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Last Updated: Nov 17th, 2006 - 22:35:04 |
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
Gut Bacteria Cospeciating with Plataspid stinkbug
With some 1 million species and counting, insects may be the most abundant class of animals living today. Their protective exoskeleton, prolific reproductive rate, and wings help their cause, as do the symbiotic bacteria that inhabit their cells, gut, or body cavity. Endocellular symbionts live inside specialized insect cells and provide essential nutrients for their hosts, which in turn provide suitable habitat for the bacteria. Insect mothers transmit endocellular symbionts to their offspring during egg or embryo development, preserving an intimate bond between host and symbiont that is evident in both species' genomes.
Oct 11, 2006, 04:57
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
An infectious agent of deception, exposed through proteomics
Salmonella bacteria, infamous for food poisoning that kills hundreds of thousands worldwide, infect by stealth. They slip unnoticed into and multiply inside macrophages, the very immune system cells the body relies on to seek and destroy invading microbes.
Oct 1, 2006, 22:56
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
Gram positive bacterial membrane mystery solved
A 25-year quest to identify the first biochemical step that many disease-causing bacteria use to build their membranes has led to a discovery that holds promise for effective, new antibiotics against these bacteria, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Sep 1, 2006, 17:56
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
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Salmonella
Salmonella bacteria use RNA to assess and adjust magnesium levels
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have added a gene in the bacterium Salmonella to the short list of genes regulated by a new mechanism known as the riboswitch. The Salmonella riboswitch is the first to sense and respond to a metal ion, substantially expanding the types of molecules that riboswitches can detect to help cells assess and react to their environment.
Apr 7, 2006, 03:47
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
How deadly toxin botulinum neurotoxin A hijacks cells
Scientists have pinpointed exactly how botulinum neurotoxin A - a potential agent of biological warfare and one of the most lethal toxins known to man - is able to sneak into cells. The finding is crucial for the development of new treatments against botulism, a paralytic illness caused by the toxin more commonly known as botox. As small amounts of botox are also known to alleviate many medical problems, the recent work could help to quell any risks associated with the toxin's clinical use.
Mar 17, 2006, 14:02
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
String Test: Effective and Inexpensive Method for Detecting Helicobacter pylori
Swallowing a string may offer a simple and effective alternative to costly and invasive techniques used for detecting Helicobacter pylori in patients say researchers from the U.S. and abroad. They report their findings in the March 2006 issue of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.
Mar 11, 2006, 20:37
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
Scientists develop biosensor to detect E. Coli bacteria
Scientists have developed a fast working biosensor that can accurately and rapidly detect an infectious agent that causes food borne illness, including the dangerous E. Coli bacteria.
Feb 25, 2006, 10:03
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
Found - bacteria with strange magnetic personality
Researchers have reported the discovery of a bacterium with strange magnetic properties - it tends to swim towards south magnetic pole while being in the northern hemisphere.
While 'Magnetotactic bacteria' are known to swim toward geomagnetic north in the northern hemisphere and geomagnetic south in the southern hemisphere, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Iowa State University have found a bacterium in New England that does just the opposite: a northern hemisphere creature that swims south.
Feb 24, 2006, 02:26
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
Student discovers protein in yoghurt that fights E. coli
A high school student in the US has discovered a protein in yoghurt that has the potential to fight E.coli, the leading cause of diarrhoea in the world.
Feb 24, 2006, 02:23
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
Slugs May Spread E. coli to Salad Vegetables
A new study suggests that slugs have the potential to transmit E. coli to salad vegetables. Researchers from the University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom, report their findings in the January 2006 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
Jan 20, 2006, 14:01
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
Escherichia coli doesn�t gamble with its metabolism
The ubiquitous and usually harmless E. coli bacterium, which has one-seventh the number of genes as a human, has more than 1,000 of them involved in metabolism and metabolic regulation. Activation of random combinations of these genes would theoretically be capable of generating a huge variety of internal states; however, researchers at UCSD will report in the Dec. 27 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that Escherichia coli doesn�t gamble with its metabolism. In a surprise about E. coli that may offer clues about how human cells operate, the PNAS paper reports that only a handful of dominant metabolic states are found in E. coli when it is �grown� in 15,580 different environments in computer simulations.
Dec 17, 2005, 15:58
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
Understanding how Rickettsia conorii interacts with host cells
New research by a team of scientists in France and the United States has identified both the bacterial and host receptor proteins that enable Rickettsia conorii, the Mediterranean spotted fever pathogen to enter cells. Understanding how this bacterium interacts with the cells of its host could lead to new therapeutic strategies for diseases caused by related pathogens, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever and typhus.
