Microbiology

A study in mice has found that transplanting gut microbes from young animals into older ones can restore youthful levels of brain plasticity. The research points to potential new ways of treating conditions that are normally only reversible in childhood.

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The Chicxulub asteroid impact that ended the dinosaur era left the site in what is now Mexico hot enough to sustain underground microbial life for at least 8 million years. New analysis of rock cores shows the hydrothermal system lasted far longer than earlier estimates suggested.

Researchers have demonstrated that the extremophile bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans can endure extreme pressures mimicking an asteroid impact on Mars. In lab experiments, the microbe withstood forces up to 3 GPa, with 60% survival rate. The findings suggest microorganisms could potentially be ejected into space and survive.

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Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have identified a methane-producing archaeon that interprets a standard stop codon in two ways, challenging a core principle of biology. The microbe, Methanosarcina acetivorans, sometimes adds an amino acid called pyrrolysine instead of halting protein synthesis. This flexibility may aid in metabolizing compounds linked to human health.

A new study reveals that SAR11, the most abundant bacteria in the world's oceans, may be hindered by their own adaptations to nutrient-poor environments. Under stress, these microbes experience cellular failures that limit their growth, potentially affecting ocean ecosystems amid climate change. Researchers from the University of Southern California highlight this as a key weakness in these dominant lifeforms.

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Researchers report that small doses of the antibiotic cephaloridine can prompt certain gut bacteria to increase production of colanic acid, a microbial polysaccharide previously tied to longer lifespan in laboratory animals. In experiments, treated roundworms lived longer and mice showed shifts in cholesterol or insulin measures associated with aging, with the team arguing the approach works by acting in the gut rather than throughout the body.