Word: bacterium
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Gilbert's lab is working out the sequence for the bacterium and performing computer analyses to identify the genes...
...almost certainly originated nearly 3.5 billion years ago as a mechanism for repairing the DNA of bacteria. Because ancient earth was such a violent place, the genes of these unicellular organisms would have been frequently damaged by intense heat and ultraviolet radiation. "Conjugation" -- the intricate process in which one bacterium infuses genetic material into another -- provided an ingenious, if cumbersome, solution to this problem, although bacteria continued to rely on asexual reproduction to increase their numbers...
...separate studies of 130,000 and 6,000 people, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers from Stanford and Kuakini Medical Center in Honolulu found that people infected with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori were three to six times as likely to develop stomach cancer over a 20-year period as those who were not infected. "This is not just a little risk we're talking about," says Stanford's Julie Parsonnet, though she points out that not everyone infected with the bacterium develops cancer. Indeed, the bug, which may enter the body through dirty water or human contact...
Biological agents could be a different problem. Iraq is believed to possess some of them, including typhoid, cholera and botulin toxin. In open air, most of those die within hours. So does anthrax, an infectious, spore-forming bacterium that Saddam is also believed to possess. But if spores of anthrax penetrate the ground, they can survive in a dormant state for decades, waiting for new victims...
...array of organisms and naturally occurring toxins. Packaged inside small bombs and delivered by aircraft or artillery shells, the germs would be released in a mist of infectious droplets that victims would inhale. A tiny amount would go a long way. Less than 1 g (0.035 oz.) of a bacterium called tularemia could produce thousands of deadly doses. U.S. officials insist that soldiers can be protected from such an attack with gas masks and nonpermeable clothing. But the gear cannot be worn indefinitely, especially in the desert's searing heat, and strains resistant to existing vaccines can be developed...