Microbiology & Infectious Disease
The biology of microorganisms — their communication, survival strategies, chemical interactions, and roles in health and disease.
All Hypotheses
Pyocyanin-GPX4-Ferroptosis Bidirectional Axis
Bacteria may hack their own iron supply by triggering a specific type of cell death in human lung cells.
Periplasmic Chaperone DegP Co-localization with OMV Cargo Proteins Resolved by Cryo-ET Difference Mapping
A bacterial chaperone protein may act as a cargo sorter for the tiny 'packages' bacteria send out to communicate.
Machine Learning-Guided Template Matching Identifies OMV Cargo Proteins In Situ Without Labels
AI-powered microscopy could reveal how bacteria secretly pack and send molecular messages — no chemical tags needed.
Gaussian Mixture Model Analysis of Cryo-EM OMV Populations Distinguishes Biogenesis Pathways in P. aeruginosa
AI-powered microscopy could reveal how bacteria decide what to pack into their tiny 'mail packages'.
Biofilm Aggregate Modulus (H_a) from Confined Compression Predicts Mechanical Resistance to Debridement Better Than G'/G''
A cartilage physics trick could finally explain why scrubbing away bacterial slime is harder than it looks.
Variance-Component Decomposition of E. coli Adder — DnaA Counting Dominant at Fast Growth
Bacteria switch which internal clock controls their size depending on how fast they're growing.
Power Analysis for Subtomogram Averaging of OMV Budding Intermediates Sets Feasibility Boundary
Can cutting-edge microscopy reveal how bacteria pack their tiny messaging bubbles?
FtsZ GTPase ~2000× Over-Dissipating vs DnaA — Precision Bottleneck at Initiation Not Division
Bacteria waste energy at cell division, but the real precision clock ticks at the moment DNA copying begins.
Fixed Charge Density (FCD) of P. aeruginosa Alginate Biofilm Predicts Donnan-Mediated Cationic Antibiotic Partitioning
Borrowing physics from cartilage research could explain why certain antibiotics get trapped outside stubborn bacterial slime.
Dual-Pathway PYO + LoxA Synergy
Bacteria may hijack two pathways at once to trigger a toxic chain reaction that destroys lung cells from the inside.
DeltaDeltaG Mutant Scanning of FhuA Loops L3/L10 with T5 pb5 Distinguishes Fitness-Constrained vs Free Resistance Mutations, with Phase-Variation Rate Included as a Competing Pathway
Measuring binding energy could predict which bacterial mutations will actually resist a virus — and which ones cost too much to survive.
Mn Speciation as the Missing Variable in Manganese Neurotoxicity: A Unifying Framework
The form manganese takes chemically may determine whether it heals or harms the brain.
EPR-Detectable Free Mn2+ Fraction as Diagnostic Biomarker for Mn Neurotoxicity Risk
A bacterial survival trick could reveal which form of manganese in your blood predicts brain damage risk.
Compartment-Specific Mn-OP Formation in Mitochondria Explains Protective vs Toxic Mn Pools
Where manganese hides inside cells may determine whether it heals or harms.
ppGpp → Supercoiling → N_eff Reduction as Stress-Responsive TUR Tuning
Bacteria may tune their energy efficiency during stress by physically twisting their DNA to blur internal counting signals.
Mn-OP Mimetics as Dual-Function Neuroprotectants: MnSOD Supplementation + Mismetalation Prevention
Copying a radiation-proof bacterium's manganese tricks could protect human brain cells from toxic metal damage.
Net Fixed Charge Density Transitions from Positive to Negative During Biofilm Maturation
Dangerous lung bacteria may have a brief 'charge-neutral' window where antibiotics can slip past their defenses.
TUR Dominates Berg-Purcell for DnaA-oriC — Thermodynamic Not Diffusive Bottleneck
The energy a bacterium burns, not random molecular collisions, may be the true limit on how precisely it copies its DNA.
Multi-Current TUR Decomposition — Noise Portfolio
Bacteria may balance cell growth noise like a financial portfolio, trading precision for energy efficiency.
Irving-Williams-Guided Mn Speciation Framework for Metal-Specific Neurotoxicity
The chemical rules governing metal competition could explain why manganese harms the brain in some forms but not others.
Streaming Potential Measurement Reveals Spatial FCD Heterogeneity in Mixed-EPS Biofilm
A technique for measuring electrical charges in joint cartilage could map the hidden architecture of antibiotic-resistant bacterial slime.
GPX4 as Inter-Kingdom Signal Gatekeeper with Scavenging Budget
A cellular enzyme may act as a switch that hides or reveals chemical distress signals from bacteria during infection.
Pyocyanin Mitochondrial Redox Cycling Initiates Ferroptosis in Airway Epithelia via CoQ10H2 Depletion and DHODH Pathway Compromise
A bacterial toxin may hijack cells' own energy machinery to trigger a destructive form of self-destruction in CF lungs.
ITC-Derived Per-Contact Kd Fed into Bell-Model 2D Membrane Adhesion Kinetics Predicts Minimum OmpC Density for T4 Productive Adsorption
Physics equations from cell adhesion could predict the minimum bacterial receptor density needed for viruses to infect — and make phage therapy more precise.
ITC Entropy Dominance (DeltaH/DeltaG < 0.3) as a Pre-Treatment Screening Criterion to Select Fever-Robust Phages, With Receptor Downregulation Captured as a Parallel Assay
A heat-resistance test for bacteria-killing viruses could help doctors choose the right phage therapy for feverish patients.
Multi-Temperature ITC Panel (15/25/37C) Measuring Both DeltaCp and DeltaH Temperature Sensitivity Simultaneously Provides a Single Biophysical Test for UTI Phage Selection
A single lab test run at three temperatures could identify the best viruses to treat stubborn urinary tract infections.
RIDA Kinetic Timing Window — U-Shaped CV vs Hda Titration
Bacteria may tune cell division timing using a physical law that links speed, accuracy, and energy costs.
ITC-Measured Tail Fiber RBD Accessibility Score as a Phage Engineering Criterion for Designing Neutralization-Resistant Receptor-Binding Domains
A precise heat-measurement trick could help engineer bacteria-killing viruses that dodge our immune system.
ACSL4 Vulnerability Map
Bacterial chemical signals may hijack a cell's fat composition to trigger self-destruction from within.
Min Pareto-Frontier TUR with Pattern Instability Bifurcation
Bacteria may use energy inefficiency as a feature, not a bug, to reliably control their own size.
4-HNE Covalent Modification of Holo-LasR
A toxic byproduct of human cell death could secretly jam bacterial communication systems.
Lactonase Degrades 4-HNE Lactol
Bacterial enzymes that silence microbe chatter might also neutralize a toxic byproduct of cell death.