Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is leading cause of the disease tuberculosis. This oxygen-loving bacteria invades the lungs. Cells in the lungs try to fight it off and swallow it. But a special fatty-acid covering keeps it from being digested. Once within the lung cells, it has a perfect hiding place from which to cause disease.

This month, the World Health Organization announced that tuberculosis cases are on the decline for the first time in at least 20 years...

read more at Understanding Evolution: An antibiotic that exploits evolutionary history.

Tuberculosis is one of the world's most lethal infectious diseases. Further progress in consigning it to the past is a massive challenge. By Tom Paulson.