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Microbes

Latest Articles

What Does Milk Do for Babies?

April 25, 2024

Human nutrition begins with milk, but the wondrous biofluid does much more than feed babies. In this episode, co-host Steven Strogatz speaks with molecular nutritionist Elizabeth Johnson about her research into the impact of human milk on a healthy microbiome.

The Quest for Simple Rules to Build a Microbial Community

January 17, 2024

Microbiologists are searching for a universal theory of how bacteria form communities based not on their species but on the roles they play.

Deep Beneath Earth’s Surface, Clues to Life’s Origins

January 4, 2024

Last spring, scientists retrieved a trove of mantle rocks from underneath the Atlantic seafloor — a bounty that could help write the first chapter of life's story on Earth.

The Year in Biology

December 19, 2023

In a year packed with fascinating discoveries, biologists pushed the limits of synthetic life, probed how organisms keep time, and refined theories about consciousness and emotional health.

In a Fierce Desert, Microbe ‘Crusts’ Show How Life Tamed the Land

July 12, 2023

Extreme microorganisms carpeting the Atacama Desert in Chile illuminate how life might have first taken hold on Earth’s surface.

Microbes Gained Photosynthesis Superpowers From a ‘Proton Pump’

July 5, 2023

New research reveals how marine microbes use an extra membrane that once had digestive functions to boost their yield from photosynthesis.

Primitive Asgard Cells Show Life on the Brink of Complexity

April 11, 2023

As researchers race to cultivate more of the intriguing cells from the deep seafloor, the few cells now growing in labs are giving us our best glimpses of the forerunners of all complex life.

Global Microbiome Study Gives New View of Shared Health Risks

March 14, 2023

The most comprehensive survey of how we share our microbiomes suggests a new way of thinking about the risks of developing some diseases that aren’t usually considered contagious.

With Nothing to Eat Except Viruses, Some Microbes Thrive

February 21, 2023

“Virovores” — organisms that survive and multiply by eating viruses — might influence the flow of energy through ecosystems.

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