cross‑study comparisons and ecological contextualization of both known and newly discovered species.

#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Bringing the genetically minimal cell to life on a computer in 4D Simulating the complete cell cycle of the minimal cell provides a platform to understand the progression of complete states over time. The spatial heterogeneity of the intracellular environment can st...

#NatMicroPicks

Simulating a bacterium 💻🦠

A 4D whole-cell model of the minimal bacterium JCVI‑syn3A simulates its ~100‑minute cell cycle to reproduce experimental measurements and predict behaviours

#MicroSky

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Genetically engineered eye-colonizing microbes that deliver the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 enhance corneal tissue repair Engineered bacteria provide a platform for localized delivery of therapeutics. Here, Shane et al. show that an engineered eye commensal can accelerate corneal wound healing by promoting epithelial wou...

#NatMicroPicks

Therapeutic eye bacteria 🦠👁️🔧

Engineered eye‑colonizing bacteria deliver IL‑10 long‑term to reduce inflammation, and accelerate corneal wound healing.

#MicroSky

www.cell.com/cell-reports...

#MicroSky: Fernández et al show that bacteria don’t just adapt by mutating genes, but they also tweak genes switches. In Salmonella structured changes in the opvAB promoter fine-tune surface traits, revealing a new layer of evolutionary adaptation beyond DNA coding changes. doi.org/10.1111/1751...

Citrobacter rodentium-infected mouse colon at 8 days postinfection. Mucosal attachment remains unaffected by Eifel2 phage treatment, as visualized via immunofluorescence staining of C. rodentium (green) counterstained with wheat germ agglutinin (purple) and DAPI (blue).

Check out the mBio cover image (Vol 17, Issue 3 - buff.ly/Pqe1IoA) related to our joint publication with the Dept of Life Sciences at @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social

📰 buff.ly/bcoN2X8

#phage #microbiome #ucc #phagesky #microsky

@uccmicrobiology.bsky.social @colinhillucc.bsky.social @asm.org

Deadly virus outbreak at Bay Area state park spreads to nearby beaches "We are starting to see some carcasses on public beaches."

Deadly #virus #outbreak spreads to nearby #beaches ...

| #AvianFlu | #MicroSky | #BirdFlu | #AvianInfluenza | #pathogen | #infections | Via @sfgate.com

Bacteria have a secret engineering trick to keep themselves in shape Blow up a long balloon and two things happen: it gets longer and it gets wider. Now imagine a living cell that inflates itself under enormous pressure and yet only grows longer, never adding width.…

#Bacteria have a secret engineering trick to keep themselves in shape ...

| #antibioticresistance | #microbes | #microsky | #Bacillus | #soils | Via @sciencex.bsky.social

#Medsky🧪 #IDsky #microsky #microsky #publichealth Epitope-focused discovery strategies have successfully identified rare, potent antibodies capable of neutralizing highly evolved #SARSCoV2 #Omicronvariants by targeting conserved or novel sites of vulnerability.
This study highlights

A different kingdom entirely, but reminiscent of problems we have in the bacterial AST sphere.

cc @microberamon.bsky.social

#ClinicalMicro #MicroSky #IDSky

Origin of replication discovery for environmentally isolated Pantoea strain enables expression of heterologous proteins, pathways and products Molecular biology; Molecular genetics; Molecular mechanism of gene regulation; Molecular microbiology

#microsky #synbiosky

www.cell.com/iscience/ful...