Staph bacteria: Blood-sucking superbug prefers taste of humans
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 - 16:30
in Biology & Nature
Scientists have discovered that "staph" bacteria prefer to bind to human hemoglobin -- the oxygen-carrying protein that contains iron -- over hemoglobin from other animals. The findings help explain why staph preferentially infects people and suggest that genetic variations in hemoglobin may make some individuals more susceptible to staph infections.