Scientists studying how microbes evolve have long assumed that nearly all new genetic mutations get passed down at a predictable pace and usually without either helping or hurting the microbe in ...

Natural pathogenic bacteria populations can harbour mutator alleles (with high mutation rates) that may offer a selection advantage. In the March 30 Science, Giraud et al. describe a model to ...

In the 1940s, the famous Luria–Delbrück experiment showed that bacteria evolve resistance to drugs they'd never encountered thanks to a random mutational process. When you purchase through links on ...

Researchers report that phage resistance in ocean bacteria can alter growth, metabolism and sinking behavior, revealing a ...

Traditional biochemical methods of studying human gene mutations are often laborious and costly. Now bioengineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new simple approach to ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Marine bacteria are key to determining whether carbon is recycled near the ocean surface or transported to deeper waters, but many operate in constant threat of being infected by ...

Millions of people take painkillers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen daily–sometimes in addition to antibiotics. But a new study shows that this combination could unknowingly contribute to the ...