A new study from UCLA suggests that certain bacteria can pretend to be viruses when infecting humans, allowing them to hijack the body’s immune response so that they can hide inside cells. An outbreak of tuberculosis in the skid row area of downtown Los Angeles may have exposed up to 4,500 individuals to the bacterium [...]

In a newly published study, researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine provide evidence that bacteriophage can acquire a functional and adaptive immune system, possibly opening the door for new phage therapies to treat bacterial diseases. Boston — A study published today in the journal Nature reports that a viral predator of the cholera bacteria [...]

A newly published study from the University of Adelaide shows that calcified dental plaque (dental calculus) found on ancient teeth from 34 early European skeletons indicates that the transition from hunter-gatherer to farming shifted the oral microbial community to a disease-associated configuration. DNA preserved in calcified bacteria on the teeth of ancient human skeletons has [...]

Researchers at Rice University believe that combining natural toxins with man-made mirror drugs will create the drug equivalent of a one-two punch, “confusing” bacteria and cancer and preventing them from rapidly becoming resistant to the man-made drugs. Cancer researchers from Rice University suggest that a new man-made drug that’s already proven effective at killing cancer [...]

Fighting to stop deadly infections like Staphylococcus aureus, scientists have now identified the structural basis for antibiotic multiresistance acquisition by S. aureus and suggest ways to potentially stop the transfer. Worldwide, many strains of the bacterium Staphylococus aureus are already resistant to all antibiotics except vancomycin. But as bacteria are becoming resistant to this once [...]

A team of scientists from Western University and the University of Arkansas have discovered a unique blood marker that shows a link between gut bacteria and autism in some children. Results of a recent clinical study by researchers from Western University and University of Arkansas reveal the presence of a unique blood marker, which may [...]

New research from scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory shows that marine bacteria are not just homogenous populations in the ocean and that different bacteria prefer certain temperatures, levels of nutrients, light and salinity. Woods Hole, Massachusetts — In another blow to the “Everything is Everywhere” tenet of bacterial distribution in the ocean, scientists at [...]

Scientists have developed fully sterile fabrics by using enzymes that adhere antimicrobial particles with textiles. These fabrics could help eliminate infectious bacteria from medical textiles. Researchers at the Unversitat Politècnica de Catalunya BarcelonaTech (UPC) in Spain were able to use an enzymatic pre-treatment, which was combined by the deposition of nanoparticles and biopolymers under ultrasonic [...]

Bactrian camels have sky-high blood glucose levels, a diet loaded with salt and tend to pack away fat. These evolutionary adaptations help them survive in extremely dry and cold regions of the world. The scientists published their findings in the journal Nature Communications. Chinese and Mongolian researchers have begun to unravel the genomic particularities behind [...]

A bacterial disease outbreak is threatening a collection of 3,200 coconut palms in the South Pacific. This gene bank is located in Papua New Guinea and is part of an international collection of the South Pacific’s coconut species. The warning was issued at a meeting of the pacific coconut research and development strategy in Samoa [...]

A team of scientists have discovered that humans and chimpanzees share the same three distinct communities of bacteria in their guts. In the last few years, scientists have made great inroads in understanding the crucial interactive role gut bacteria play in harvesting nutrients, assisting immune systems, and protecting the host against pathogens. Now Yale University [...]

Smartphones’ proximity to people’s ears, nose and mouth make them a good vector for transferring microbes. Bacteria and other infectious agents on smartphones can cause the flu, pinkeye, or diarrhea. Lab tests show that most phones have abnormally high levels of coliforms, a bacteria stemming from fecal contamination. For people who want to keep a [...]