Health

Understanding and protecting against foodborne illness

Each year, 1 in 6 Americans gets sick from eating contaminated food. In total, researchers have identified more than 250 foodborne diseases, which have been traced to all kinds of foods, according to Tufts experts.

Health

Have yourself a food-safe Christmas

It's that time of the year. Tables get decorated, fridges get loaded and we gather in the spirit of the most wonderful season of all. From salads to desserts, Christmas is a time of variety in foods, and a heaven for our ...

Gerontology & Geriatrics

Diagnosing serious geriatric diseases with glutamine sensor

In 2023, life expectancy in Korea will be 83.6 years, the third highest among OECD countries, and it is steadily increasing every year. As the proportion of the elderly population increases, the social cost of treating various ...

page 1 from 40

Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli (commonly E. coli; pronounced /ˌɛʃɪˈrɪkiə ˈkoʊlaɪ/, /iː ~/, and named for its discoverer), is a Gram negative bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms (endotherms). Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some, such as serotype O157:H7, can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for costly product recalls. The harmless strains are part of the normal flora of the gut, and can benefit their hosts by producing vitamin K2, or by preventing the establishment of pathogenic bacteria within the intestine.

E. coli are not always confined to the intestine, and their ability to survive for brief periods outside the body makes them an ideal indicator organism to test environmental samples for fecal contamination. The bacteria can also be grown easily and its genetics are comparatively simple and easily-manipulated or duplicated through a process of metagenics, making it one of the best-studied prokaryotic model organisms, and an important species in biotechnology and microbiology.

E. coli was discovered by German pediatrician and bacteriologist Theodor Escherich in 1885, and is now classified as part of the Enterobacteriaceae family of gamma-proteobacteria.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA