In Canada, when 115,000 tons of food waste hit Surrey’s processing facility each year, an invisible army goes to work—billions of microbes convert everything from banana peels to leftover pizza into renewable natural gas (RNG). Now, University of British Columbia researchers have identified a previously unknown bacterium in the Natronincolaceae family that plays a crucial […]
In Denmark, trillions of bacteria work in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, helping produce everything from beer and facial creams to biodiesel and fertilizer. The pharmaceutical industry, in particular, relies heavily on bacteria for producing substances like insulin and penicillin. Harnessing bacteria’s industrial contributions has revolutionized global health, but their work comes at a high […]
In Washington State, the interactions between algae and bacteria are essential to the primary productivity of Earth’s oceans and surface waters. Bacteria can increase the productivity of algae by producing key factors, such as vitamins, iron-chelating molecules, and growth hormones. In addition, bacteria remineralize organic matter—a process that provides a steady supply of nutrients to […]
In Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have engineered bacteria that can produce two chemical products at the same time from underutilized plant fiber. And unlike humans, these multitasking microbes can do both things equally well. The discovery, detailed in a paper in the December issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, could help make […]
