Why group A streptococci affect some people more severely

Group A streptococci are fairly common bacteria that can cause, among other things, strep throat or impetigo. However, if the bacteria become invasive, the situation can become very dangerous. In this case, the name sometimes ...

How microbes may help mitigate mercury absorption

New research by a team at Pennsylvania State University suggests that microbes in the human gut could be harnessed to help the body absorb useful nutritional metals—like iron, which is critical for red blood cells—and ...

Researchers identify key player in cellular response to stress

An enzyme called Fic, whose biochemical role was discovered at UT Southwestern more than a dozen years ago, appears to play a crucial part in guiding the cellular response to stress, a new study suggests. The findings, published ...

How does an intestinal microbe become a pathogen?

The bacterium Escherichia coli is found in the human intestine, and elsewhere. There it is harmless, but in certain conditions it can become a pathogen. It can cause bladder infections or even sepsis. A team of researchers ...

Faster diagnostics thanks to nanopore sequencing

To ensure that sepsis patients receive appropriate antibiotics as quickly as possible, Fraunhofer IGB researchers have developed a diagnostic procedure that uses high-throughput sequencing of blood samples and delivers results ...

Lead poisoning could reduce gene expression in humans

Scientists have unveiled a correlation between high blood lead levels in children and methylation of genes involved in haem synthesis and carcinogenesis, indicating a previously unknown mechanism for lead poisoning.

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