Health & Medicine Week
Welcome to NewsRx!
Learn more about a six-week, no-risk free trial of Health & Medicine Week
We're a pay-per-view site for premium content. If you'd like to purchase this article, it's only $3.00.
Drug Resistance
Newly found sensing system enables certain bacteria to resist human immune defenses
June 18th, 2007
Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health, have discovered a survival mechanism in a common type of bacteria that can cause illness. The mechanism lets the bacteria protect itself by warding off attacks from antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which are defense molecules sent by the body to kill bacteria. Bacteria are divided into two types, gram-positive and gram-negative, with the primary difference being the nature of the bacterial cell wall. Little is known about how gram-positive bacteria—such as those that can lead to food poisoning, skin disorders and toxic shock—avoid being...
Source: Health & Medicine Week (2007-06-18)
|
