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News tagged with e coli

New insight from whole-genome sequencing of Europe's 2011 E. coli outbreaks

Using whole-genome sequencing, a team led by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Broad Institute has traced the path of the E. coli outbreak that sickened thousands and killed over 50 people in Ger ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 06, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

UCI biologists turn up the heat on bacteria, discover mutation pattern

UCI biologists who spent a year growing 115 populations into 2,000 generations of E. coli at high heat discovered that the bacteria quickly adapted at the genetic level in two markedly different ways. The findings appear ...

Biology / Evolution

created Feb 03, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

MSU technology spin-out company to market portable biohazard detection

A new company formed around Michigan State University nanotechnology promises to move speedy detection of deadly pathogens and toxins from the laboratory directly to the field.

Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry

created Jan 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Simple precautions could reduce risk of E coli O157 in the environment, say researchers

Researchers investigating the risk of E coli O157 in the countryside as part of the UK research councils’ Rural Economy and Land Use Programme, say that simple measures and coordinated action from the ...

Biology / Other

created Jan 25, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Study reveals potential of manganese in neutralizing deadly Shiga toxin

Carnegie Mellon University researchers have discovered that an element commonly found in nature might provide a way to neutralize the potentially lethal effects of a compound known as Shiga toxin. New results ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Jan 19, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

'Miracle tree' substance produces clean drinking water inexpensively and sustainably

A natural substance obtained from seeds of the "miracle tree" could purify and clarify water inexpensively and sustainably in the developing world, where more than 1 billion people lack access to clean drinking ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Jan 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

Short, sharp shock treatment for E. coli

A short burst of low voltage alternating current can effectively eradicate E. coli bacteria growing on the surface of even heavily contaminated beef, according to a study published in the International Journal of Food Safe ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Jan 11, 2012 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Unique E. coli protein may be not after all

A bacterial protein recently thought to be a unique mechanism for utilizing iron may not be after all. Researchers from the University of Georgia, the Fellowship for Interpretation of Genomes, the University of Oklahoma and ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jan 03, 2012 | popularity 2.5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

What's more helpful: The chicken or the egg?

Success for Dr. Hoon Sunwoo can be traced back to a research project that began in the 1990’s and is perpetuated through his latest research benefiting the livestock industry.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 23, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Novel use of drug saves children from deadly E. coli bacteria disease

A physician and researcher at the Sainte Justine University Hospital Center (Sainte-Justine UHC), a University of Montreal affiliate, saved the life of a child and, by doing so, became the first to find a ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Dec 20, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers use whole-genome sequencing to monitor evolution of drug resistance in bacteria

(PhysOrg.com) -- Two research groups working independently have come up with two different ways to use whole-genome sequencing to follow the path bacteria take in developing resistance to anti-bacterial drugs. Such research ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Dec 19, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Study uncovers evidence on how drug-resistant tuberculosis cells form

A new study led by Harvard School of Public (HSPH) researchers provides a novel explanation as to why some tuberculosis cells are inherently more difficult to treat with antibiotics. The discovery, which showed that the ways ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 15, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Ready-to-bake cookie dough not ready-to-eat, study of E. coli outbreak finds

The investigation of a 2009 multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), an important cause of bacterial gastrointestinal illness, led to a new culprit: ready-to-bake commercial prepackaged cookie ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Dec 09, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Keeping our beaches safe: New wireless sensor device rapidly detects E. coli in water samples

Fecal contamination of public beaches caused by sewage overflow is both dangerous for swimmers and costly for state and local economies. Current methods to detect Escherichia coli, a bacterium highly indicative of the pr ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 08, 2011 | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 0

'Left-handed iron corkscrews' point the way to new weapon in battle against superbugs like MRSA

Scientists at the University of Warwick have taken inspiration from corkscrew structures found in nature to develop a new weapon in the fight against infections like E-coli and MRSA.

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Nov 28, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli (commonly E. coli; pronounced /ˌɛʃɪˈrɪkiə ˈkoʊlaɪ/, /iː ~/, and named for its discoverer), is a Gram negative bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms (endotherms). Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some, such as serotype O157:H7, can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for costly product recalls. The harmless strains are part of the normal flora of the gut, and can benefit their hosts by producing vitamin K2, or by preventing the establishment of pathogenic bacteria within the intestine.

E. coli are not always confined to the intestine, and their ability to survive for brief periods outside the body makes them an ideal indicator organism to test environmental samples for fecal contamination. The bacteria can also be grown easily and its genetics are comparatively simple and easily-manipulated or duplicated through a process of metagenics, making it one of the best-studied prokaryotic model organisms, and an important species in biotechnology and microbiology.

E. coli was discovered by German pediatrician and bacteriologist Theodor Escherich in 1885, and is now classified as part of the Enterobacteriaceae family of gamma-proteobacteria.

For more information about Escherichia coli, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Related topics: bacteria , e coli bacteria