Even bacteria use social networks

The next time your Facebook stream is filled with cat videos, think about Myxococcus xanthus. The single-cell soil bacterium also uses a social network. But forget silly distractions. M. xanthus relies on its connections ...

New way to improve antibiotic production

An antibiotic has been found to stimulate its own production. The findings, to be published in PNAS, could make it easier to scale up antibiotic production for commercialisation.

Cattle disease bacteria widespread in the UK

A new study has found that bacteria responsible for chronic intestinal inflammation in cattle, which have also been implicated in Crohn's disease in humans, are widespread in the UK countryside.

The first caffeine-'addicted' bacteria

Some people may joke about living on caffeine, but scientists now have genetically engineered E. coli bacteria to do that—literally. Their report in the journal ACS Synthetic Biology describes bacteria being "addicted" ...

Antibiotic-eating bug unearthed in soil

It's well known how bacteria exposed to antibiotics for long periods will find ways to resist the drugs—by quickly pumping them out of their cells, for instance, or modifying the compounds so they're no longer toxic.

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