Chlamydia protein has an odd structure, scientists find

A protein secreted by the chlamydia bug has a very unusual structure, according to scientists in the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio. The discovery of the protein's shape could ...

Pathogen turns protein into a virulence factor in one easy step

To infect its host, the respiratory pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa takes an ordinary protein usually involved in making other proteins and adds three small molecules to turn it into a key for gaining access to human cells. ...

Breaking up the superbugs' party

The fight against antibiotic-resistant superbugs has taken a step forward thanks to a new discovery by scientists at The University of Nottingham.

Study: Odd biochemistry yields lethal bacterial protein

While working out the structure of a cell-killing protein produced by some strains of the bacterium Enterococcus faecalis, researchers stumbled on a bit of unusual biochemistry. They found that a single enzyme helps form ...

How Salmonella survives the macrophage's acid attack

Macrophages destroy bacteria by engulfing them in intracellular compartments, which they then acidify to kill or neutralize the bacteria. However, some pathogenic bacteria, such as Salmonella enterica, have evolved to exist ...

Nasty nanoinjectors pose a new target for antibiotic research

If you've ever suffered the misery of food poisoning from a bacterium like Shigella or Salmonella, then your cells have been on the receiving end of "nanoinjectors"—microscopic spikes made from proteins through which pathogens ...

page 1 from 4