In something straight out of a comic book, electric eels may be able to shoot DNA into other animals when they zap them with electricity. The electric eel can release up to 860 volts of electricity, ...

In the microscopic world of bacteria, gene transfer is a powerful mechanism that can alter cellular function, drive antibiotic resistance and even shape entire ecosystems. Now an interdisciplinary ...

A recent study has found that the electricity produced by an electric eel’s discharge is strong enough to cause the transfer of genetic material from the environment into the cells of nearby animals.

James Chappell, associate professor of biosciences and bioengineering at Rice University. In the microscopic world of bacteria, gene transfer is a powerful mechanism that can alter cellular function, ...

Gene transfer agents (GTAs) are unique, phage‐like particles produced by various Alphaproteobacteria that mediate the horizontal transfer of genetic material. Unlike conventional bacteriophages, GTAs ...

New research shows that a large, ubiquitous mobile genetic element changes the antagonistic weaponry of Bacteroides fragilis, a common bacterium of the human gut. Bacteria evolve rapidly in the human ...

The fungus that causes coffee wilt disease repeatedly took up segments of DNA from a related fungal pathogen, which contributed to successive outbreaks of the disease, according to a new report. The ...

Researchers in Japan have identified a striking new way immune cells strip DNA out of dying neighbors, a process they call ...