Pacifying bacteria prevents lethal post-op infections
...a protective coating into the intestines to pacify bacteria there instead of relying on antibiotics to kill th...el wall and into the blood stream. "At this point, bacteria sense that the host is vulnerable and a liability to their survival," says Alverdy. Pseudomonas has...Scientists report first sequencing of environmental genome
...community of the mine. The Leptospirillum group II bacteria fix carbon and produce the biofilm that protects them and keeps them afloat, while a minor member of the community, Leptospirillum group III bacteria, fix both carbon and nitrogen. The iron is probably munched by the all of the biofilm members, inclu...Microbial biofilm yields community genomes, metabolic clues
...ellular Biosciences, the findings shedlight on how bacteria and other microbes functioncollectively. "This work simultaneously reconstructed the genome sequencesfor a five-membered microbial community from nature," Kanesaid. "It goes beyond previous achievements, such as thosethat sequenced the entire genome...UN report: Accelerate global agreement to oversee exploitation of South Pole 'extremophiles'
...cing anti-freeze chemicals discovered in Antarctic bacteria which may help to increase the shelf life of foods such as ice-cream and frozen vegetables. The report notes that developing commercial products from naturally occurring genetic resources or biochemical processes is typically a long, expensive and u...Lock to food-borne pathogen pathway may be key to vaccine
... rate, as well as other diseases. The study of the bacteria is reported in the February issue of the journal ...the system. "If we understand the mechanism of how bacteria interacts with cells before causing damage and producing systemic illness, this may allow us to form...Molecular level discovery could play role in development of new antibiotics
... an important area of medicine, because pathogenic bacteria are always in the environment," van der Donk said. "It's important to renew our arsenal of compounds that combat pathogens. With the development of resistance -- not just the kind that occurs through evolution but also the kind potentially created in...A killer microbe as a living antibiotic
Predatory bacteria are native to many microbial communities and have ...ntify molecular mechanisms that are important when bacteria hunt their own. Insights into this ancient dependency may give rise to novel anti-microbial substanc...Understanding urinary tract infections
...gress, illuminating several new details of how the bacteria E. coli invade cells and gang up to overwhelm the ...he National Academy of Sciences, also reveals that bacteria will sometimes shift into an inactive state, creating reservoirs of infection within the bladder tha...Inhibition of Borrelia burgdorferi protein may reduce Lyme disease transmission
...orferi bacterium that was deficient in OspC. These bacteria were able to survive and multiply in feeding ticks; however, they were unable to invade tick salivary glands. The results agreed with their findings that OspC binds to tick salivary gland extracts and that antibody inhibition of OspC inhibits the abi...Scientists at Scripps Research describe new strategy for the synthesis of glycoproteins
...e to produce glycosylated proteins in them because bacteria don't normally have the same ability to attach sugars to proteins as eukaryotic cells do. The Scripps researchers solved this problem by modifying a form of E. coli to make homogeneous pools of glycosylated myoglobin protein with sugars attached at o...JCI Table of Contents, January 15 2004
...orferi bacterium that was deficient in OspC. These bacteria were able to survive and multiply in feeding ticks...al other proteins, and occur in all organisms from bacteria to humans. While their functions were unknown, point mutations within these domains were known to ca...If airbags work well, then Mars landing sites can be chosen more boldly, says UB geologist
... which are fed by volcanic heat, are swarming with bacteria and all kinds of happy little things cruising around in the water. "So, since we think that the necessary ingredients for life on earth were water and heat, we are looking for the same things on Mars, and while we definitely have evidence of water t...Tips from the Journals of the American Society for Microbiology
...," say the researchers. "The observation of active bacteria at 20 degrees celcius suggests that wintertime sea ice is more than a refugium for temporarily preserved life and brings the discussion of limits of life on Earth to a different level." (K. Junge, H. Eicken, J.W. Deming. 2004. Bacterial activity at...Bacteriophage genomics approach to antimicrobial drug discovery published in Nature Biotechnology
...of evolution, the multitudes of phages that attack bacteria have developed unique proteins that bind to and inactivate (or redirect) critical cellular targets within their prey," said Jing Liu, Ph.D., corresponding author of the publication. "This binding shuts off key metabolic processes in the bacteria, div...Researchers show evolutionary theory adds up
...versity of Massachusetts, proposes that a "mother" bacteria (Bdellavibrio) and a "father" bacteria (Thermoplasma acidophilum) "exchanged energy" in a stable, dependable, and consistent way about 3.2 ...Evolutionary Genomics meeting in Tucson
...ave the complete genome for organisms ranging from bacteria to humans, researchers are developing new understandings of the evolution of the genome as a whole by comparing those from different organisms. The resulting discoveries will provide insights into the relationships among living organisms and have a p...UF study suggests life on Earth sprang from borax minerals
... in the laboratory, the group inferred the ancient bacteria lived in a hot spring at about 150 degrees Fahrenheit. With the prebiotic experiments, Benner said, "we are working forward in time, from the origin of the planet to the first life. With experiments with ancient proteins, we work backwards in time,...Study by UCSD gives new insight into how anthrax bacteria can evade a host's immune response
...iego have determined how toxin produced by anthrax bacteria blocks a person's normal immune response, a discov...ysaccharide--a component of the cell walls of many bacteria including the bacteria that cause anthrax, Bacillus anthracis. Bacterial invasion, or the presence o...Parasite's enzyme structure helps address a public health issue
...Cryptosporidium and cloning it in the fast-growing bacteria E. coli to harvest large amounts of the target enzyme. Researchers then break E. coli open to release all of its proteins. All of the proteins are mixed with beads, or tags, which "grab" just the DHFR-TS enzyme. Once DHFR-TS has been isolated, it's ...Story tips from the Department of Energys Oak Ridge National Laboratory, January 2004
...aviolet portion of an arc plasma lamp can kill the bacteria because it destroys the cells' DNA. Up to 10 perce...ultraviolet spectrum, making it far more lethal to bacteria than lower-powered mercury vapor and xenon lamps. Researchers also believe the lamp can be used to n...