Space
Is the International Space Station too clean?
Testing surfaces on board the space station revealed low microbial diversity, something that’s been linked to health problems elsewhere.
Microbes
More Stories in Microbes
- Chemistry
Some bacteria in wastewater can break down a common plastic
These microbes can break the carbon bonds that make PET plastics so hard to degrade. This type of plastic makes up almost one-third of plastic waste.
- Chemistry
Behold the world’s thinnest pasta
Made from white flour and formic acid, the nanofibers average just 370 nanometers across. That’s two-hundredths the thickness of a human hair.
- Climate
Meet Chonkus, a mutant microbe that could help fight climate change
A hulking marine cyanobacterium, Chonkus has traits that appears to make it especially good for storing away carbon on the ocean floor.
- Animals
These healthy fish have bacteria in their brains
The bodies of most animals keep germs, usually linked to disease, out of their brains. But some fish that host microbes seem to do just fine.
- Microbes
Under the microscope, this biologist sees a tiny jungle
Sally Warring has long been captivated by the beauty of mostly single-celled life forms called protists.
- Microbes
New type of division can split this microbe into 14 cells at once
The newfound strategy seen in C. matruchotii might help oral bacteria recover lost territory after each eviction by toothbrushing.
- Microbes
More than 100 types of bacteria found living in microwave ovens
More than 30 microwave ovens were sampled in a range of different settings. The microbes in them included ones that can cause food poisoning in people.
- Planets
‘Percy,’ NASA’s rover, finds its first hint of ancient life on Mars
The robot examined a Mars rock containing organic compounds and “leopard spots.” On Earth, such spots usually come from microbial life.
- Animals
Balmy ‘saunas’ help frogs fend off a deadly fungus
Hanging out in small sun-warmed hideaways could help some frogs resist deadly chytrid fungus, a new study finds.
