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Friendly bacteria

For several years now, microorganisms have been gravitating from the lab benches of biologists towards the test tubes of chemists. The aim is to study bacteria from a new angle with the prospect of developing novel therapeutic solutions.​
Published on 24 April 2023
From the hydrothermal vents that pepper the ocean floors and the permafrost of Alaska or Siberia to our own digestive system, no environment can escape colonisation by bacteria. Indeed, despite their microscopic size, these organisms weigh heavily in the balance of life. American scientists have calculated that all those found on Earth represent a total mass of 70 billion tonnes of carbon1 scientists prefer this unit of measurement because it is independent of the water content in living beings, which varies considerably from one species to another, Ed. note. After plants, bacteria thus constitute the second largest life form in terms of biomass.

While these single-cell organisms with exceptional capacities for adaptation have always intrigued microbiologists, they are now arousing the curiosity of chemists who are seeking to develop new medicines. Victor Duarte in the Chemistry and Biology of Metals Laboratory (LCBM) in Grenoble (southeastern France), is one of these pioneers. Working with other scientists at the Institute of Molecular Sciences of Marseille (ISM2) and the IMM, this biochemist has made our intestinal microbiota one of his preferred fields of investigation.




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