Stressed-out bacteria provide insights to antibiotic resistance

For a bacterium, the world can be a tough place to survive, a constant competition for food and space. Some bacteria, like Pseudomonas aeruginosa, secrete toxic molecules that act as a defense mechanism against nearby competitor ...

Altruism in bacteria—Gut microbes help family first

A recent discovery that, in real-world conditions bacteria, similar to animals, cooperate and selflessly act for the greater good of the group, could help scientists to predict how helpful and harmful strains behave. The ...

Secret to how cholera adapts to temperature revealed

Scientists have discovered an essential protein in cholera-causing bacteria that allows them to adapt to changes in temperature, according to a study published today in eLife.

Infectious disease causes long-term changes to frog's microbiome

Just as beneficial microbes in the human gut can be affected by antibiotics, diet interventions and other disturbances, the microbiomes of other animals can also be upset. In a rare study published this week, Andrea Jani, ...

Where antibiotic resistance comes from

By comparing thousands of bacterial genomes, scientists in Gothenburg, Sweden have traced back the evolutionary history of antibiotic resistance genes. In almost all cases where an origin could be determined, the gene started ...

The hidden math of bacterial behavior

As modern medical science has become increasingly aware of the positive role that bacteria and other microorganisms can play in our health, a mystery has emerged: How is it that beneficial microbial communities can sometimes ...

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