The inventory of microorganisms responsible for biological deterioration of ancient paintings has become an integral part of restoration activities. Here, the microbial agent of rosy discoloration on medieval frescoes in the Crypt of the Original Sin (Matera, Italy) was investigated by a combination of microscopic, molecular and spectroscopic approaches.

A genetically engineered virus may help break down the slimy colonies of bacteria that can cling to medical devices

Cancer patients and their friends and families know that cancer chemotherapy is notoriously difficult and toxic to patients for a wide variety of reasons, and the big problem is to kill cancer cells while leaving the rest of the normal cells in the body alone. There are a few strategies to go around this problem. One popular strategy tries to create drugs that target something unique in cancer cells, and so affect tumor cells more than normal cells.

River blindness (o

A major cause of human and animal infections, Staphylococcus aureus bacteria may evade the immune system’s defences and dodge antibiotics by climbing into our cells and then lying low to avoid detection. New research shows how S. aureus makes itself at home in human lung cells for up to two weeks.

Scientists at UC San Diego have solved the genomic puzzle of an organism discovered in the oceans with potential for producing compounds showing promise in treating diseases such as cancer.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China still faces a problem with the illegal sale of blood to hospitals, the Health Ministry said on Thursday, years after such trade sparked an AIDS outbreak in the central province of Henan.

It's getting harder and harder to remember what it was like to write about science in the pre-Web 2.0 days. Back then (i.e., 2004), I'd come across an intriguing paper, I'd interview the authors, I'd get comments--supportive or nasty--from other experts in the field, and then publish an article distilling everything I'd learned.