Scientists at EPFL have unraveled the mystery behind why biological nanopores, tiny molecular holes used in both nature and biotechnology, sometimes behave unpredictably. By experimenting with engineered versions of the bacterial pore aerolysin, they discovered that two key effects, rectification and gating, stem from the pore’s internal electrical charges and their interaction with passing ions. The team even built nanopores that imitate brain-like “learning,” hinting at future applications in bio-inspired computing and ion-based processors.
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Brain-like learning found in bacterial nanopores
November 12, 2025By
Bacterial cellulose could enable microbial life on Mars
June 7, 2022By
An international research team has investigated the chances of survival of kombucha cultures under Mars-like conditions. Kombucha is known as a drink, sometimes called tea fungus or mushroom tea, which is produced by fermenting sugared tea using kombucha cultures — a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. Although the simulated Martian environment destroyed the microbial ecology of the kombucha cultures, surprisingly, a cellulose-producing bacterial species survived.
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Bacterial Pneumonia Predicts Ongoing Lung Problems in Infants Hospitalized for Acute Respiratory Failure
May 19, 2019By
Bacterial pneumonia appears to be linked to ongoing breathing problems in previously healthy infants who were hospitalized in a pediatric intensive care unit for acute respiratory failure, according to research presented at ATS 2019.
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Shining a light on bacterial cell division
December 20, 2017By
Researchers have revealed new insights into the process of E. coli cell division, aiding the search for new ways to target bacteria with antibiotics.
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Two-for-one bacterial virulence factor revealed
January 17, 2016By
Given that antibiotics are losing effectiveness faster than replacements are being found, a chemist suggests we try a new approach. Drugs that hobble the production of virulence factors, small molecules that help bacteria to establish an infection in a host, would put much less selective pressure on bacteria and delay the evolution of resistance. In a new article, he describes recent work on a target virulence factor.
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