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Solving a mystery: How the TB bacterium develops rapid resistance to antibiotics

Scienmag

Credit: SDSU For a slow-growing microbe that multiplies infrequently, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen that causes tuberculosis (TB) has long puzzled researchers as to how it develops resistance to antibiotics so quickly, in a matter of weeks to months.

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Body’s response to different strains of tuberculosis could affect transmission

Scienmag

Two strains of the bacterium causing tuberculosis have only minor genetic differences but attack the lungs in completely different fashion, according to Rutgers researchers.

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Microbial genetics: A protean pathogen

Scienmag

The bacterium Helicobacter pylori is linked to increased risk of stomach cancer, and is genetically highly variable. A new study by researchers of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich explores the role played by this diversity in the early phase of infection in adult humans.

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Small RNA as a central player in infections

Scienmag

Credit: (Image: Chair of Molecular Infection Biology II / University of Wuerzburg / SCIGRAPHIX) More than half of the world’s population carries the bacterium Helicobacter pylori in their stomach mucosa.

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Researchers find peptide that treats, prevents killer citrus disease

Scienmag

Treatment causes deadly bacterium to leak and die Credit: Hailing Jin/UCR New research affirms a unique peptide found in an Australian plant can destroy the No. 1 killer of citrus trees worldwide and help prevent infection. Huanglongbing, HLB, or citrus greening has multiple names, but one ultimate result: bitter and worthless citrus fruits.

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Common bacteria modified to make designer sugar-based drug

Scienmag

— Envisioning an animal-free drug supply, scientists have — for the first time — reprogrammed a common bacterium to make a designer polysaccharide molecule used in pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. Process paves a road to safe, ethical, and fast drug manufacturing Credit: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute TROY, N.Y.

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Cause of 1990s Argentina cholera epidemic uncovered

Scienmag

Work allows genomic monitoring for epidemic strains of Vibrio cholerae bacteria The evolution of epidemic and endemic strains of the cholera-causing bacterium Vibrio cholerae in Argentina has been mapped in detail by researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the University of Cambridge and the (..)