Claims that hundreds of bacterial genes have been transferred directly into humans are unfounded, according to a study published in June 21 Nature. The initial report by the International Human Genome ...

The study reveals that environmental stressors do not merely kill bacteria; they can also prime surviving cells to take up ...

Viruses living on plastic surfaces may help transfer antibiotic resistance genes among microbes in the environment.

James Chappell, associate professor of biosciences and bioengineering at Rice University. In the microscopic world of bacteria, gene transfer is a powerful mechanism that can alter cellular function, ...

In the microscopic world of bacteria, gene transfer is a powerful mechanism that can alter cellular function, drive antibiotic resistance and even shape entire ecosystems. Now an interdisciplinary ...

New research shows that a large, ubiquitous mobile genetic element changes the antagonistic weaponry of Bacteroides fragilis, a common bacterium of the human gut. Bacteria evolve rapidly in the human ...