News tagged with bacterial genome

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

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

Biomedical engineers teach bacteria to count

Biomedical engineers at Boston University have taught bacteria how to count. Professor James J. Collins and colleagues have wired a new sequence of genes that allow the microbes to count discrete events, opening the door ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 28, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 1

Scientists begin census of microbes: the trillions that live in or on us

Scientists are beginning a large-scale effort to identify and analyze the vast majority of cells in or on your body that aren't of human origin.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Sep 02, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 3

New world Helicobacter pylori genome sequenced, dynamics of inflammation-related genes revealed

An international team of researchers led by scientists at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech have sequenced the genome of an Amerindian strain of the gastric bug Helicobacter pylori, confirming the ou ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jun 16, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Single gene mutation can sweep through bacterial population, opening the door for the concept of 'species'

Bacteria are the most populous organisms on the planet. They thrive in almost every known environment, adapting to different habitats by means of genetic variations that provide the capabilities essential ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 05, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Bacterial genome may hold answers to mercury mystery

A newly sequenced bacterial genome from a team led by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory could contain clues as to how microorganisms produce a highly toxic form of mercury.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 08, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Biotech offers promise for producing fuel

Fuel may be a messy business now, as the oil spill fouling the Gulf reminds us. But it might not always have to be. Scientists envision facilities that churn out black gold by enlisting engineered bacteria, yeast and algae ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Aug 09, 2010 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Whole genome analysis of Chlamydia trachomatis highlights risks with current method of tracking

In a study released today in Nature Genetics, researchers have found that Chlamydia has evolved more actively than was previously thought. Using whole genome sequencing the researchers show that the exchange of DNA betwee ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Mar 11, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | 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

Crowd-sourcing the E. coli O104:H4 outbreak

Ten variants of the deadly Escherichia coli strain that hit Germany in May 2011 have been sequenced across the world. The unprecedented level of collaboration across the scientific community should give i ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Sep 05, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1

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

New 'Tree of Life' established for one of the largest groups of bacteria

A new "tree of life" has been constructed by researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech for the gamma-proteobacteria, a large group of medically and scientifically important bacteria that ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 17, 2010 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Biologists Discover How 'Silent' Mutations Influence Protein Production

(PhysOrg.com) -- Biologists at the University of Pennsylvania have revealed a hidden code that determines the expression level of a gene, providing a way to distinguish efficient genes from inefficient ones. ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 09, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

Deadly bacteria may mimic human proteins to evolve antibiotic resistance

Deadly bacteria may be evolving antibiotic resistance by mimicking human proteins, according to a new study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jun 01, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast