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Microbes, Bacteria, Viruses

Researchers collected this mixture of plankton – small zooplanktonic animals, larvae and single cell protists – in the Pacific Ocean with a 0.1 mm mesh net.

New Research

How Will Climate Change Impact Plankton?

A global plankton survey aims to help us understand how the tiny organisms that live at the ocean surface will fare in a warming world

Baker's or brewer's yeast, like the sample pictured above, could one day be used for more efficient opiate production.

Engineered Yeast Could Open up a DIY Painkiller Market

The modified microbes could also make cheaper and better opiates

Several Yanomami at the community of Irotatheri, in Venezuela, wait to preform a dance for visiting journalists

New Research

Even an Isolated Amazonian Tribe’s Microbes Are Antibiotic Resistant

The finding of antibiotic resistance in people who have never taken antibiotics highlights how hard it will be to combat superbugs

New Research

Scientists Predict Obesity Rates by Examining Sewage Microbes

The microbial makeup of a city’s sewage can indicate its population’s physique

The colorful salt terraces in the Dallol region of Ethiopia are hot targets for astrobiologists seeking extreme microbial life that could resemble extraterrestrials.

New Research

This Alien Color Catalog May Help Us Spot Life on Other Planets

A digital library of reflectance spectra from microbes could be a powerful tool for spotting signs of extraterrestrials

Bordetella phage BPP-1.

New Drawings Show the Strange Beauty of Phages, the Bacteria Slayers

Phage viruses rearrange genes, prey on bacteria and maintain microbial diversity. Can we harness them to do our bidding?

New Research

Tourist Trash Has Changed the Color of Yellowstone’s Morning Glory Pool

Researchers have found proof of what caused a hot spring’s drastic color modification—it’s people, of course

You can thank these Theobroma cacao flowers for your brownie sundae.

The World of Chocolate

You Wouldn’t Have Chocolate Without Invisible Flies and Extreme Yeast

It takes a wild and temperamental menagerie to bring the beloved candy to store shelves. Bon appétit!

Shewanella oneidensis

Cool Finds

Some Microbes Can Eat And Breathe Electricity

How many ways can life exist? Some recently discovered microbes can live on a cathode, apparently without the need for a carbon food-source

New Research

You Eat Millions…Even Billions!…of Microbes Every Day

Yes, plenty of live microorganisms lurk in your yogurt, but they are everywhere else as well

New Research

A Worm’s Gut Could Help Dispose of Plastic Trash

Microbes found in the guts of waxworms like to feast on polyethylene

New Research

Public Bathroom Bacteria: Not as Gross as You’d Think

Public restrooms are of no more of a health risk than your own home

The worm's progression through the man's brain, over a four year period.

New Research

A Tapeworm Crawled Around In This Man’s Brain for Years

Studying the extracted parasite might help others avoid a similar infestation

A bed bug surrounded by potentially parasite-laden feces.

New Research

Bed Bugs Can Transmit the Chagas Disease Parasite

The parasite is usually associated with Latin and South America, but was recently found throughout Louisiana, too

Sunflower sea stars are just one of 20 species affected.

New Research

Meet the Tiny Killer Causing Millions of Sea Stars to Waste Away

The deadly sea star wasting disease, which turns live animals into slimy goop, is caused by a previously unknown virus

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Cool Finds

This Artist Makes E. coli-Shaped Popsicles

For those who prefer plants to pathogens, there’s popsicle cacti, too

A scanning electron micrograph of Escherichia coli, one of the most common species of gut bacteria.

New Research

More Evidence That There’s a Connection Between a Person’s Gut Bacteria And Brain

Bacteria can affect your brain, but it’s still too early to do much with the information

A common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) isn't as scary as its name might suggest.

Halloween

Seven Vampires That Aren’t Bats (Or Bela Lugosi)

From flying frogs to deep-sea squid, meet some of the other nosferatu of the animal kingdom

Nope nope nope.

New Research

You Don’t Even Want to Know About All the Stuff Living on Your Eyeball

Even eyes can’t escape the microbiome

New Research

Your Microbes Get Jet Lagged, Too

When bacteria’s circadian rhythm is disrupted, they become worse at their jobs

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