In 1993, Escherichia coli, a normally harmless bacterium, drew national headlines when it sickened and killed people who ate undercooked hamburgers from a Seattle fast-food joint.
Unlike most E. coli, the strain at fault, known as O157:H7, produces two chemicals called verotoxins that destroy cells in the intestines and kidneys.
In the July 15 Genes & Development, researchers in Japan report that verotoxin II binds to a protein whose usual role is to prevent cells from committing suicide.
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