Tracing The Evolution Of The CA-MRSA 'Superbug'

Tracing The Evolution Of The CA-MRSA 'Superbug'

Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infections are caused primarily by a single strain—USA300—of an evolving bacterium that has spread with “extraordinary…
The Tree of Life Loses A Branch

The Tree of Life Loses A Branch

The Tree of Life has lost one of its branches due to the discovery that two formerly separated branches share a similar evolutionary history. It's more than just re-drawing textbooks. The discovery…
Four Numbers I Love and Hate

Four Numbers I Love and Hate

58132764 72645831 76125483 81274365 I first saw these numbers in the book “Fun with Mathematics” by Jerome S. Meyer, published in 1961. I have had them on my computer terminal at work for years. The…
Bacterial genomes and evolution

Bacterial genomes and evolution

The seminar that I give most often when I am invited to speak at other universities begins with a brief introduction to genomes, sets up some comparisons between bacteria and eukaryotes, and then…