Modern scientific equipment has revolutionized the study of hidden life. Advances in genetic sequencing allow us to discover mysterious worlds of diverse microbes in Earth's harshest environments or within our bodies. Life also hides from us through time. Studying long-extinct creatures can be challenging. We must... click to read more

In the 1980s it was discovered that some relatives of the bacterium Burkholderia cepacia (formerly Pseudomonas cepacia) were able to form close relationships with plant roots, and also make a range of antimicrobials capable of killing plant pathogens. Several US pesticide companies exploited this bacterium... click to read more

Therapeutic drugs are an important pillar of modern health care and often crucial for the treatment of patients. Besides their desired effects to cure diseases, drugs can also cause unwanted side effects, which often occur only in some patients. The causes of these side effects... click to read more

The rapid worldwide rise in bacterial resistance to existing commercial antibiotics is a looming health crisis. Indeed, by the middle of the century, some predictions suggest that more people will die from bacterial infections than from cancer. There is a clear demand for new and... click to read more

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is a notorious foodborne pathogen, typically associated with consumption of undercooked red meat. The infamous "burger bug", most commonly caused by a subspecies called "O157:H7" is responsible for causing a severe form of food poisoning, which can reach beyond the gut... click to read more