Killing for DNA: A predatory device in the cholera bacterium
Cholera is caused when the bacterium Vibrio cholerae infects the small intestine. The disease is characterized by acute watery diarrhea resulting in severe dehydration. EPFL scientists have now...
View ArticleUnderstanding the personalities of bacteria
Bacteria are as individual as people, according to new research by Professor Peter Young and his team in the Department of Biology at the University of York. Bacteria are essential to health,...
View ArticleSome genes 'foreign' in origin and not from our ancestors
Many animals, including humans, acquired essential 'foreign' genes from microorganisms co-habiting their environment in ancient times, according to research published in the open access journal Genome...
View ArticleDNA with self-interest: Transposable element conquers new strain of fly
Transposable elements are DNA sequences that are capable of changing their genome position by cut and paste or copy and paste through the enzyme transposase. This ability can be harmful for hosts if...
View ArticleScientists use molecular 'lock and key' for potential control of GMOs
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed an easy way to put bacteria under a molecular lock and key in order to contain its accidental spread. The method involves a series...
View ArticleTeam identifies mutations that allow bacteria to resist antibiotics
Rice University scientists are developing strategies to keep germs from evolving resistance to antibiotics by heading them off at the pass.
View ArticleExplainer: What is the molecular clock?
In the 150 years since Charles Darwin recognised the kinship of all life, scientists have worked to fulfil his dream of a complete Tree of Life. Today, the methods used to trace the evolutionary...
View ArticleThe secret behind the power of bacterial sex discovered
Migration between different communities of bacteria is the key to the type of gene transfer that can lead to the spread of traits such as antibiotic resistance, according to researchers at Oxford...
View ArticleThe origin of the very first species and the start of Darwinian evolution
During the earliest evolution on earth, life probably resembled one big genetic jumble. At some time, presumably around 3.8 to 3.5 billion years before today, the very first biological species appeared...
View ArticleA huge chunk of a tardigrade's genome comes from foreign DNA
Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have sequenced the genome of the nearly indestructible tardigrade, the only animal known to survive the extreme environment of outer...
View ArticleWhy we can trust scientists with the power of new gene-editing technology
A summit of experts from around the world is meeting in Washington to consider the scientific, ethical and governance issues linked to research into gene editing. Convened in response to recent...
View ArticleStick insects produce bacterial enzymes themselves
Many animals depend on their microbiome to digest their food. Symbiotic microorganisms produce enzymes their hosts cannot, and these work alone or together with the animals' own enzymes to break down...
View ArticleGas sensors 'see' through soil to analyze microbial interactions
Rice University researchers have developed gas biosensors to "see" into soil and allow them to follow the behavior of the microbial communities within.
View Article'Water bear' protein shields human DNA from X-rays: researchers
A protein unique to a miniscule creature called a water bear, reputedly the most indestructible animal on Earth, protects human DNA from X-ray damage, stunned researchers reported Tuesday.
View ArticleResearchers prove fast microbial evolutionary bursts exist
There are more than a dozen species of finch that evolved on the Galapagos Islands, each identified by beak shape and size. Some have strong beaks to crack nuts while others have long, fine beaks to...
View ArticleParasitic plants may form weapons out of genes stolen from hosts
Sneaky parasitic weeds may be able to steal genes from the plants they are attacking and then use those genes against the host plant, according to a team of scientists.
View ArticleGenetic studies toward plants that resist parasitic weeds
Sneaky parasitic weeds may steal genes from the plants they are attacking and use those genes against the host plant, according to a team of scientists.
View ArticleHow fungi can improve the genetic makeup of bacteria
Soil bacteria use the extensively branched, thread-like structures of fungi to move around and access new food sources. In a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, UFZ researchers have...
View ArticleMechanism of successful horizontal gene transfer between divergent organisms...
The transfer of genes from one organism to another is potentially a rapid way for evolution to occur and for complicated novel functions to emerge. However, even when the two organisms in question are...
View ArticleThe evolutionary secret of H. pylori to survive in the stomach
Professor Frédéric Veyrier's most recent research, in collaboration with the team of Professor Hilde De Reuse at the Institut Pasteur, has shed light on key genes essential to the pathogenesis of...
View ArticleFor viral predators of bacteria, sensitivity can be contagious
Bacteriophages (phages) are probably the most abundant entities in nature, often exceeding bacterial densities by an order of magnitude. As viral predators of bacteria, phages have a major impact on...
View ArticleHorizontal transfer of nuclear DNA between vascular plants
A Czech-German team of researchers around Dr. Václav Mahelka from the Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Dr. Frank Blattner from the Leibniz-Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop...
View ArticleNew algorithm identifies gene transfers between different bacterial species
Gene transfers are particularly common in the antibiotic-resistance genes of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria.
View ArticleInflammation awakens sleepers
The inflammatory response that is supposed to ward off pathogens that cause intestinal disease makes this even worse. This is because special viruses integrate their genome into Salmonella, which...
View ArticleTeam finds new antibiotic resistance gene in Salmonella from broiler chickens
A team of investigators from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, Ontario, has discovered a gene that confers resistance to the important broad-spectrum antibiotic, fosfomycin. The researchers...
View ArticleA genomic take on geobiology
Scientists know that atmospheric oxygen irreversibly accumulated on Earth around 2.3 billion years ago, at a time known as the Great Oxidation Event, or GOE. Prior to that time all life was microbial,...
View ArticleNewly discovered enzyme complexes in herbivore digestive tracts show promise...
Herbivore gut fungi hold a lot of promise. Just ask Michelle O'Malley.
View ArticleThousands of genes exchanged within microbial communities living on cheese
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have found that microbial species living on cheese have transferred thousands of genes between each other. They also identified regional hotspots...
View ArticleResearchers identify the component that allows a lethal type of bacteria to...
Antibiotic resistance of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is responsible for 11,300 deaths a year in the United States alone—a figure that corresponds to half of all deaths caused by gram-positive...
View ArticleResearch group discovers the origin of octopuses' instant modulation of body...
Cephalopods, the group of animals including octopus, squid, and cuttlefish, are famous for their remarkable ability to modulate body coloration and patterns instantly. With this ability, they can...
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