Newly Discovered Ecosystem Of One Bacterium
Oct 10th, 2008 · Deep in a South African gold mine, three kilometers below the Earth's surface, scientists have discovered a tiny ecosystem in which there is only one organism.
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The Most Important Microbe You've Never Heard Of
Jun 12th, 2008 · The oxygen in one out of every five breaths you take comes from a bacterium called Prochlorococcus. But this tiny microbe — one of the most abundant organisms on Earth — was discovered only 20 years ago.
Genetic First: Bacterium's Code Built from Scratch
Jan 24th, 2008 · Scientists have taken another step on the way toward building an organism from the ground up. They built from scratch the genetic code of an entire bacterium and then assembled it into one piece.
TB Bug Slow to Replicate *
Jun 2nd, 2007 · This week's bizarre news of a transatlantic traveler with tuberculosis raised questions about the microbe that causes the disease. In our regular segment "Science Out of the Box," Dr. Richard Chaisson of Johns Hopkins University explains that the TB bacterium is very slow to replicate, and this slows diagnosis, treatment and research.
Virulent Intestinal Bug Migrates to the Public **
Oct 13th, 2006 · A bacterium called C. difficile used to be found mainly in hospitals. It causes intestinal distress and can be fatal. Now a potent new strain is appearing across the country among people who have not been hospitalized.
The World's Smallest Genome Just Got Smaller *
Oct 12th, 2006 · To make living organisms, a bundle of genes are needed. To make a human, for instance, you would need about 23,000. Now, scientists in Japan and the Unites States report new information about the minimum number of genes you need for life. And the number is remarkably small. Scientists used to think the number was around 300, but now researchers have found a bacterium that gets by with only 182 genes. The bacteria live inside tiny insects called psyllids. They posit that the bacterium is in the evolutionary process of becoming a part of the insect.
California Company Issues Lettuce Recall ****
Oct 9th, 2006 · A company in California's Salinas Valley, where a recent E. coli contamination of spinach originated, has recalled Foxy brand lettuce after irrigation water tested positive for the bacterium. So far, the lettuce does not appear to have caused any illnesses.
New Bug Hits the Public, But Antibiotics Should Help ****
Aug 16th, 2006 · MRSA, a bacterium that causes skin infections, boils and absesses, is hitting the general public. The bug was previously confined to hospitals and nursing homes, then had spread to prisons, sports teams and other germy environments. The new "community form" of MRSA, while often resistant to the latest antibiotics, is typically susceptible to old-fashioned antibiotics.
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