Narrow Wavelength of UV Light Safely Kills Drug-Resistant Bacteria

Narrow Wavelength of UV Light Safely Kills Drug-Resistant Bacteria

Potential to greatly reduce surgical site infections Scientists from the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Medical Center have shown that a narrow wavelength of ultraviolet (UV) light safely killed drug-resistant MRSA bacteria in mice, demonstrating a potentially safe and cost-effective way to reduce surgical site infections, a major public health concern. A paper just … Read more

Gene Behind Black Peppered Moth’s Color Change Identified

Black peppered moth - Biston betularia: light phenotype (left), dark phenotype (right)

A transposon underlies this classic story of evolutionary adaptation. Scientists have finally identified the genetic change that enabled the black peppered moth (Biston betularia) to change shades—from a light, speckled color to a dark brown hue—to camouflage itself against Britain’s soot-blackened trees during the Industrial Revolution: a mutation in a gene calledcortex, according to a … Read more