www.nature.com/news/lyme-bacteria-show-that-evolvability-is-evolvable-1.14176 "B. burgfdorferi can cause a chronic infection even if its animal host mounts a strong immune response — evading those defences by tweaking the shape and expression of its main surface antigen, VIsE. A series of unexpressed genetic sequences organized into ‘cassettes’ recombine with the VIsE gene, changing the resulting protein such that it escapes detection by the host’s immune system."
For those that aren't 'sciency' - what they are saying is that there is a particular part on the surface of the bacteria that can change itself into something that they immune system doesn't recognize as a danger.
This only echos what we all know, but at least now it's in print!!!
