A long time has passed since Leeuwenhoek used a handmade microscope to describe the existence of microorganisms in the XVIIth century and since then, our knowledge about these tiny creatures has massively increased. He provided the foundations of modern microbiology, but it wasn’t until over two centuries later that the first evidences of microbial genetics [...]
We assume that playing with building blocks is for children, but there are many who keep enjoying it as adults. They don’t build towers or houses anymore, but instead, they construct complex living organisms that are also made by standardised modular blocks: they are synthetic biologists. This young discipline is gaining adepts worldwide and one [...]
Do you want to learn more about the two main characters of our investigation? Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli, two different microbes with different features that we summarized in our new poster infographics. Discover more about these fascinating microorganisms at a glance! This month is time for Bacillus!
At Rafts4Biotech we want to foster open science and dissemination and thus we prepared this video protocol to share it with the whole scientific community. In just a few minutes you will learn how to isolate lipid rafts step by step. Ready? Click below!
Spider silk made by goats, meatless meat brewed by yeast or animal-free leather produced by bacteria. For many, these inventions may sound like science-fiction, but they are real products available thanks to synthetic biology (synbio). A scientific field that remains unknown for most of the population, and we know what happens when scientific innovation moves [...]
For centuries we have attempted to answer some of the most fundamental questions of biology and tried to understand how life works at the most basic level. It wasn’t that long ago that we first discovered the molecular actors of life -nucleic acids, proteins, lipids and carbohydrates- and it wasn’t until 1958 that we understood [...]
We may not notice it in our everyday lives, but bacteria and other microorganisms are responsible for recycling a lot of our trash. They turn our organic waste into compost, take part in the decomposition of dead plants in the forest, and some of them can even help us with nuclear waste! This is possible [...]
Gonorrhoea, tuberculosis, salmonellosis… Not so long ago, illnesses like these were fatal. Antibiotics allowed us to treat them, but the overuse we have been doing of these drugs has a downside: bacteria have become so used to the antibiotics that they have developed defence mechanisms against them. As a result, some of these diseases have [...]
The path from academia to industry is riddled with obstacles: business plans, funding schemes, market studies... Spin-off companies tread this trail, and hopefully develop a commercial product that exploits the discoveries made by academics. But good science does not necessarily mean fruitful business. And to illustrate this transition we talked with Dr. Veronika Stepankova, CEO [...]
When hearing the name E. coli most people get scared, as food poisoning, stomach pain or even death are some of the things that come to their mind. What many don’t’ know is that E. coli does not only refer to the famous pathogen but to many other strains of the same species that are [...]
