Health care workers in emergency departments are often carriers of the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), potentially putting patients at risk.
Scientists say the power of copper to fight germs lies in the fact that copper ions separate on contact with bacteria and cause irreversible damage to the bacteria's cells.
Scientists discovered the only known ecosystem that consists of just one organism in a gold mine in South Africa. This ecosystem could be a model for early life on Earth or other planets.
Much of twentieth century biological research has focused on a limited number of model organisms, such as Arabidopsis, C. elegans, mouse, Drosophila, and E. coli. But biology wasn’t always done this way.
Scientists have uncovered a chain reaction which could link Enterococcus faecalis bacteria living in our intestines to the development of colon cancer.
Bacteria have tiny channels in their walls which operate like the valve on a pressure cooker - they open to release material when the pressure in a bacterial cell gets too great. If the channel didn't open to relieve pressure the bacteria would explode and die, so this is a target for drug development.
An international aid agency has confirmed some cases of cholera in Myanmar's cyclone-hit Irawaddy delta but the number is line with normal levels in previous years.
Researchers have measured concentrations of bacteria in the cabin air of 12 commercial passenger aircraft and found that flying may be safer than we think.
Yoghurt health drinks are at the centre of safety fears after 24 patients died during clinical trials of probiotics, the dietary supplements containing potentially beneficial bacteria.
Due to widespread resistance of bacteria to the available drugs, the discovery of new antibiotics is urgently needed, and naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising candidates for future therapeutic use. Amphibian skin is one of the r
This study shows that Campylobacter bacteriophage can easily be isolated from free-range chickens and form part of the normal microbiological biota of environmentally exposed birds.
Mycobacterium paratuberculosis releases a molecule that prevents a type of white blood cell from killing E. coli, which is known to be present within Crohn's disease tissue in increased numbers.
Scientists at the University of Calgary have developed a way of fertilizing the bacteria that exist in heavy oil reservoirs in order to improve recovery of hard-to-develop energy.