Plants are quietly borrowing tricks from bacteria, repurposing foreign genes to build complex molecules that look a lot like ...

Early in 2025, scientists discovered a promising new antibiotic in a soil sample from a lab technician's backyard. The ...

In contrast to humans, bacteria have the remarkable ability to exchange genetic material with each other. A well-known example with far-reaching consequences is the transfer of antibiotic resistance ...

Viruses living on plastic surfaces may help transfer antibiotic resistance genes among microbes in the environment.

In the microscopic world of bacteria, gene transfer is a powerful mechanism that can alter cellular function, drive antibiotic resistance and even shape entire ecosystems. Now an interdisciplinary ...

James Chappell, associate professor of biosciences and bioengineering at Rice University. In the microscopic world of bacteria, gene transfer is a powerful mechanism that can alter cellular function, ...

New research shows that a large, ubiquitous mobile genetic element changes the antagonistic weaponry of Bacteroides fragilis, a common bacterium of the human gut. Bacteria evolve rapidly in the human ...

Genomic islands are substantial segments of DNA embedded within bacterial genomes that are typically acquired through horizontal gene transfer. These regions frequently harbour clusters of genes ...

Earthworms remove 70-95 percent of antibiotic resistance genes from farm manure, making safer fertilizer for crops.

While resistance is a natural evolutionary process, the review shows that human activity has dramatically intensified its ...