A strain of E. coli bacteria called enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) is known to cause several gastrointestinal disorders, which include bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps, by damaging the intestinal lining. When accompanied ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Aug 3, 2022
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31
Only one thousandth of a milligram of the bacterial botulinum toxin is necessary to kill a living organism. The toxin unfolds its lethal effect by preventing the release of neurotransmitters at the point where nerve cells ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 3, 2022
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96
Researchers at The University of Queensland (UQ) have found that a native New Zealand stinging tree produces toxins that could hold clues for future pain medication.
Biochemistry
Jul 27, 2022
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7
Proteins usually undergo modifications during or after their synthesis in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi apparatus network inside eukaryotic cells. One such modification is glycosylation, whereby sugars, such as ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 25, 2022
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16
Since they were first discovered in the 1980s, retrons have puzzled researchers who simply wanted to know what these bacterial DNA sequences actually did. Now, EMBL scientists have identified that some retrons encode toxin ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 18, 2022
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151
The biomolecule diphthamide is essential for the proper formation of proteins in cells. When humans are infected with diphtheria, diphthamide is altered by the diphtheria toxin so that life-threatening complications can arise ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 15, 2022
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79
Bungarus multicinctus, or the many-banded krait as it commonly called, is a highly venomous elapid snake widely distributed across southern Asia. Available antivenoms show good neutralizing efficacy but can exhibit batch-to-batch ...
Evolution
Jul 14, 2022
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76
Research by Oregon State University has shed new light on the hazards associated with harmful algal blooms such as one four years ago that fouled drinking water in Oregon's capital city of Salem.
Ecology
Jun 14, 2022
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10
Does a snake die when it bites its lip? Why will a mongoose survive a scorpion's sting, but we humans perish? These questions occupied the minds of toxin-enthusiasts and Master's students in Biology Jory van Thiel and Roel ...
Plants & Animals
May 23, 2022
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124
A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in China and the U.S. has found evidence that suggests three distantly related types of mushrooms gained their ability to produce a dangerous toxin via horizontal ...
