Drug-resistant bacteria are becoming harder to treat, pushing scientists to look for new antibiotic targets. Researchers have now discovered that several unrelated viruses disable a key bacterial ...

Bacteria need mutations -- changes in their DNA code -- to survive under difficult circumstances. When necessary, they can even mutate at different speeds. This is shown in a recent study by the ...

The code of life is simple. Four genetic letters arranged in triplets—called codons—encode amino acids. These are the building blocks of proteins, the machinery that powers life. But the genetic code ...

These motility organs play important roles in DNA uptake to exchange genetic information between different bacteria, allowing what's so-called genomic plasticity. Therefore, bacterial motility organs ...

Antibiotic resistance is considered one of the most urgent health threats of our time. Common bacteria such as E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus are evolving defenses against the drugs doctors rely on ...

Biochemists at Caltech have identified how viruses have converged on a method for killing bacteria. The researchers have homed in on an underexplored small transporter called MurJ that is a vital part ...

Bacteria and viruses are often lumped together as germs, and they share many characteristics. They’re invisible to the human eye. They’re everywhere. And both can make us sick. Bacteria and viruses ...