Antimicrobial polypeptides are widely distributed effec-tors of host defense in animals and plants. They include enzymes that digest vital microbial structures (e.g., lysozyme, neutrophil elastase, phospholipase A2), substances that bind and sequester iron or other essential nutrients (e.g., lacto-ferrin), and polypeptides that insert into and disrupt microbial membranes (e.g., bactericidal per...

CRISPR/Cas systems mediate bacterial adaptive immune responses that evolved to protect bacteria from bacteriophage and other horizontally transmitted genetic elements. Several CRISPR/Cas systems exist but the simplest variant, referred to as Type II, has a single effector DNA endonuclease, called Cas9, which is guided to its viral DNA target by two small RNAs, the crRNA and the tracrRNA. Initia...

On 25 March, EFSA and ECDC jointly published 'The European Union Summary Report on antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic and indicator bacteria from humans, animals and food 2012' [1]. The report features Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli indicator bacteria and Staphyloccus aureus. Salmonella and Campylobacter are the most common causes of zoonotic foodborne infections. According to the report,...

Microbes That Are out of Place Inspired by Lord Chesterfield, anthropologist Mary Douglas noted that what is classified as dirt in a given society is matter that is considered out of place. From this premise, Douglas went on to an analysis of ritual and religion, interrelations between perceptions of purity, contamination, defilement, and danger, and our anthropological need for symbolic bounda...

Some 3,000 million years ago, when the first living cell evolved on the surface of the earth, it had to struggle hard to survive in the face of seemingly insurmountable environmental odds. It traversed a long and arduous path to become a more organized form able to cope with adverse circumstances. Manipulations of genomic organization were required to adapt to the changing circumstances. The re...

Pressure ulcers heal slowly and this often results in prolonged hospitalization. Wound infection delays healing in decubitus ulcers and standard treatment include wound dressing and use of antibiotics. However, there is increasing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVB) on the healing of decubitus ulcers. The s...