Controlling bacteria with light: from tackling antibiotic resistance to “bacterial robots”
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 30-Oct-2025 19:11 ET (30-Oct-2025 23:11 GMT/UTC)
A groundbreaking technique developed by Politecnico di Milano researchers is enabling scientists to control specific bacterial functions using light-sensitive materials. The Engineering Of bacteria to See light (EOS) project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC), has pioneered a system that allows bacteria to sense light and convert light energy into electrical signals across their membranes without the need for any genetic modification. This method is being explored as a promising solution to the growing global challenge of antibiotic resistance.
Its potential applications include developing next-generation antimicrobial platforms, where light is used to target resistant pathogens, and biocompatible, light-guided “bacterial robots” capable of delivering drugs to specific areas of the body, even those that are typically difficult to reach, such as the gastrointestinal tract.Recent years have seen growing scrutiny and debate around processed foods, but researchers have struggled to pin down what aspects of food processing are most relevant to health. Now, scientists have developed a system for classifying processed foods based on information about the health impacts associated with particular ingredients.
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