Live Roundups Editor's Desk Insights Executive Ops Weather About 🔍
Home › Science › Phages unlock essential vitamin B12 by bursting open gut bacteria
Science

Phages unlock essential vitamin B12 by bursting open gut bacteria

Phages unlock essential vitamin B12 by bursting open gut bacteria
Phys.org Friday 07 August 2026, 17:40 UTC 1 min read
Key Points

All living organisms need vitamin B12 to form red blood cells and DNA, as well as to build and support brain and nerve cells. But it's hard to come by: Humans don't make it. Animals don't make it.

All living organisms need vitamin B12 to form red blood cells and DNA, as well as to build and support brain and nerve cells. But it's hard to come by: Humans don't make it. Animals don't make it. Plants don't make it. In fact, this essential nutrient is made exclusively by certain bacteria and archaea.
Originally published by Phys.org Read original →

Related Stories

One of NASA's Mars rovers could find itself promised to the moon instead

One of NASA's Mars rovers could find itself promised to the moon instead And it could explore all areas, regardless of illumination. Did you know that Curiosity and Perseverance have full-scale replicas here on Earth, which scientists use to test features and updates before beaming them up to the Mars rovers? They were built to stay here on Earth as testbeds for the Martian vehicles, but now NASA is planning to send one of them — or a hybrid of the two — to the moon.

Engadget 24m ago

Inside the mystery of the James Webb Space Telescope's little red dots — and how they might be evolving

Inside the mystery of the James Webb Space Telescope's little red dots — and how they might be evolving A little red dot has been discovered at the heart of a distant galaxy not too dissimilar to the Milky Way. New evidence has come to light showing that the mysterious 'little red dots' discovered in the early universe by the James Webb Space Telescope could evolve into the active centers of fully formed galaxies. "Everything created in the early universe must evolve into something around...

Space.com 54m ago

Photocatalytic method cleaves strong C–H bonds while preserving weaker C–Si bonds

α-Silyl alcohols are unique organosilicon compounds bearing a silyl group and a hydroxy group on the same carbon atom. Because these compounds serve as precursors to reactive species, such as carbanions and carbon radicals, they are pivotal building blocks for synthesizing pharmaceuticals and functional materials. However, their synthesis often requires multistep procedures and suffers from poor functional group tolerance.

Phys.org 1h ago

Oil dispersants reshape Arctic sea-ice microbes but do not markedly accelerate oil breakdown

By making the Arctic less ice-covered, climate warming has increased both shipping traffic and the risk of oil spills in the region. Changing ice conditions may, however, affect the effectiveness of currently available oil spill response measures, according to a recent study by researchers from Estonia and Norway.

Phys.org 1h ago