Claims that hundreds of bacterial genes have been transferred directly into humans are unfounded, according to a study published in June 21 Nature. The initial report by the International Human Genome ...

Antibiotic resistance (AR) has steadily accelerated in recent years to become a global health crisis. As deadly bacteria evolve new ways to elude drug treatments for a variety of illnesses, a growing ...

Viruses attack nearly every living organism on Earth. To do so, they rely on highly specialized proteins that recognize and ...

Antibiotic resistance is widely recognized as one of the greatest global public health threats, but scientists are now ...

In the microscopic world of bacteria, gene transfer is a powerful mechanism that can alter cellular function, drive antibiotic resistance and even shape entire ecosystems. Now an interdisciplinary ...

Given the growing antibiotic resistance crisis, novel ways to target bacterial infections are becoming increasingly important. One potential strategy is to manipulate bacterial genes at the ...

New research shows that a large, ubiquitous mobile genetic element changes the antagonistic weaponry of Bacteroides fragilis, a common bacterium of the human gut. Bacteria evolve rapidly in the human ...

Carrying multiple copies of antibiotic-resistance genes could be key to resistance spread and evolution in bacteria, particularly those in humans and livestock. Researchers at Duke University (NC, USA ...

Genomic islands are substantial segments of DNA embedded within bacterial genomes that are typically acquired through horizontal gene transfer. These regions frequently harbour clusters of genes ...