In a tiny squid, bacterial toxin governs organ development
...cules in different ways. Until now, molecules of a virulent nature have not been recognized as having essential roles in development." In the diminutive Hawaiian bobtail squid, the toxin was found to spur the development of a structure, a light-producing organ that acts as a sort of "Klingon cloaking...Molecular switch provides clues to remarkable adaptability of human pathogen
.... aeruginosa lacking RetS. Surprisingly, the less virulent P. aeruginosa with mutated RetS formed bacterial communities, called biofilms, much earlier than the normal bacteria. Formation of biofilms is associated with long-term chronic infection. The researchers used transcriptional profiling to show that...A clear view of mycobacterial infection
...loma. By visualizing in zebrafish infections of a virulent strain of M. marinum and a strain missing a geneti... elimination. But in this ongoing chess match, the virulent mycobacterium exploits the host's defense--granuloma formation--by providing additional macrophages ...New study on smallpox in monkeys reveals tactics of a killer
... such as monkeypox. If monkeypox--a pox virus less virulent in humans--proves to have molecular workings similar to smallpox, researchers could test countermeasures on it in a greater number of lab facilities, hastening the pace of research. ......have developed resistance to the pathogen, or less virulent strains of the fungus may have evolved. If it turns out that frog populations can develop resistance to the chytrid fungus, the researchers point out, then a conservation program of captive breeding and selecting for resistance could potentially thwa...