Normal mutation rate variants arise in a Mutator (Mut S) Escherichia coli population.

The rate at which mutations are generated is central to the pace of evolution. Although this rate is remarkably similar amongst all cellular organisms, bacterial strains with mutation rates 100 fold greater than the modal rates of their species are commonly isolated from natural sources and emerge in experimental populations. Theoretical studies postulate and empirical studies teort the hypotheses that these "mutator" strains evolved in response to selection for elevated rates of generation of inherited variation that enable bacteria to adapt to novel and/or rapidly changing environments.

Analytical comparison of the cobas HPV Test with Hybrid Capture 2 for the detection of high-risk HPV genotypes.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a causal agent of cervical cancer, and persistent HPV16 or HPV18 infection carries a particularly high risk. The cobas HPV Test (cobas) provides individual HPV16/HPV18 genotyping with a simultaneous result for 12 other high-risk HPV (hrHPV) genotypes. Its analytical performance for hrHPV genotype detection was retrospectively evaluated against the digene Hybrid Capture 2 HPV DNA test (HC2), in three European centers, in 1360 cervical samples.