Scientists have found a counterintuitive wrinkle in the way bacteria spread antibiotic-resistant genes through small circular pieces of DNA called plasmids . Plasmids, found in bacteria and some other microorganisms, are physically separate from chromosomal DNA and can replicate on their own. Bacteria can acquire plasmids from other bacterial cells or from viruses, and as plasmids build up, they give bacteria antibiotic resistance. But some plasmids are easier for bacteria to acquire than others.

https://www.miragenews.com/scientists-advance-in-fight-against-antibiotic-1084769/

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