E. coli News and Research

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E. coli or Escherichia coli is the name of a type of bacteria that lives in your intestines. Most types of E. coli are harmless. However, some types can make you sick and cause diarrhea. One type causes travelers' diarrhea. The worst type of E. coli causes bloody diarrhea, and can sometimes cause kidney failure and even death. These problems are most likely to occur in children and in adults with weak immune systems. You can get E. coli infections by eating foods containing the bacteria. To help avoid food poisoning and prevent infection, handle food safely. Cook meat well, wash fruits and vegetables before eating or cooking them, and avoid unpasteurized milk and juices. You can also get the infection by swallowing water in a swimming pool contaminated with human waste. Most cases of E. coli infection get better without treatment in 5 to 10 days.

High-tech dental lasers eliminate bacteria in root canals

High-tech dental lasers used mainly to prepare cavities for restoration now can help eliminate bacteria in root canals, according to research published in the July issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA).

13 Jul 2007

New weapon in the battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Putting bacteria on birth control could stop the spread of drug-resistant microbes, and researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found a way to do just that.

10 Jul 2007

Bacterial biofilms

In one of the first potential applications of synthetic biology, an emerging field that aims to design and build useful biomolecular systems, researchers from MIT and Boston University are engineering viruses to attack and destroy the surface biofilms that harbor harmful bacteria in the body and on industrial and medical devices.

10 Jul 2007

Discovery of enzyme critical in DNA replication

In this week's issue of Science, researchers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and Umea University in Sweden report an important discovery about a critical new role that an enzyme called DNA polymerase epsilon plays in replicating DNA in higher organisms such as yeast and perhaps even humans.

9 Jul 2007

The future of engineering devices, systems and materials: made from bacteria?

Members of the public will get to see how revolutionary scientists and engineers are proposing to make counters, sensors, calculators and other devices out of living bacteria at this year's Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition.

3 Jul 2007

Dangerous rural roads in the U.S.

Just in time for the most dangerous days of the year to drive July 3 and 4 the national Center for Excellence in Rural Safety (CERS) at the University of Minnesota today released a list of the states where Americans are more likely to die in a traffic crash on a rural road.

29 Jun 2007

Prevention and control of zoonoses

Over 180 international scientific experts will meet for the next three days near Lucca, Italy, to discuss state-of-the-art advances in infectious diseases transmitted from animals to man, known as zoonoses.

29 Jun 2007

Resistant gut bacteria will not go away by themselves

E. coli bacteria that have developed resistance to antibiotics will probably still be around even if we stop using antibiotics, as these strains have the same good chance as other bacteria of continuing to colonise the gut, according to a thesis at the Sahlgrenska Academy.

20 Jun 2007

CARVER + Shock for safer food

Like Johnny Appleseed of yore, the Food and Drug Administration is scattering food-defense programs across the US so that the country's million or so food processors can better secure their food against possible contamination by terrorists.

20 Jun 2007

Best way to prevent contamination of fresh produce is to intervene before the harvest

Monitoring vegetables while they are growing is crucial in the prevention of contamination of fresh produce with harmful bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella, say plant pathologists who are members of The American Phytopathological Society (APS).

14 Jun 2007

Petting zoos have potential health risks that are not always properly addressed

A new study shows that simple guidelines to protect petting zoo patrons from disease-causing germs found in the zoo are frequently not followed, thus allowing the risks of contracting serious intestinal illnesses to persist.

14 Jun 2007

Cholera vaccine in a grain of rice

Japanese scientists have come up with a new strain of rice that carries a vaccine for cholera; they say the breakthrough will provide a cheaper and easier way of distributing the standard injection-based vaccine.

12 Jun 2007

Latest food scare leaves U.S. consumers wondering just how safe their food is?

The latest food scare over beef possibly contaminated with E. coli, has left many consumers in the U.S. wondering just how safe the food they buy really is.

11 Jun 2007

Latest food scare leaves U.S. consumers wondering just how safe their food is

The latest food scare over beef possibly contaminated with E. coli, has left many consumers in the U.S. wondering just how safe the food they buy really is.

11 Jun 2007

Scientists provide insight into how organisms adapt to changing environmental conditions and fluctuations

Forthcoming in Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, a fascinating new selection of papers collects leading experimental research in evolution and artificial selection, providing insight into how organisms adapt to changing environmental conditions and fluctuations.

30 May 2007