Self-contained synthetic E. coli resistant to viral infection could prove invaluable to the biotechnology industry by increasing product consistency and reducing safety concerns.
Researchers are going beyond fecal samples to understand how the patterns of commensal microbes in the gastrointestinal tract influence development and health.
Immunologists and parasitologists are working to revive the idea that helminths, and more specifically the molecules they secrete, could help treat allergies and autoimmune disease.
In bacteriophage genomes, researchers find three anti-CRISPR proteins that naturally inhibit CRISPR-Cas9 in one bacterial species and can do the same in human cells.
Mixtures of viruses that attack inflammatory bowel disease–causing bacteria in mice also survive the digestive tract and are well-tolerated in humans, a study finds.
Eugene V. Koonin and Mart Krupovic | Jan 1, 2015 | 10 min read
In the evolutionary arms race between pathogens and hosts, genetic elements known as transposons are regularly recruited as assault weapons for cellular defense.