Microbiome

The microbes living in soil may be crucial for healthy plants. What's more, soil microbiomes are hyperlocal, varying immensely from place to nearby place.

Soil Has a Microbiome, Too

The unique mix of microbes in soil has a profound effect on which plants thrive and which ones die

A new type of antibiotic is effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria like Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Scientists Find New Type of Antibiotics Hiding in the Human Nose

This whiff of success could be just the beginning of many new antibiotics

This 3D model of a microbial community within the human gut allows researchers to study how bacterial changes influence overall health.

How Miraculous Microbes Help Us Evolve Better, Faster, Stronger

Invisible yet crucial, our microbial partners add a gene-swapping plot twist to evolutionary theory

An up close view of coral

Watch Corals in Action With New Underwater Microscope

The Benthic Underwater Microscope opens up a whole new age of ocean exploration

Australians Make Beer Out of Belly Button Lint

Melbourne's 7 Cent Brewery will debut a Belgian-style Witbier later this month brewed using yeast strains cultivated from its founders' navels

Every City Has a Unique Microbial “Fingerprint”

From architecture to microbes, every city is different

Mom and baby share a lot, including their microbial ecosystems.

Does Having a C-Section Alter Baby's First Microbiome?

A study of cesarean babies swabbed with birth canal fluids suggests that some newborns may be missing out on helpful microbes

A typical U.S. Army Meal, Ready-to-Eat.

Here’s What Military Rations From Around the World Are Made Of

From bibimbap to beans

Microbe Cells Don't Outnumber Your Own

For years people have cited the ten-to-one ratio, with microbes dominating human cells, but that number is probably wrong, according to recent research

A German cockroach in a moment of solitude.

The Scent of Their Own Poop Entices Cockroaches to Congregate

Gut microbes imbue German cockroach feces with scents that allow them to find kindred groups

Finger lickin' good, at least until your gut bacteria disagree.

Your Gut Bacteria May Be Controlling Your Appetite

The microbes in your stomach seem to hijack a hormone system that signals the brain to stop eating

The Secret to Better Biofuels May Lie in Panda Poop

Microbes in the panda’s guts might help make biofuels cheaper

Microbial clouds give new meaning to the term "personal space."

You Produce a Microbial Cloud That Can Act Like an Invisible Fingerprint

The unique cloud follows you wherever you go—and could ID you in a crowd

Some Sexually Transmitted Microbes Might Be Good for You

There’s a whole lot of bacteria and viruses that pass from person to person, using any means they can find

The Color White Has a Dark Past

From race to wealth to cleanliness, the color's connotations have a long history

Here’s Why Some People Have More Bellybutton Lint Than Others

The secret is on your stomach

Fermented foods, like pickles, may influence social anxiety levels — though it's unclear exactly how and why.

A Pickle a Day May Keep Your Anxiety at Bay

Fermented food appears to calm the nerves of the socially challenged

Penicillin: a fuzzy little life saver.

11 Reasons to Love Bacteria, Fungi and Spores

From medicines to jet fuel, we have so many reasons to celebrate the microbes we live with every day

A handprint from an eight-year-old boy after he came in from playing outside

Here's What Happens When You Culture the Bacteria on an Eight-Year-Old’s Hand

Lots of cooties grow

Two species of mites make their home in the hair follicles on your face.

Meet the Mites That Live on Your Face

These microscopic organisms live and die on your face

Page 3 of 4