Mouths are filthy, harboring the second largest microbiome of the human body. Some bacteria can help break down food, among other responsibilities; other bacteria can travel into the mouth on food, ...

Production of β-lactamases of one of four molecular classes (A, B, C and D) is the major mechanism of bacterial resistance to β-lactams, the largest class of antibiotics, which have saved countless ...

Many species of bacteria use quorum sensing, a type of chemical communications system, to direct behaviors—such as virulence, biofilm formation, and motility—on the basis of population density. Now, ...

In a recent study, researchers demonstrated that a novel compound could treat flesh-eating Gram-positive bacterial infections in mice, potentially offering a new class of antibiotics. Researchers at ...

The present report deals with the in vitro anti-microbial activity of novobiocin and its efficacy in the treatment of a variety of surgical infections due to staphylococci and other gram-positive ...

A bacterial cell settles onto a nondescript surface. It is plump, healthy and functioning as it should. Nothing appears amiss. Has a crucial component to the development of human medicine been hiding ...

With delicate hues of purple and pink, a lab technique called gram staining has reliably characterized bacteria for more than a century. Yet many scientists are mistaken about why the vivid method ...