Discovery Reveals How Bacteria Distinguish Harmful Versus Helpful Viruses
Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - 14:30
in Biology & Nature
When they are not busy attacking us, germs go after each other. But when viruses invade bacteria, it doesn't always spell disaster for the infected microbes: Sometimes viruses actually carry helpful genes that a bacterium can harness to, say, expand its diet or better attack its own hosts.