Do bacteria mutate randomly, or do they mutate for a purpose? Researchers have been puzzling over this conundrum for over a century. In 1943, microbiologist Salvador Luria and physicist turned ...

Scientists have developed a mathematical model that predicts how the number and effects of bacterial mutations leading to drug resistance will influence the success of antibiotic treatments.

A 'silent' mutation in the genetic code of bacteria has been discovered by UK researchers, offering hope for future microbial treatments. The authors of new research, published in the Proceedings of ...

Scientists have developed a mathematical model that predicts how the number and effects of bacterial mutations leading to drug resistance will influence the success of antibiotic treatments. Their ...

Space-based experiments show that microgravity-induced mutations in bacteriophages may improve their ability to target ...

In 1943, two scientists named Max Delbrück and Salvador Luria conducted an experiment to show that bacteria can mutate randomly, independent of external stimulus, such as an antibiotic that threatens ...

Antibiotics can destroy many types of bacteria, but increasingly, bacterial pathogens are gaining resistance to many commonly used types. As the threat of antibiotic resistance looms large, ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. GrrlScientist writes about evolution, ecology, behavior and health. Once hailed globally as “miracle drugs”, antibiotics have ...

Researchers have identified a new class of mutations that help bacteria develop antibiotic resistance. In a study of E. coli, they discovered that mutations to genes involved in metabolism can help ...