Biology Stack Exchange
Biology Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [bacteriology]

A subdivision of microbiology dedicated to the study of bacteria.

Questions on identification, classification, and biology of bacteria are on topic. The tag may also be useful for such questions, and the tag should be used for questions about bacterial disease.

  • Questions about viruses should use the tag.
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Do bacteria die of old age?

I know that the cells of mammals at least stop dividing when they are old, and then die a programmed cell death. Then other cells have to replace them. But in a bacterial colony, each cell replicates for itself. Obviously, if a division of a…
rumtscho
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How do scientists kill the bacteria they themselves made resistant?

I was reading this article on researching bacteria resistance to silver by removing some of their genes. Researchers then used "colony-scoring" software to measure the differences in growth and size of each plate's bacterial colony. E. coli strains…
WhatHiFi
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Can bacteria be killed by purely physical trauma?

In a question over on Skeptics Stack Exchange, I half-jokingly listed "blunt force trauma" as a means by which a bacterium could be killed. That makes me wonder if it really is only a joke or whether such an assault is plausible. The webcomic xkcd…
Robert Columbia
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What is the advantage of circular DNA in bacteria?

From what I understand, bacteria have circular DNA. What advantages does it have over linear strands like for eukaryotes? Do there exist bacteria with more than one ring of DNA?
John Smith
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Can a bacterium infect another bacterium?

I researched about it by searching on Google and reading some bacteriological articles, but I did not get any answer. I also asked some of my teachers, and they were also a bit confused. Some said that it is possible and others said not. So the…
biophilic
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Do viruses or bacteria have a flavour?

My 9 year old niece asked me this when I was explaining some stuff to her about the coronavirus. She asked "What does this virus taste like? Can I tell whether my sandwich is contaminated for example?" That sounded like a silly question and I…
polfosol ఠ_ఠ
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If a human takes antibiotics are all bacteria in the body killed?

From my basic understanding, antibiotics kill living things, bacteria for example. Do the antibiotics consumed by a human-being distinguish between what they kill? Or do they just kill every bacteria they find? And if that's the case, which bacteria…
Claus
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Hot water and bacteria

I know that it is common to say, "use hot water when washing your hands" or when you've got a cut, "wash your hands with warm water," etc. I was wondering, why is this the case? Since bacteria grow in warm environments, you would think that it might…
TanMath
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Is there a vaccine against the plague (Yersinia pestis)?

There seems to be recurrent events of infections of the plage (Yersinia pestis), from the well known Justinian plague to the Black Death and to recent years. In fact, two cases were reported in China in November 2019. However, it seems there is not…
luchonacho
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Why don't we have vaccination against all diseases caused by microbes?

People can be vaccinated against certain diseases. Principle of vaccination is to use live attenuated load or inactivated. My question is - why we dont have vaccination against all diseases which are caused by microbes?
akm
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Did the Great Oxygenation Event also cause a mass extinction?

It's usually assumed that the Great Oxidation Event around 2.3 billion years ago caused a great extinction of anaerobic life on earth. However, I was reading Nick Lane's book, The Vital Question, and he writes the following: The 'oxygen holocaust',…
Daud
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How does isopropyl alcohol disinfect less in higher concentration?

Isopropyl alcohol (2-propanol) can be used as disinfectant. For increasing concentration of it in water, the effect as disinfectant increases, and then decreases again. Typical concentrations for use as disinfectant seem to be 60-75% isopropyl…
Volker Siegel
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Are there any bacteria that could be used as food?

Bacteria are found everywhere. They can also grow on various substrates. Are there any bacteria that can be used as a food source? For example mix x with water and add some of these bacteria. These then either turn x into something nutritious or can…
Rubus
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Why is there now only one Salmonella species?

Once upon a time, I chanced upon an old microbiology book that detailed the rather colorful world of enterobacteria. Salmonella in particular stood out, as it seemed there were a lot of species: typhi / typhosa, paratyphi, gallinarum, typhimurium,…
user132
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What causes the development of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria?

I understand bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics due to selection pressures, but how do resistant bacteria process antibiotics when exposed to it, compared to non-resistant bacteria. Also, what research is being conducted to combat…
harpalss
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