Novel tool can can add or remove sugar from proteins news-medical.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from news-medical.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Fine particles in wildfire smoke more harmful to human respiratory health than other pollutants
Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego examining 14 years of hospital admissions data conclude that the fine particles in wildfire smoke can be several times more harmful to human respiratory health than particulate matter from other sources such as car exhaust. While this distinction has been previously identified in laboratory experiments, the new study confirms it at the population level.
This new research work, focused on Southern California, reveals the risks of tiny airborne particles with diameters of up to 2.5 microns, about one-twentieth that of a human hair. These particles - termed PM2.5 - are the main component of wildfire smoke and can penetrate the human respiratory tract, enter the bloodstream and impair vital organs.
Bloom earns NSF CAREER award uccs.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from uccs.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Study: Interbacterial toxins may contribute to bacterial genetic diversity
A toxin produced by bacteria as a defense mechanism causes mutations in target bacteria that could help them survive, according to a study published today in
eLife.
The finding suggests that competitive encounters between bacterial cells could have profound consequences on the evolution of bacterial populations.
When bacterial cells come into contact, they often produce toxins as a defense mechanism. Although it is known that the bacteria producing these toxins have a competitive advantage, exactly how the toxins affect the recipient cells is less clear.
Undergoing intoxication is not always detrimental for cells - there are scenarios in which encountering a toxin could provide a benefit, such as generating antibiotic resistance. We wanted to study the effects of a toxin that alters DNA beyond that of cell death and see how it impacts the surviving recipient cells it targets.
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A toxin produced by bacteria as a defence mechanism causes mutations in target bacteria that could help them survive, according to a study published today in
eLife.
The finding suggests that competitive encounters between bacterial cells could have profound consequences on the evolution of bacterial populations.
When bacterial cells come into contact, they often produce toxins as a defence mechanism. Although it is known that the bacteria producing these toxins have a competitive advantage, exactly how the toxins affect the recipient cells is less clear. Undergoing intoxication is not always detrimental for cells - there are scenarios in which encountering a toxin could provide a benefit, such as generating antibiotic resistance, explains lead author Marcos de Moraes, Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, US. We wanted to study the effects of a toxin that alters DNA beyond that of cell death and see how it impacts the surv