Viruses attack nearly every living organism on Earth. To do so, they rely on highly specialized proteins that recognize and bind to receptors on the surface of target cells, a molecular arms race that ...

Most bacteria, including many bacterial pathogens, are surrounded by an outer protective layer of sugar molecules, known as a ...

One of the most abundant living organisms on Earth may also be one of the most vulnerable. A group of ocean bacteria known as ...

New study shows how bacteria adapted a virus-derived injection system to recognize and attach to many different types of cells. By systematically identifying thousands of rapidly evolving ...

Researchers have discovered a widespread mechanism in bacteria that enhances the bacteria's defense against environmental threats. The discovery, which may be important for research into developing ...

Scientists have uncovered a direct molecular mechanism by which gut bacteria inject proteins into human cells, reshaping immune responses and potentially driving inflammatory disease. Scientists have ...

Immune cells that eat bacteria in the body don’t stash them in specialized compartments as once thought, but turn them into critical nutrients that build proteins, create energy and keep the cells ...

That's important because of what a phage, which is a kind of virus, does after it binds to a bacterial cell: it pierces a hole in the cell membrane and injects its own DNA turning the bacteria into a ...

Like people, bacteria get invaded by viruses. In bacteria, the viral invaders are called bacteriophages, derived from the Greek word for bacteria-eaters, or in shortened form, "phages." Scientists ...

Biologists have uncovered a new mode of communication inside cells that helps bacterial pathogens learn how to evade drugs.