Dec 17, 2005, 15:41
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
Rapid tests for meningitis and MRSA are being developed
Rapid tests for serious disease such as meningitis, chlamydia and the hospital superbug MRSA are being developed by a new company, Atlas Genetics Ltd, which is being launched using �500,000 funding and the expertise of academics at the University of Bath.
Oct 17, 2005, 19:21
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
E.coli�s Defense Mechanism Uncovered
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the John Innes Centre in the United Kingdom have uncovered a mechanism with which disease-causing bacteria may thwart the body�s natural defense responses. The findings, which could ultimately lead to the development of more effective antibiotics, appear in the September 29, 2005 issue of the journal Nature.
Sep 29, 2005, 21:28
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
A fat-sugar complex that anchors LTA could be target to block bacterial CNS infection
A single molecular anchor that allows bacteria to invade the nervous system may hold the key to treating many types of bacterial meningitis, a UCSD School of Medicine study has found.
Sep 6, 2005, 20:22
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
Listeria monocytogenes uses receptor-mediated endocytosis to infect hosts
French scientists have learned how Listeria monocytogenes, which causes a major food-borne illness, commandeers cellular transport machinery to invade cells and hide from the body's immune system. They believe that other infectious organisms may use the same mechanism.
Aug 22, 2005, 15:24
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
One bacterial cell can stop the growth of another on physical contact
Scientists have discovered a new phenomenon in which one bacterial cell can stop the growth of another on physical contact. The bacteria that stop growing may go into a dormant state, rather than dying. The findings have implications for management of chronic diseases, such as urinary tract infections.
Aug 19, 2005, 22:29
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
Oral Vaccine from Bacterial Ghosts May Protect Against E. coli
Researchers from Austria and Russia have developed an oral vaccine comprised of bacterial ghosts, or empty bacterial envelopes, which may protect against E. coli in animals and humans. Their findings appear in the August 2005 issue of the journal Infection and Immunity.
Aug 18, 2005, 02:45
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
Olives May Successfully Transmit Beneficial Bacteria to Humans
Table olives may serve as a carrier for delivering beneficial bacteria to humans, according to researchers from Italy. Their findings appear in the August 2005 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
Aug 18, 2005, 02:43
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
Phages Affect Gene Expression and Fitness in E. coli
Life is hard for bacteria. Not only must they constantly compete against their comrades for resources and living space, they�re also subject to infection by pathogens�viruses called bacteriophages�which can affect their ability to survive and prosper. Two types of bacteriophages threaten bacteria: lytic phages and lysogenic (or temperate) phages.
Jun 22, 2005, 13:05
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
Three New Phases of Repairing DNA Damage in E. coli
Any cell that receives a dose of radiation is placed in a dangerous situation. The DNA damage resulting from exposure to such radiation (or any other mutagen) can cause massive rearrangements to genetic information and potentially kill the cell. Bacteria have learned to cope with this threat by activating genes that repair DNA damage and by preventing a cell from dividing before these repairs are completed. In the bacteria Escherichia coli, these repair genes form what is known as the SOS response.
Jun 22, 2005, 13:05
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
Clues to a Parasitic Nematode�s Bacterial Partnership
More than a billion people are at risk for infection with filarial nematodes, parasites that cause elephantiasis, African river blindness, and other debilitating diseases in more than 150 million people worldwide.
Mar 29, 2005, 16:32
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
The Bacteria�s Guide to Survival
From The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook�with handy entries like �How to escape from killer bees� and �How to escape from quicksand��to The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead, survival guides are one of the latest publishing fads.
Mar 22, 2005, 20:51
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
Host Cell Lipids Facilitate Listeria monocytogenes Movement
When the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes invades the body, it commandeers its host cell's actin cytoskeleton to invade other cells. In a report published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, a group of scientists provide insight into the molecular mechanisms behind this infection technique.
Mar 22, 2005, 20:45
Latest Research
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Microbiology
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Bacteriology
Oysters in US showed high prevalence of Salmonella
Known carriers of viral and bacterial pathogens, seafood and shellfish accounted for 7.42% of food poisoning related deaths attributed to Salmonella between 1990 and 1998. Characterized by fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea, salmonellosis is responsible for approximately 500 deaths annually in the U.S. alone. Current guidelines require the shellfish industry to test for evidence of bacterial contamination, however previous studies indicate that Salmonella could be present in oysters appearing otherwise healthy, indicating the need for testing specific to Salmonella. Oysters harvested from thirty-six bays around the United States showed high prevalence of Salmonella according to a report that appears in the February 2005 journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
Feb 18, 2005, 16:39
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