Bacteria to Restore Art

Art restorers found a painting covered by salt crystals and glue. To solve the problem, they used Pseudomonas bacteria - a glue and salt-eating bacteria. They then trapped the bacteria in a gel so only the salt is destroyed but moisture doesn't affect the art itself.

Science of Cheese

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New Life Form Found on Earth

NASA announced today that it has discovered a microorganism that lives off arsenic. It has been dubbed microbe GFAJ-1 and is the first known life to have a DNA structure different than all other life forms. 6 elements are considered the building blocks of life on earth - arsenic not being one of them. Before this, scientists thought an environment without these elements (especially phosphorus) could not support life.

The discovery lends support to life existing elsewhere in the universe.

Bacteria That Eat Antibiotics

Research shows that certain soil bacteria feeds on antibiotics. This might be surprising but recall that most antibiotics come from organisms that live in the dirt so some bacteria are bound to adapt.

Honey - An Antiseptic

The International Journal of Clinical Practice reports that honey accelerates healing and prevents infection. Honey has many properties that inhibit bacterial growth: low moisture content, as honey glucose breaks down in air it forms the antiseptic agent hydrogen peroxide. The research suggests that honey might be particularly useful for an infected wound or one that will not close post-surgery. Honey even reduced amputation rates among diabetes patients suffering from open, infected sores.

Honey has been used to treat wounds for millenia but was avoided since the 1940s when antibiotics arrived. Because of antibiotic resistance fears today, natural remedies are more popular.