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 ...

Bacteria can begin to transfer to food dropped on the floor in less than one second, according to research from New Brunswick, N.J.-based Rutgers University, effectively disproving the so-called “five ...

Extracellular appendages on gut bacteria accelerate the transfer of antibiotic-resistance genes. “The death toll from antimicrobial resistance is expected to match cancer by 2050, meaning we urgently ...

Bacteria are constantly moving with the help of motility organs called flagella or pili to colonize new niches. Also, bacteria can exchange information, like "speaking to each other," and thus acquire ...

Genes responsible for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) can spread from microbe to microbe through circular genetic material called plasmids, and this lateral transfer occurs in the gut. This week in ...

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 ...

Sometimes, transporting electrons from one cell to another is a team effort. In electroactive bacteria, that team is a group ...

Bacteria evolve rapidly in the human gut by sharing genetic elements with each other. Bacteriodales is a prolific order of gut bacteria that trade hundreds of genetic elements. Little is known, ...