Bacterial spores—the hardy survival structures formed by certain bacterial species—are proving to be a game changer in the field of engineered living materials (ELMs). By embedding Bacillus spores ...

image: Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that multidrug-resistant bacteria and bacterial spores can be killed by ultrashort-pulse lasers. The findings ...

The master chemists known as Streptomyces bacteria have turned a compound rich with the tangy odor of moist soil into a hitchhiking scam. This group of bacteria, the inspiration for streptomycin and ...

Discover how researchers used bacterial spores to make sustainable, living, smart materials that can endure harsh environments and perform programmed tasks.

Getting microbes to eat plastic is a frequently touted solution to our growing waste problem, but making the approach practical is tricky. A new technique that impregnates plastic with the spores of ...

Researchers at Umeå University have recently developed a highly sensitive method for detecting bacterial spores—tough microorganisms that survive extreme conditions and can cause both food poisoning ...

Researchers led by a team at the University of California San Diego have developed a biodegradable form of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) that could help reduce the plastic industry’s environmental ...

Scientists have demonstrated a creative solution to plastic pollution, one of our most pressing environmental problems. Plastic was embedded with spores of plastic-eating bacteria that are activated ...

(Nanowerk News) Bacterial spores are one of nature’s most resilient organisms. These tiny, seed-like structures form when bacteria enter a dormant state to survive unfavorable conditions. They can ...

Facing starvation and stress conditions, some bacteria enter a dormant state in which life processes stop. Shutting down into a deep dormancy allows these cells, called spores, to withstand punishing ...

Moss spores have just joined the short list of life forms proven to withstand the raw vacuum of space for months at a time, ...