Pieces of bacteria migrating from the gut to the brain may play a key role in sleep, scientists have discovered, suggesting that the oldest and most basic microorganisms in our bodies are crucial in ...

We ask a simple question all the time: what makes us sleep. A new set of mouse experiments points to something small and surprising – a bacterial cell wall material called peptidoglycan that shows up ...

New studies show that a bacterial molecule, peptidoglycan, is present in the brain and fluctuates with sleep patterns. This challenges the idea that sleep is solely brain-driven, instead suggesting it ...

Peer ReviewDownload a summary of the editorial decision process including editorial decision letters, reviewer comments and author responses to feedback. CwhA, a secreted endopeptidase from ...

1 School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States 2 Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States ...

Gram-positive bacteria show blue or purple after Gram-staining in a laboratory test. They have thick cell walls. Gram-negative bacteria show pink or red on staining and have thin walls. They release ...

There are many ways of classifying bacteria. One method is based on the cell membrane. In 1884, a bacteriologist named Christian Gram created a test that could determine if a bacterium had a thick, ...

Peptidoglycan (PG) is a giant macromolecule that completely surrounds bacterial cells and prevents lysis in hypo-osmotic environments. This net-like macromolecule is made of glycan strands linked to ...

Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States Department of Biochemistry ...

Gram staining is one way scientists can identify bacteria. Gram-positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus, appear blue or purple under a microscope when scientists apply a stain. Conversely, ...

Penicillin is a widely used antibiotic prescribed to treat staphylococci and streptococci bacterial infections. Penicillin belongs to the beta-lactam family of antibiotics, the members of which use a ...

Bacterial species, and even specific strains can be differentiated using a number of molecular techniques such as PCR, quantitative PCR, genome sequencing and mass spectrometry. But even without ...