E. coli News and Research

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E. coli or Escherichia coli is the name of a type of bacteria that lives in your intestines. Most types of E. coli are harmless. However, some types can make you sick and cause diarrhea. One type causes travelers' diarrhea. The worst type of E. coli causes bloody diarrhea, and can sometimes cause kidney failure and even death. These problems are most likely to occur in children and in adults with weak immune systems. You can get E. coli infections by eating foods containing the bacteria. To help avoid food poisoning and prevent infection, handle food safely. Cook meat well, wash fruits and vegetables before eating or cooking them, and avoid unpasteurized milk and juices. You can also get the infection by swallowing water in a swimming pool contaminated with human waste. Most cases of E. coli infection get better without treatment in 5 to 10 days.

Escherichia coli bacteria show path to speed up photosynthesis

Cornell University scientists have engineered a key plant enzyme and introduced it in Escherichia coli bacteria in order to create an optimal experimental environment for studying how to speed up photosynthesis, a holy grail for improving crop yields.

22 Sep 2020

Food additives prove to be efficient at controlling bacteria on tomatoes preharvest

When vegetable farmers harvest crops, they often rely on postharvest washing to reduce any foodborne pathogens, but a new University of Georgia study shows promise in reducing these pathogens - as well as lowering labor costs-- by applying sanitizers to produce while it is still in the fields.

From University of Georgia 9 Sep 2020

Study shows heather plant is a valuable source of antioxidants

Heather is a source of useful biologically active substances that have antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, neuroprotective, and cardioprotective effects.

26 Aug 2020

Ultra-low voltage electricity effectively damages and kills bacteria

Ultra-low voltage electricity is effective at killing bacteria because it causes membranes that surround bacteria to leak, according to a new study by University of Arkansas researchers. The research advances work to fight drug-resistant bacteria.

18 Aug 2020

Using genetic engineering to study evolutionary assimilation of foreign DNA in a new host

All life is subject to evolution in the form of mutations that change the DNA sequence of an organism's offspring, after which natural selection allows the 'fittest' mutants to survive and pass on their genes to future generations.

11 Aug 2020

Synthetic peptide makes multidrug-resistant bacteria sensitive to antibiotics

Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a synthetic peptide that can make multidrug-resistant bacteria sensitive to antibiotics again when used together with traditional antibiotics, offering hope for the prospect of a combination treatment strategy to tackle certain antibiotic-tolerant infections.

7 Aug 2020

New technology can speed up drug development for tuberculosis

A novel technology that integrates machine learning and high-throughput imaging could accelerate drug discovery to fight tuberculosis (TB).

27 Jul 2020

Edible coating made with green tea extract kills microbes

Infusing prepared foods with an edible coating that contains green tea extract may lower consumers' chances of catching the highly contagious norovirus by eating contaminated food, new research suggests.

22 Jul 2020

Durable coating for hard surfaces could help eliminate foodborne germs

In the future, a durable coating could help keep food-contact surfaces clean in the food processing industry, including in meat processing plants.

17 Jul 2020

Wild strains of salmonella find a backdoor entry into plants

As the world wrestles with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which arose after the virus jumped from an animal species to the human species, University of Delaware researchers are learning about new ways other pathogens are jumping from plants to people.

1 Jul 2020

Antibiotic resistance genes persist in E. coli through 'genetic capitalism', study shows

We have known for some time that over-use of antibiotics is causing a frightening increase in antibiotic resistance in bacteria, through the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance genes.

29 Jun 2020

Scientists pinpoint mutations that makes bacteria deadlier

As far as humans are concerned, bacteria can be classified as either harmful, pathogenic bacteria and harmless or beneficial non-pathogenic bacteria.

26 Jun 2020

Specific gut bacteria can affect cholesterol levels in humans

In the darkest parts of the world where light fails to block out the unfathomable bounty of the stars, look up. There are still fewer specks illuminating the universe than there are bacteria in the world, hidden from sight, a whole universe inside just one human gut.

18 Jun 2020