News tagged with bacterial dna

Resistance to antibiotics is ancient: study

Scientists were surprised at how fast bacteria developed resistance to the miracle antibiotic drugs when they were developed less than a century ago. Now scientists at McMaster University have found that resistance has been ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Aug 31, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

DNA repair protein caught in act of molecular theft

Scientists have observed, for the first time, an intermediate stage in the chemical process that repairs DNA methylation damage and regulates many important biological functions that impact health conditions ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Nov 10, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

First 'synthetic life': Scientists 'boot up' a bacterial cell with a synthetic genome

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have developed the first cell controlled by a synthetic genome. They now hope to use this method to probe the basic machinery of life and to engineer bacteria specially designed ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 20, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (37) | comments 79 | with audio podcast

New hand bacteria study holds promise for forensics identification

Forensic scientists may soon have a valuable new item in their toolkits -- a way to identify individuals using unique, telltale types of hand bacteria left behind on objects like keyboards and computer mice, ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Mar 15, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

'Sloppier copier' surprisingly efficient

The "sloppier copier" discovered by USC biologists is also the best sixth man in the DNA repair game, an article in the journal Nature shows.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jul 15, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (4) | comments 3

Study finds unexpected bacterial diversity on human skin

The health of our skin -- one of the body's first lines of defense against illness and injury — depends upon the delicate balance between our own cells and the millions of bacteria and other one-celled microbes ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created May 28, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (8) | comments 0

Pinpointing how antibiotics work

Penicillin and other antibiotics have revolutionized medicine, turning once-deadly diseases into easily treatable ailments. However, while antibiotics have been in use for more than 70 years, the exact mechanism ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 20, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study reveals how protein machinery binds and wraps DNA to start replication

(PhysOrg.com) -- Before any cell - healthy or cancerous - can divide, it has to replicate its DNA. So scientists who want to know how normal cells work - and perhaps how to stop abnormal ones - are keen to ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Mar 06, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

Bacterial plasmids -- the freeloading and the heavy-lifters -- balance the high price of disease

Studying self-replicating genetic units, called plasmids, found in one of the world's widest-ranging pathogenic soil bacteria -- the crown-gall-disease-causing microorganism Agrobacterium tumefaciens -- Ind ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Feb 01, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Dealing with stress: New research highlights the survival skills of disease-causing E. coli

Escherichia coli bacteria thrive in the lower intestine of humans and other animals, including birds. Most are vital constituents of the healthy gut flora, but certain forms of E. coli cause a range of di ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jan 30, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Research finds novel method for increasing antibiotic yields

A novel way of increasing the amounts of antibiotics produced by bacteria has been discovered that could markedly improve the yields of these important compounds in commercial production. It could also be valuable in helping ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Sep 05, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New method reveals parts of bacterium genome essential to life

A team at the Stanford University School of Medicine has cataloged, down to the letter, exactly what parts of the genetic code are essential for survival in one bacterial species, Caulobacter crescentus.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Aug 30, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

When viruses infect bacteria

(PhysOrg.com) -- Viruses are the most abundant parasites on Earth. Well known viruses, such as the flu virus, attack human hosts, while viruses such as the tobacco mosaic virus infect plant hosts.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jun 30, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Gonorrhea acquires a piece of human DNA

If a human cell and a bacterial cell met at a speed-dating event, they would never be expected to exchange phone numbers, much less genetic material. In more scientific terms, a direct transfer of DNA has never been recorded ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Feb 14, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (11) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Staying 1 strep ahead: Research shows how bacteria keep ahead of vaccines and antibiotics

New research provides the first detailed genetic picture of an evolutionary war between Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria and the vaccines and antibiotics used against it over recent decades. Large-scale genome sequencing ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jan 27, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast