Microbes

  1. Microbes

    This microbe makes a meal of plastic

    A newly identified bacterium can break down plastic waste.

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  2. Microbes

    Diverse yeasts make their home on coffee and cacao beans

    Yeasts in coffee and cacao are shaped by geography and human migration, genetic analysis finds.

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  3. Microbes

    Missing gut microbes linked to childhood malnutrition

    The right mix of gut microbes could prevent kids from succumbing to malnutrition.

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  4. Microbes

    Microbe mix varies by kind of home

    Urban homes hold more human-associated bacteria compared with rural homes. Subdivided houses with lots of rooms and poor ventilation could be to blame.

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  5. Microbes

    Cyanobacteria use their whole bodies as eyeballs

    Little spheres of cyanobacteria cells roughly focus light on sensitive compounds that let them walk in the right direction.

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  6. Animals

    Microbes may help bears stay healthy when fat for hibernation

    Brown bears fatten up for hibernation without suffering from weight-related problems. A new study shows that their gut microbes may help.

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  7. Microbes

    Random changes in behavior speed bacteria evolution

    Microbes can speed up evolution by changing phenotypes.

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  8. Genetics

    Bubonic plague hung out in Europe

    The plague bacterium Yersinia pestis may have lurked in a medieval European reservoir for at least 300 years, researchers from Germany suggest January 13 in PLOS ONE.

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  9. Genetics

    Bubonic plague hung around in Europe

    DNA from plague victims suggests that a European reservoir of the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis could have fueled the medieval pandemic.

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  10. Genetics

    The Iceman tells a new tale: Infection with ulcer-causing bacteria

    Ötzi the Iceman was infected with a virulent strain of H. pylori. A new study is the first to piece together an ancient genome of these bacteria.

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  11. Microbes

    Get to know your microbes at ‘The Secret World Inside You’

    The American Museum of Natural History’s newest exhibit rehabilitates bacteria’s bad reputation and introduces visitors to the microbiome.

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  12. Paleontology

    Bubbles may have sheltered Earth’s early life

    Bubbles formed on ancient shorelines offer scientists a new place to look for traces of early life.

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