Mammalian peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs), similar to antimicrobial lectins, bind the bacterial cell wall and kill bacteria through an unknown mechanism. We show that PGRPs enter the ...

Peptidoglycan in bacterial cell walls is sensed by multiple pattern-recognition receptors, including nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 1 (NOD1), NOD2, NOD-, LRR- and pyrin ...

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American Quick, can you describe your grandparents?

Researchers from Umeå University, Sweden, and Cornell University, U.S., have discovered a widespread mechanism in bacteria that enhances the bacteria's defense against environmental threats. The ...

A 50-year-old mystery surrounding the existence of a cell wall in the bacterial pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis, or chlamydia, has been solved. Chlamydia is the leading cause of sexually transmitted ...

In two recent studies, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Unilever have collaborated to develop computational models of bacterial cell walls that can speed up the screening of ...

Researchers have discovered a widespread mechanism in bacteria that enhances the bacteria's defense against environmental threats. The discovery, which may be important for research into developing ...

Gram-positive bacteria have thick cell walls. A Gram stain test, which involves a chemical dye, stains the bacterium’s cell wall purple. On the other hand, gram-negative bacteria stain pink instead.

Virginia Tech biochemist Brandon Jutras has discovered the cellular component that contributes to Lyme arthritis, a debilitating and extremely painful condition that is the most common late stage ...

With delicate hues of purple and pink, a lab technique called gram staining has reliably characterized bacteria for more than a century. Yet many scientists are mistaken about why the vivid method ...

Bacterial species, and even specific strains can be differentiated using a number of molecular techniques such as PCR, quantitative PCR, genome sequencing and mass spectrometry. But even without ...