Neighbors can sometimes be a bad influence on each other — especially when they’re one-celled microscopic animals called protozoa and certain bacteria commonly linked to food-borne illnesses, like Salmonella. In a collaborative food safety project with researchers in Albany, Calif., Sharon Berk, professor of Biology with our Center for the Management, Utilization and Protection of Water Resources, is studying how certain protozoa that may be found on produce interact with several strains of bacteria linked to recent outbreaks of food-borne illnesses in the nation. FULL STORY