HANOVER, N.H. - August 9, 2019 - Certain strains of cholera can change their shape in response to environmental conditions to aid their short-term survival, according to new research from Dartmouth College.
In the research, some strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae transformed themselves from small, comma-shaped cells to long filaments in nutrient-poor environments.
According to the study, the formation of the elongated cell shapes allows the rapid formation of communities of bacteria that bind to surfaces - known as biofilms - that are essential in turbulent nutrient environments.
"Bacteria are normally thought of as solitary organisms, but they are actually highly-social organisms that like to live in groups," said Carey Nadell, an assistant professor of biology at Dartmouth.
"This research shows that we can relate cell structure to group behavior in new ways when looking at realistic environments."
When not inside a human host, V. cholerae grows on nutritious pieces of debris in aquatic environments.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Electromagnetic fields might help prevent some breast cancers from spreading to other parts of the body, new research has found.
The study showed that low intensity electromagnetic fields hindered the mobility of specific breast cancer cells by preventing the formation of long, thin extensions at the edge of a migrating cancer cell.
The research was done on cells in a lab, and the concept hasn't yet been tested in animals or humans.
"A cancer cell has a tendency to do the most destructive thing imaginable," said Jonathan Song, lead author of the study.
"One very destructive thing these cells do is migrate to distant areas of the body," he said.
"And what we learned here is that it seems by treating them with a certain class of electric field we are altering their potential to spread somehow."
