bacteria

Developing cancer drugs is challenging. Often, scientists will find a drug that kills cancer cells in a petri dish but fails to act on an actual tumor. Ravid Straussman from the Weizmann Institute of Science and Todd Golub from Harvard Medical School…

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus. Photo Credit: Janice Haney Carr Content Providers: CDC. Prior to the discovery of antibiotics, bacterial infections were the leading cause of death worldwide. Now, treating infections is often a routine procedure –…

by Benika Pinch Fancy a pill packed with bacteria? Researchers are investigating using genetically modified bacteria, taken in pill form, to treat human disease. Informally, they are called “designer probiotics”. But, unlike probiotics (microorganisms…

In May, researchers identified for the first time a bacterial infection in the US that was resistant to the last-resort antibiotic colistin. Colistin was the last remaining antibiotic effective against all bacteria in the country – a weapon of last…

The news is filled with stories of bacteria beating antibiotics – over time, bacteria can become resistant to drugs that are used to fight them. Unfortunately, this means that the “wonder drug” you thought could cure your infection may…

Scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute have created a fast-growing bacterial cell with a nearly-minimal number of genes necessary for survival – just 473 in total. These genes were entirely synthesized - not transplanted from a grown organism - and…

  Ticks are small, but potentially dangerous arachnids that can spread Lyme disease to humans [Image: ‘Tick’ from John Tann under a CC BY 2.0 license]The already thorny process of diagnosing Lyme disease may have just gotten even hazier.…

by Alexandra Cantley figures by Joy Jiao and Shannon McArdel Over the last several years, antibiotic resistance has gripped the attention of the public. Recently, newspapers have alerted us to a “superbug” in China and detailed the struggles of Daniel…

  High-resolution microscope image of S. epidermidis, a member of the human microbiome [Image: Staphylococcus epidermidis Bacteria/NIAID under CC-BY licence]Forensic investigators often rely upon the uniqueness of human DNA and fingerprints, but a…

Certain types of life-threatening bacteria are no longer killed by current antibiotics, creating a need to develop new compounds to fight them. Scientists have been studying proteins produced by animals and humans, called cationic antimicrobial peptides…