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Bacterial signaling across biofilm affected by surface structure

March 20, 2023

Similar to how cells within human tissues communicate and function together as a whole, bacteria are also able to communicate with each other through chemical signals, a behavior known as quorum signaling (QS). These chemical signals spread through a biofilm that colonies of bacteria form after they reach a certain density, and are used to help the colonies scavenge food, as well as defend against threats, like antibiotics.


March 20, 2023


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Collaborative team at IGB discovers new natural products at unprecedented speed

October 21, 2022

Many of the drugs we utilize in modern medicine are naturally produced by microbes. Penicillin, an antibiotic derived from certain molds, is one of the most notable natural products due to its recognition as one of the biggest advances in medicine and human health. As DNA sequencing has become cheaper and faster, scientists now have access to hundreds of thousands of microbial genomes and the natural products they produce.


October 21, 2022


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Jump ARCHES grant awarded to study antibiotic resistance

April 21, 2022

Established in 2014, the Jump Applied Research in Community Health through Engineering and Simulation (ARCHES) is an endowment partnership between Jump Simulation and Education Center at OSF HealthCare and the Grainger College of Engineering. The grant is awarded to help engineers and physicians combat problems in health care.


April 21, 2022


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Mining microbial genomes to discover natural products

April 11, 2022

The world around us contains many chemicals that are useful for medicines, crop protection, and animal health. These chemicals—known as natural products—have typically been discovered by sheer luck. Unsurprisingly, traditional techniques often find the same products, like antibiotics, repeatedly thus creating a need for new technologies. To address this growing demand, William Metcalf (MMG leader), a professor of microbiology, co-founded the company MicroMGx in 2015.


April 11, 2022


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Unusual biosynthetic pathway offers a key to future natural product discovery

September 10, 2018

Bacteria are master engineers of small, biologically useful molecules. A new study in Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06083-7) has revealed one of the tricks of this microbial trade: synthesizing and then later inserting a nitrogen-nitrogen bond, like a prefabricated part, into a larger molecule.


September 10, 2018


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Researchers Look to HIV Drug To Potentially Fight Bacterial Infections

March 4, 2015

With antibiotic resistance on the rise, scientists are looking for innovative ways to combat bacterial infections. The pathogen that causes conditions from strep throat to flesh-eating disease is among them, but scientists have now found a tool that could help them fight it: a drug approved to treat HIV. Their work, appearing in the journal ACS Chemical Biology, could someday lead to new treatments.


March 4, 2015


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