Studying self-replicating genetic units, called plasmids, found in one of the world's widest-ranging pathogenic soil bacteria -- the crown-gall-disease-causing microorganism Agrobacterium tumefaciens ...

Researchers in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School have opened a new window into understanding the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. The work not only reveals principles ...

Bacterial cells often possess molecules of closed, circular DNA, otherwise known as ‘plasmids’. They can also be present at much lower frequencies in certain eukaryotic cell types, such as yeast. They ...

Researchers led by Imperial College London have uncovered new insights into how bacteria hook up to exchange DNA that helps them resist antibiotics. Understanding the molecular basis of bacterial ...

The part of bacterial DNA that often carries antibiotic resistance is a master at moving between different types of bacteria and adapting to widely differing bacterial species, say researchers in ...

The smallest creatures can have some of the biggest impacts on the planet. You can get a sense of how healthy a given environment is by taking a census of the types of microorganisms that call it home ...

There's a never-ending war going on all around us, down at the microscopic level. Bacteria and viruses are locked in battle against each other – and us, as we try to clear them out with antibiotics.

Last fall, more than 100 people in 14 states got sick after eating at McDonald’s. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention traced the outbreak to raw onions on the quarter-pounder hamburger, ...