In contrast to direct stains that bind to bacteria directly, a negative stain colors the background of a smear rather than the bacteria. These stains have negatively charged functional groups so they ...

These acids are also very important in the body’s ability to recognize foreign bacteria. Gram-positive cell walls stain blue/purple with the Gram stain. Gram-negative cell walls are more complex. They ...

A team of researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has introduced a virtual Gram staining technique that could transform how microbiologists stain and classify bacteria.