Blow up a long balloon and two things happen: it gets longer and it gets wider. Now imagine a living cell that inflates itself under enormous pressure and yet only grows longer, never adding width.

Endosymbiotic organisms have to live inside of another to survive, and this relationship often provides benefits for both the host and its resident. It may seem unusual, but complex cells are thought ...

Baylor University researchers have published a novel approach to fight colorectal cancer, using modified bacteria as a courier to deliver potent cancer-killing proteins into tumor cells. Michael S.

Long dismissed as featureless, disorganized sacks, bacteria are now revealing a multitude of elegant internal structures. Ewen Callaway investigates a new field in cell biology. Nearly a decade ago ...

Bacteria may seem like pretty simple lifeforms, but their ingenuity keeps surprising scientists. The latest example is a species called Geobacter sulfurreducens, which has now been found to survive ...

The language of protein translation contains synonyms. Each three-nucleotide sequence on a strand of messenger RNA is called a codon and corresponds to the instruction to add a particular amino acid ...

The number of resistant strains has increased, partly due to the misuse of antibiotics. This has resulted in more infections that are difficult to control. MRSA is methicillin-resistant staphylococcus ...

Scientists have shown that transplanting gut bacteria, from an animal that is vulnerable to social stress to a non-stressed animal, can cause vulnerable behavior in the recipient. The research reveals ...

Bacteria can be engineered to perform various tasks. For example bacteria has been engineered to make valuable proteins for medical use, and to make enzymes that are used to help degrade toxic ...