1. Growing rice in the ocean? 🌾🌊 This may be possible thanks to #synbio! 🧬👇 Currently, less than 1% of the total fresh water in the planet is available for human use and, of this, up to 70% is used for agriculture worldwide. Among all crops, rice is one of the [...]

1. Bricks made of #bacteria that can repair themselves? 🧱🦠 #Synbio could be in charge of the buildings of the future! 🏘🧬 We have already heard about self-healing concrete but now scientists have gone a step further and they are building materials that can be grown on-site! A team from the University of Colorado [...]

1. A farewell to antibiotic-resistant #bacteria! 🦠🚫 This new plastic film could keep these microbes off surfaces 👇 Most bacteria are harmless but there are a few species that can infect us and make us ill. These potentially dangerous microbes can become a real headache for professionals working in restaurants or hospitals, where an [...]

1. All for one and one for all! ⚔ Some #bacteria can resist #antibiotics by acting as if they were just one organism! 🦠 Antibiotic resistant bacteria are one of the major health threats of our times. Among the most dangerous ones, Pseudomonas aeruginosa stands out. These microbes are particularly dangerous for people enduring [...]

1. Animals like birds use scents to exchange information 👃 These ‘smelly’ signals have an unexpected origin: #bacteria 🦠👇 Smell is one of the main senses for animals: it helps them in tasks such as detecting danger or locating food. Of course, birds aren’t an exception: they use odors to check out the hormonal [...]

1. Halloween is coming! 🎃 What about some spooky bacteria to celebrate it? 👻 These zombie #AwesomeMicrobes will fill your nightmares 🧟‍♂️ Here come the living dead! Well, don’t panic! Although they are known as ‘zombie’ bacteria, they have no interest in devouring your brain. These microbes are called this way because they can [...]

1. The ink of these tattoos is teeming with #AwesomeMicrobes!🖋🦠 Meet the first ‘living’ tattoos 👇 Bacteria are so versatile that they can do almost everything… even turning into tattoos! Researchers have developed a ‘biologic’ ink made of bacteria and hydrogel and have used a 3D printer to draw branch-like tattoo patches in human skin. [...]

1. Beautiful, sustainable and bacteria-made! 🦠 These #AwesomeMicrobes can turn your clothes into a riot of colours! 🌈 Our Awesome Microbes of August are ready to go through the catwalk! Bacteria like Streptomyces coelicolor produce chemical compounds that can be used to dye clothes. These substances, unlike traditional dyes, are eco-friendly and biodegradable! Moreover, [...]

1. Beware the light! 💡 These #AwesomeMicrobes lure insects near the roundworms they live in 🦟 Once the prey is dead, they both get nutrients from it! 🦠 Our Awesome Microbes of July are bright and beautiful! The glow of Photohabdus luminiscens is particularly attractive for some insects… but they should beware of the light! [...]

1. A cream made of squid to heal up burns? 🐙 @iGEM_Leiden team plans to use #bacteria to make a squid tentacle protein that mimics human skin! 🦠 Watch this video to know more! 👀 Currently, doctors don’t have enough treatments to restore the skin of burn victims back to its functional state. Now, the [...]