Health care workers in emergency departments are often carriers of the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), potentially putting patients at risk.
Scientists have uncovered a chain reaction which could link Enterococcus faecalis bacteria living in our intestines to the development of colon cancer.
A hunt is on for 2 patients with a deadly form of tuberculosis who disappeared after the Cape High Court ordered they return to a South African hospital. The pair, diagnosed with extremely drug resistant (XDR) tuberculosis, are presumed to be in hiding.
An outbreak of Q Fever is being investigated in the Cheltenham area. A total of 28 cases have been identified among local people, most requiring hospital treatment.
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 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.
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.
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.
A US meat company has issued a nationwide recall for 21.7 million pounds (9843 tons) of ground beef products after reports of up to 25 cases of illness caused by suspected E. coli [O157:H7] in 8 states, including New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
University of Leicester scientists have made a discovery which could make probiotic yoghurts healthier. Dr Primrose Freestone has discovered that a natural food supplement could help make the bacteria in the yoghurts more effective. A fruit extract enabl
Thousands of interesting new compounds have been discovered inside the bodies of marine sponges according to scientists speaking at the Society for General Microbiology’s 161st Meeting at the University of Edinburgh, UK.
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.
A 66-year-old disabled woman has died and two other people are seriously ill following an outbreak of the E. coli O157 infection in the Paisley area of Scotland.
Everyone has a vast community of microbes in their digestive system, but people who crave daily chocolate show signs of having different colonies of bacteria than people who are immune to chocolate's allure.
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.
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
US President George Bush was treated for what his doctors described as early, localized Lyme disease after developing a characteristic rash. Lyme disease is a tick-borne infection that, if left untreated, can cause arthritis and other problems. Symptoms c