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.

New paper reports conserved collateral susceptibility to antibiotics in E. coli

LSTM's Dr Adam Roberts is a co-author on a new paper published in Nature Communications which reports conserved collateral susceptibility to antibiotics in the human pathogen Escherichia coli.

10 Sep 2018

Mechanical properties of viral DNA influence the course of infection, study finds

A new study reveals a previously unknown mechanism that governs whether viruses that infect bacteria will quickly kill their hosts or remain latent inside the cell. The discovery, reported in the journal eLife, also may apply to viruses that infect humans and other animals, the researcher said.

5 Sep 2018

Gene editing could prevent the evolution of drug-resistant bacteria

Researchers have found a way of preventing the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a promising new discovery in the fight against deadly superbugs.

3 Sep 2018

UCLA biologists find 8,000 new antibiotic combinations to be effective

Scientists have traditionally believed that combining more than two drugs to fight harmful bacteria would yield diminishing returns.

3 Sep 2018

Genetic disruption strategy effectively stymies evolution of drug-resistant pathogens

A genetic disruption strategy developed by University of Colorado Boulder researchers effectively stymies the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as E. coli, giving scientists a crucial leg up in the ongoing battle against deadly superbugs.

3 Sep 2018

A genetic signal-transmission system for the gut microbiome

More than 1,000 species of bacteria have been identified in the human gut, and understanding this incredibly diverse "microbiome" that can greatly impact health and disease is a hot topic in scientific research.

31 Aug 2018

Fluorescent protein sensor detects changes in cellular oxygen levels with very high sensitivity

Based on a protein from E. coli, scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a fluorescent protein sensor able to provide real-time information on dynamic changes in oxygen levels with very high sensitivity.

30 Aug 2018

Protein aggregates may play protection role against toxic stresses

Protein aggregates have a bad reputation in conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, but in bacteria, inheritance of aggregates by daughter cells may help protect against the same toxic stresses that triggered them in parental cells, according to a new study publishing 28 August in the open access journal PLOS Biology, by Sander Govers, Abram Aertsen, and colleagues at KU Leuven, Belgium.

29 Aug 2018

E. coli strain in poultry shown to cause bladder infections

A new study has found that a strain of E. coli found in chicken and turkey products can cause serious bladder infections (UTIs) in people.

28 Aug 2018

E. coli strain found in poultry products may cause bladder infections in people

A strain of Escherichia coli found in retail chicken and turkey products may cause a wide range of infections in people, according to a study published today in the American Society for Microbiology's open access journal mBio.

28 Aug 2018

Texas man bitten by shark being treated for flesh-eating bacteria infection

Blain Shelton, a 42-year-old Texas man was swimming around 200 yards off the shore of Boliver Island near Galveston on 9th of August when he encountered a shark.

24 Aug 2018

Research uncovers unexpected upside of E. coli

Best known as a pathogen that causes food poisoning or steals nutrients away from its host, the E. coli bacterium actually plays a critical role in promoting health by producing a compound that helps cells take up iron, new CU Boulder research shows.

24 Aug 2018

Study finds worrisome increase in drug-resistant infections

Nearly six percent of urinary tract infections analyzed by a California emergency department were caused by drug-resistant bacteria in a one-year study period, according to new research in Annals of Emergency Medicine. The bacteria were resistant to most of the commonly used antibiotics.

21 Aug 2018

ASU joins with Mayo Clinic to move blue clays closer to medical use

Researchers at Arizona State University and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, have found that at least one type of blue clay may help fight disease-causing bacteria in wounds, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The findings appear in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents.

21 Aug 2018

Clay may help fight disease-causing bacteria in wounds

The use of mud or wet clay as a topical skin treatment or a poultice is a common practice in some cultures and the concept of using mud as medicine goes back to earliest times.

21 Aug 2018

Scientists create universal blood type using enzymes from gut bacteria

Scientists have discovered enzymes from species of the gut microbiome that can convert A and B blood types into the universal type O.

21 Aug 2018

Scientists discover peptides that can be used as new antibiotic candidates

The human body produces many antimicrobial peptides that help the immune system fend off infection. Scientists hoping to harness these peptides as potential antibiotics have now discovered that other peptides in the human body can also have potent antimicrobial effects, expanding the pool of new antibiotic candidates.

21 Aug 2018