Contact: Scott LaFee
slafee@ucsd.edu
619-543-6163
University of California - San Diego

E. coli

Caption: Escherichia coli bacteria, like these in a false-color scanning electron micrograph by Thomas Deerinck at UC San Diego’s National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, cause a variety of often life-threatening conditions, particularly among the young. Varki and colleagues suggest a genetic change 100,000 or so years ago conferred improved protection from these microbes, and likely altered human evolutionary development.

Credit: Thomas Deerinck at UC San Diego’s National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research

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