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.

Researchers discover new transporter for recycling of bacterial cell wall

A transporter which some bacteria use to recycle fragments of their cell wall has been discovered by researchers at Umeå University, Sweden.

27 Jan 2023

Highly potent antibiotic candidate identified

One of the most promising new antibiotic candidates in decades is a powerful plant toxin that harbors a novel way of killing hazardous bacteria.

26 Jan 2023

Understanding the step-by-step development of E. coli resistance to drugs

Antibiotic resistance, which occurs when infection-causing bacteria evolve to the point where they are no longer affected by conventional antibiotics, is a worldwide concern.

15 Dec 2022

New information to combat the global challenge of AMR

An international research team has released important new information about what causes the emergence and spread of genes involved in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria.

14 Dec 2022

Sprayable new super-disinfectant can protect food from bacterial contamination

Researchers at McMaster University have created a powerful new weapon against bacterial contamination and infection.

6 Dec 2022

Expanding the CRISPR-based toolbox for extensive genome engineering

Researchers from North Carolina State University describe a variety of CRISPR-Cas systems-based molecular tools to rewrite, rather than just edit, significant portions of an organism’s DNA.

23 Nov 2022

Inexpensive recombinant protein production induced by urea

A common chemical present in the urine can be utilized to initiate large-scale production of proteins needed by biotech companies, like hormones and antibodies.

28 Oct 2022

Innovative strategy for studying membrane proteins

Membrane proteins are vital therapeutic targets. They exist between the interior and exterior of human cells. Some of them, known as “transporters,” transport substances into and out of the cellular environment.

26 Oct 2022

Cryo-EM solves the decades-old mystery of bacterial movement

Scientists from the University of Virginia School of Medicine and their colleagues have discovered a decades-old mystery regarding how E. coli and other bacteria move.

28 Sep 2022

Yeast platform for the production of plant-derived anti-cancer drug

The supply of a plant-derived anti-cancer drug can finally meet global demand after a team of scientists from Denmark and the U.S. engineered yeast to produce the precursor molecules, which could previously only be obtained in trace concentrations in the native plant.

1 Sep 2022

Detecting multiple food poisoning bacteria based on color differences in scattered light from metals

Osaka Metropolitan University scientists have developed a simple, rapid method to simultaneously identify multiple food poisoning bacteria, based on color differences in the scattered light by nanometer-scaled organic metal nanohybrid structures (NHs) that bind via antibodies to those bacteria.

30 Aug 2022

Fabimycin likely to be an effective treatment for drug-resistant bacteria

Bacteria that cause urinary tract infections are getting more and more resistant to many medications, and they are becoming more and more difficult to cure.

12 Aug 2022

Researchers use synthetic polymers as alternatives to nucleate the formation of biofilms

A report from Birmingham researchers that was published in Materials Horizons describes a novel technique for improving biocatalysis efficiency.

3 Aug 2022

A Retro-Cascorder device records a cell’s genetic activity in DNA for days at a time

If you want to keep track of someone’s activities for a day, contact them every 10 minutes and inquire what they are up to. It would be simpler, though, to equip them with a journal in which to record their own acts.

1 Aug 2022

New research shows protein movements play an important role in their ability to function

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have reported that they have interrogated the atomic structure of proteins, adding to proof that the wobbles, shakes, and quivers of proteins play an important role in their ability to operate.

18 Jul 2022

Research combines robotics and biology to create biohybrid microrobots using E. coli

A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems’ Physical Intelligence Department merged robotics and biology by outfitting E. coli bacteria with artificial components to create biohybrid microrobots.

From The Max Planck Institute 18 Jul 2022

New bacterial tool improves drug production in bacterial cells

The prescription humans use to manage high blood pressure, discomfort, or memory loss may one day originate from modified bacteria, cultivated in a vat like a yogurt, offering more inexpensive, sustainable drug options than people now have.

11 Jul 2022

Protecting foods with antimicrobial, plant-based food wrap

Aiming to produce environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic food wrap and containers, a Rutgers scientist has developed a biodegradable, plant-based coating that can be sprayed on foods, guarding against pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms and transportation damage.

From Rutgers University 21 Jun 2022

Scientists restructure the genome of E. coli using fragments extracted from mummy

An international group led by McMaster University researchers, in partnership with the University of Paris Cité, has recognized and reconfigured the first ancient genome of E. coli using fragments derived from a 16th-century mummy’s gallstone.

17 Jun 2022

A new breakthrough in the quest to improve photosynthesis in certain crops

A Cornell University study describes a breakthrough in the quest to improve photosynthesis in certain crops, a step toward adapting plants to rapid climate changes and increasing yields to feed a projected 9 billion people by 2050.

19 Apr 2022