The remarkable ability of migratory animals to navigate and remember routes may be attributed to their sensitivity to not only the Earth’s magnetic field, but possibly also to interactions with the magnetic bacteria that live in the field. The relationship between these magnetic bacteria and the animals they live in is not yet fully understood, … Read more
An adult male brown knot spider (Latrodectus geometricus). Credit: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Invasive brown widow spiders on three continents were heavily infected with a single strain of Rhabdochlamydia, a bacterium related to major human and animal pathogens including chlamydia. However, a bite from these spiders will not infect humans with chlamydia. Until now, … Read more
Two strains of multi-resistant bacteria, ESBL and MRA, were found in more than half of the tested products (Photo: AFP) Lidl has hit back at claims by an animal welfare group who said half of the supermarket’s fresh chicken products they tested contained E.coli, Listeria and antibiotic ‘superbugs’. According to campaign group Open Cages, two … Read more
More than half of Lidl’s chickens are infected with potentially deadly, drug-resistant ‘superbugs’, tests show. The results showed that 23 of the 40 products analyzed were positive for MRSA and extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL), bacteria that no longer respond to antimicrobial treatment. The diarrhea-causing bug E. Coli was also found in 19 chickens bought from British … Read more
Enlarge / This is an intact phage. A tailocin looks like one with the head cut off. Long before people became interested in killing bacteria, viruses were already at work. Viruses that attack bacteria, called “phages” (short for bacteriophage), were first identified by their ability to create bare spots on the surface of culture plates … Read more